'Cambodian Rock Band' Looks Back To A Country’s Swingin’ Past — And Its Darkest Hour

In this new play by Lauren Yee, a survivor of the “killing fields” of the Khmer Rouge returns to Cambodia for the first time, trying to stop his American-born daughter from prosecuting a notorious war criminal. 

Cambodian Rock Band is set in modern day Phnom Penh, but the ghosts of the past keep intruding. The father, it turns out, has a long-kept secret: before the Khmer Rouge came, he was a musician in Cambodia’s thriving rock scene of the early 1970s. 

Yee's play is is full of life, pain, humor and music. It was inspired by the actual songs of the era – a startling blend of Western rock and traditional Cambodian modes – and the way that the local music scene came to a sudden and brutal end at the hands of the Khmer Rouge.  The Asian-American cast doubles as musicians in the live band, playing hits by Dengue Fever, plus classic Cambodian oldies.

Cambodian Rock Band is making its New York debut at the Signature Theatre through March 15.