HERE Arts Center, March 6-22, 2026
Directed by Tara Elliott
It’s 2011, and a recent college graduate is trying to move out of her mom’s house (with little hope and no prospects) when she receives a message from a mysterious stranger named John on Facebook. Dear John is a solo show based on a true story about what happens when a long-absent father finds his not-quite-adult daughter through a social networking website. Weaving together Facebook DMs, recorded interviews, and anecdotes of growing up undocumented in New York’s Chinatown, Dear John is a coming of age story delightfully told by writer and performer Rachel Lin about the ways we try (and fail) to reach each other, over and over again.
WHAT CRITICS ARE SAYING:
“Seeing a production this clever and theatrical is genuinely showstopping. I have not stopped thinking about how carefully constructed this play is. I did not want “Dear John” to end.” - Matthew D. Foster for All About Solo
“The result is a work of uncommon intimacy and sly ambition—a solo show that feels, paradoxically, expansive. The writing is at once thoughtful and slyly comic, its humor arriving not as decoration but as a mode of inquiry—an instrument for prying open questions of identity that resist easy articulation.” - Tony Marinelli for Hi! Drama
“Rachel Lin is Excellent…What stays with you is the heart of it all. This is a story about trying to reach someone, about missed connections and second chances, and about how messy and meaningful those attempts can be.” - The Daniels Review
“Dear John is delightfully unexpected… it is theatricality at its best. ” - Brittany Crowell for Front Row Center
“Dear John ultimately becomes more than a story about a father reaching out online.” - Malini Singh McDonald for Theatre Beyond Broadway
“ …a deeply moving piece layered with jokes, audience participation, and the ability to place you in the middle of it all, without leaving your seat. I cannot wait to see this show go far.” - Sebastian Cherry for Lord Cherry's Review
The creative team:
Lighting Design by Yang Yu (Cracked Open at Theater Row), Sound Design by Minjae Kim 김민재, Projection Design by Ein Kim, Production Design by Joyce He, and Costume Design by Phuong Nguyen (The Good John Proctor with Bedlam) with Dramaturg Kalina Ko, Production Manager Iman Louis-Jeune, Technical Director Steven Brenman, Stage Manager Sarah Jones, Assistant Stage Manager Raine Higa. Presented by Kelly Letourneau, Emily Kleypas, and Ben Natan and AJ Liu with Small Boat Productions.