Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Newly relevant, Lloyd Suh’s captivating THE CHINESE LADY returns to New York

• By drediman
• March 9, 2022
• No Comments

Last night, Lloyd Suh’s The Chinese Lady opened at the Public Theater in a co-production between Ma-Yi Theater Company and Barrington Stage Company. Together with the simultaneously-running Out of Time, the work’s return to New York represents the Public’s visible commitment to shedding much needed light on the Asian American experience. Mr. Suh’s new play tells the story of Afong, who in 1834 at the age of 14 became the first Chinese women to step foot on American soil (accompanying her is her translator Atung, with whom she has a love/hate relationship). From her arrival in the United States onwards, she is displayed in a traveling exhibition as a means to educate the American public about Chinese culture. Eventually, Afong is acquired by P.T. Barnum, finding herself a part of his collection of freaks and oddities.

I was smitten by Mr. Suh’s two-hander when I first saw it nearly four years ago at Theatre Row. At the Public, the play – which is even more relevant now than it was in 2018 – remains captivating, even if the novelty of its mataphysical presentation has worn off a little bit. Over the course of 90 episodic but rhapsodic minutes, Afong develops from a naive teenager to a jaded and bitter 90-plus-year-old woman – and beyond. As she increasingly realizes the tragedy of her predicament – in short, her dehumanization via objectification – Afong’s anxiety mounts, which makes for compelling theater. It also serves as an effective segue to the play’s somber, eye-opening epilogue, which draws a connection to the severe racism faced by Asians throughout our country’s history (this segment has has been newly expanded to include the sad incidents of the last four years). In summary, The Chinese Lady brings to the fore a painful slice of American history that’s been for far too long overlooked.

Shannon Tyo and Daniel K. Isaac reprise their outstanding performances as Afong and Atung, respectively (alternates Cindy Im and Jon Norman Schneider play the roles at certain performances). Ms. Tyo imbues Afong with vulnerability and resiliency, and she evolves the character with lilting grace. The actress is especially powerful in the play’s conclusion, during which she builds a bridge from Afong’s story to the experience of being Asian in contemporary America. As her frustrated translator and servant Atung, Mr. Isaac makes for an amusing foil, bantering with Ms. Tyo’s Afong with playful bite. For this encore run at the Public, director Ralph B. Peña has subtly expanded his already stylish staging. Thankfully, the production retains the intimacy and elegance that had I previously found so engrossing.

RECOMMENDED

THE CHINESE LADY
Off-Broadway, Play
The Public Theater / Co-produced by Ma-Yi Theater Company and Barrington Stage Company
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
Through April 10