Written by orange• May 11, 2026• 3:18 am• Anaheim, Review, The Chance Theater, Theater, Uncategorized

Sanctuary City @ Chance Theater – Review

Photos by Doug Catiller

Written by Patrick Chavis

Sanctuary City is playing at the Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills from May 1 – 24, 2026.

Helmed by Director Oánh Nguyễn, this dramatic three-hander from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Martyna Majok features a mix of dramatic structures that clash with the storyline. It’s a tragic and painful narrative about the struggles of undocumented immigrants, especially about the particular barriers facing those back in the early 2000s and how the repercussions affect people.

Story:

Set in New Jersey, B (Spike Pulice) and G (Vicky Yvonne), both undocumented immigrants in the United States, grew up together and developed a deep friendship. Shown brilliantly through time skips, we watch as the slight differences in the law threaten to keep them apart, amongst other threats and relationships.

Though slightly jarring at first, the time-skip storytelling is not only fun to watch but also keeps you engaged and immersed. Pulice and Yvonne’s friendship skirts the line between friendship and possibly something more. The interactions are imperfect, human, and very entertaining to watch. There’s no intermission; it goes right into another act, and many years pass. I found all three actors in this very capable.

The second half seems much slower in comparison. The addition of the third character, Henry (Jonathon Keyes), took away too much of the focus from B & G. Henry seems more like a catalyst than a character. It would have been better had he been talked about or mentioned, like many of the other often-referenced characters in the first act, than actually brought on stage. The payoff for such a fantastic first act flounders in long swaths of melodrama that squashes so much of the energy brought in at the beginning.

Casting/Direction/Sound/Lighting/Set:

Hats off Shinshin Yuder Tsai’s casting and Nguyen’s direction. Pulice & Yvonne are great together in this. These two are acting virtually nonstop, back and forth, for an hour and forty-five minutes. Even in short bursts, they express so much. As someone who has never previously watched a Martyna Majok play, I can definitely see glimpses of a very talented playwright.

Placed in the more intimate Fyda-Mar stage at the Chance, the actors had less space to move around in, which I felt benefited this production. The lighting and sound cues by Lighting and Sound Designer Andrew Hungford effectively accentuated the action. Scenic Designers Mio Okada-Nunez & Fred Kinney’s set design, consisting of a backdrop of wood and brick and the faces of immigrants that fall through cracks, is visually stunning and powerful, if lacking in some practicality for the story.

This is a production with an important perspective and very relevant in this day and age.