Through the Eyes of Two Climbers: “Early Decision/Late Bloomer”
BY COLTON WANG ‘24
Self-actualization is a concept we rarely think about, yet is inevitably a subconscious desire we all wish to fulfill. We are often told to follow what our hearts desire and pursue what makes us happy. As the humanistic perspective of personality development states, we all possess the capacity to realize our human potential as long as no obstacle intervenes. Yet drilling deeper behind this theory, we recognize the all-too-familiar tension between our true values and values commonly introjected by external forces (like family) with regards to our dreams and ambitions. This tension that tears at our self-concept is known as incongruence.
From November 5th to 13th, the Lewis Center for the Arts’ Programs in Theater and Music Theater showcased two exhilarating short musicals collectively titled Early Decision/Late Bloomer. Performed by undergraduate students, both pieces creatively took viewers through the immigrant narrative, where the audience was able to delve into themes of sacrifice, family tension, and ambition. In many ways, this play is a brilliant silhouette of the immigrant experience captured in the Princeton ‘25 pre-read Moving Up Without Losing Your Way: The Ethical Costs of Upward Mobility. This book largely focuses on “strivers,” a term for first-generation, immigrant-family college students climbing up the social ladder. Author Jennifer Morton posits:
“[For] a low-income or first-generation student, the end of high school also marks the beginning of a new phase in your life. College holds the promise of self-transformation, but also the possibility of transforming your life circumstances. You are, as I will call you, a striver. Your parents might not be entirely sure of what lies ahead, but they hope that you will be able to take advantage of opportunities that weren’t available to them” (Morton, 4-5).
This description precisely defines the young protagonists starring in Early Decision and Late Bloomer. Through the lenses of two first-generation Princeton students, the audience is able to vicariously experience the realities of entering the gates of Princeton as an incoming freshman. In contrast to the narrative that an acceptance to Princeton brings immediate prosperity and success, the musicals poignantly emphasize the darker realities that many children of immigrant families face.
The first musical, Early Decision, brilliantly weaves these struggles into the plotline by juxtaposing childhood ambitions with parental sacrifice, pulling at the heartstrings of an audience composed primarily of current students and Princeton alumni who can relate to similar experiences. Through the play, the audience embarks on a beautifully subtle and dramatic series of unexpected events, whereby the protagonist, an Asian American boy, finds his life flipped upside down by his acceptance to Princeton.
To capture the emotional essence of each scene, the instrumental and musical lyrics were strategically placed and developed. For instance, jovial piano keys complemented the beginning scene where the protagonist’s friends want him to get ready for preppy Princeton life by buying new clothes, throwing a party, and getting drunk. On the night the drunk protagonist vomits, the mother’s disappointment is expressed through the slow, somber voice of the keyboard. She needs to drive her son home. Silence. The suspense leading to the climax is exacerbated by the darkness of the stage, as the mother and son are pulled over by police. “I need your driver’s license.” Upon hearing these words, the climax is realized, whereby the authorities find that the mother has an expired green card and must return to her home country…
In this moment of crisis, one can almost hear the boy’s torn emotions over his future as he urges his mother not to leave him along the harmonically appropriate piano ballad. Furthermore, the mother’s emotion is conveyed through her sentimental lyrical stanzas about “dreams,” where her wish for her son to stay in college captures the politics of her sacrifice as a mother. When the mother leaves, the audience is compelled to yearn for resolution… to this piece (“peace”) grounded on one’s coming of age.
Many similar tensions were well woven into the second showing: Late Bloomer, a title that wittifully embodies both the metaphorical significance and botanical props used in the musical. The cast features four members of a Latino family, in which the Dad is currently battling a health crisis. Unlike in Early Decision, the protagonist in Late Bloomer is a current undergraduate student at Princeton studying CEE; the initial dialogue and musical interchange establishes that this is largely because the Dad wants his son to become an engineer. Quickly, the audience recognizes the internal incongruence of the boy in the beginning scene when he finds himself inspired by a friend who has landed a gardening, landscaping, and art internship in the Bronx.
This scene is dramatized by the lyrics of the boy’s solo performance, in which he declares that his dreams are of a different “mold.” Here, the lyrics served a double purpose— not only to advance the exposition, but also to creatively convey his emotions through metaphorizing his unique aspirations as a plant. As the narrative progresses, the audience finds itself entranced by the climactic scene where a verbal altercation breaks out between son and father over the boy’s career goals. Unlike in Early Decision, where tensions are established upon sentimentality and sorrow within a mother-son dynamic, the climax of Late Bloomer is realized through a cathartic release of anger and frustration built up within a father-son relationship.
This emotional release conveyed through the jumpy lyricals and distressed expressions of the family members is fully realized in one brazen act of the father when he breaks the plant pot of the boy: an act that may symbolically signify the shattering of the boy’s dreams. However, this tension is gradually diffused through the reflection of the father, who expresses his regret for his actions. Like the Mom in Early Decision, we realize that the Dad only wanted the best for his son. After the father and son reconcile, the two men quickly get back to work and “get their hands dirty” in an act of gardening. The father professes support for his son. The ending is met by a bout of comic relief where the boy declares he will finish his CEE degree (but pursue gardening and landscaping afterwards)—talk about a late bloomer!
From these two pieces, we learn that incongruence is a common struggle for many “strivers,” and is often resolved in different ways. As exemplified by the pre-read and these performances, these young adults have to negotiate familial and personal conflicts and education simultaneously. All the while, they are presented with a series of challenges: adapting to new norms in college, being expected to give back to their past communities, and developing dual identities. By watching these challenges play out, we come to realize that the road to self-actualization is not smooth but often bumpy and rugged. As depicted by the unique narratives of the boys in Early Decision and Late Bloomer, self-actualization takes different forms and often involves components all too familiar to the human experience: suffering, growth, and integrity…