COMING TO HERE Arts Center, March 6-19, 2026

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.

"When I first saw Rachel perform a workshop of Dear John, I was struck by how she held us through a big, complicated act of questioning with tons of humanity and gentle humor," said HERE Co-Director Lanxing Fu. "We're proud to host this show at HERE so more and more people can experience its charm and pathos."

"The result is more than the sum of the smart script, effective design, and strong acting: they come together to create a deeply moving personal journey," shared Linsay Firman, Director of Play Development at Ensemble Studio Theatre.

The creative team will include 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 and Stage Manager Sarah Jones. Presented by Kelly Letourneau, Emily Kleypas, and Ben Natan and AJ Liu with Small Boat Productions.