OUT Preview: ‘What We Owe to Ourselves and to Our Families’

The musical theater genre has a precision kink. Its belted harmonies, 11 o’clock numbers choreographed to the inch, and lines spoken with perfect diction and exaggerated volume are a testament to that fact. This bombast is what makes fanatics out of musical theater fans, but for those that aren’t yet convinced, this high-spectacle performance style leaves little room for authenticity.

In comes “OUT,” an original student musical directed by Kalos K. Chu ’23 and presented by the Harvard College Asian Student Arts Project that incorporates the ingredients which make musicals brilliant without sacrificing sincerity. Based on the book of the same name by Chu, music by Ian Chan ’23, and lyrics by JuHye Mun ’23, “OUT” has its main characters perform stunning three-part harmonies in one moment, before play-tripping and laughing at jokes meant as much for each other as they are for the audience in the next. In its short run time at the Agassiz Theatre from April 7 through April 9, “OUT” promises to deliver on the aspects of musical theater that fans enjoy while also telling a story that feels incredibly real.

“OUT” follows the story of three queer Asian Americans in their early twenties. When the protagonist, Oliver, accidentally tells his mother that he has a girlfriend, he turns to his best friend Kasey, and, with the help of a new dating app called Plus One (+1), he hires May to pretend to be his girlfriend who he can introduce to his mom.

Author and director Chu found the inspiration for "OUT" when studying in Beijing in 2019. During his trip, he learned about apps popular in China where single men who go home for the Lunar New Year can hire women to pretend to be their girlfriends for the evening. The idea of this performative dating app stayed with him.

“That's obviously silly and funny and sort of weird, you know. It’s like clickbait in a way. But I think this is such an interesting symbol of how our sense of love and reputation and a sense of obligation towards our family manifests in this weird app,” Chu said.

Chu kept thinking about this app, and it eventually inspired the story of “OUT,” which centers around the fictional Plus One dating app as a way to explore the concepts Chu began thinking about while studying abroad. “Ultimately, 'OUT' is about this sense of family obligation, the lies that we tell others, and the truths that we're keeping from ourselves,” Chu said.

“OUT” has certainly come a long way from its beginnings — the fledgling musical has a twelve person cast, fifteen piece band, and a sixty person staff working on all aspects of the production. While student theater can often be constrained by tight budgets and conflicting schedules, “OUT” doesn’t show any signs of these limitations, but rather uses them to its advantage. Head set designer Anna Gong ’23 painted sets onto large, rotating prisms so that “OUT” can shift efficiently between scenes in a limited space.

“The Ancient Greeks came up with it. They're called periaktoi,” Gong said. “It was common in classical theater.”

“I think it's kind of phased out in modern day theater, because sets now tend to be just like, built and constructed. Technology has kind of evolved beyond the need for this. But you know, we're in student theater,” Gong said.

The actors of “OUT” step up to the challenge of not only performing lead roles but creating them alongside the writers of the show. Fahim Ahmed ’26 is eager to step into the role of Oliver in this original musical.

“It's not an opportunity that comes around really often, or like ever,” Ahmed said. “Queer Asian American stories are pretty niche at this point.”

Carolyn Y. Hao ’26, who plays May, discussed the privilege and work that goes into creating a character rather than an existing one, saying; “Every decision I make is the first perception that anyone will have of this story.” Hao shows this attention to character detail when her voice soars with emotion over the live band.

The chemistry between Hao, Ahmed, and Elio Kennedy-Yoon ’25, who plays Kasey, is playful and natural; sometimes their lines even come off as inside jokes between friends, making their connection seem real and less scripted. While this is a testament to the writing and acting of “OUT,” it’s also due to the close friendships between actors outside of the show.

“This experience is something I feel like I have experienced before,” Kennedy-Yoon said. “Acting alongside Fahim and Caro doesn’t really feel like acting.”

Candidness can be hard to come by in musical theater, so it’s refreshing to watch the actors of “OUT” share moments that feel real. This is also necessary to the heart of the musical, since the theme of friendship is core to “OUT”’s story, so it is helpful that the actors are as close as their characters. “We definitely see the dynamics of our actual friendships coming through in these characters,” said Ahmed.

Friendship is integral to “OUT” offstage as well.

“All of these people who are working on the show are my friends and either people I've known for years or people who have come to become my friends. And every day when I come to rehearsal it feels like I just get to hang out with my friends and work on a project together,” said Chu, who met most of the main collaborators of “OUT” early in his time at Harvard.

When reflecting on her own connection to “OUT,” Gong goes back to this theme of friendship: “Kalos was one of my first queer Asian friends on campus. Before that, I had queer friends, but I didn't really feel super comfortable with identity, let alone having East Asian friends who are dealing with a specific set of cultural ideas.”

As Gong takes a brief moment between painting, she reflects on how queer friendship and working on “OUT” have been integral to her growth while at Harvard.

“Emotionally, it means a lot to see that kind of come full circle and be like, ‘Oh my God, this is so public, and it is so out on stage,’ right?” Gong said. “As a junior in high school, I was terrified to come out. I was like, ‘Oh my God, my close friends of four years are not gonna like me anymore.’ Obviously it's very different now. My mom's flying in to see, my grandma's flying into the show. It feels like a very public celebration.”

“OUT” is about stories like Gong’s — it is about navigating conflicting identities with the help of those who are going through similar experiences.

“I think it is a portrait of the queer Asian American experience as I have come to know it through the people that I have come to know and understand and respect and love. I think that's what the show is,” said Chu.

“OUT” is written about a very personal experience, but, like any great story, it can be relatable for anyone.