The Chinese Lady

See it if you like history-based plays th illuminate prejud in USA. 1st Ch lady on US soil (14yo in 1834); was displayed to paying crowds. Two chars.

Don't see it if you want action. Sedentary staging. Repetitive structure. Insightful re: bias, cultural norms, mistreatmt of "other." Packs a punch.

See it if Suh's potent drama/fantasia about events in one woman's immigration to 1850's America Based in fact, it's power subtly creeps up on you

Don't see it if Despite being well acted & staged drama slowly grows static through a repetitive framing devise Didactic ending stilted but still powerful

See it if you're interested in how white America perceived & treated Chinese people in 19th century, & the toll it took on the Chinese.

Don't see it if you do not have a tolerance for long stretches of direct address in the theater.

Also I was moved & educated by “The Chinese Lady,” even though it’s a play that hasn't fully found a dramatic form. Its 2 characters are a teenage Chinese girl who goes on display in the US in 1834 & her young adult male Chinese translator. The set is the box of the room the girl is displayed in, its frame & its curtain. Scenes advance us through the years as the girl ages & PT Barnum takes over the show from the museum that originally displayed her. A harsh reality slowly disabuses the aging woman of all her girlish notions. Her brief interactions with her (excellently played) translator range from deeply acerbic to surprisingly tender. When the woman is unceremoniously dumped from the show, the translator disappears & the play becomes fully direct address, more didactic & fragmented, as we are told the too-little known facts of the horrific treatment of the immigrant Chinese by mobs of white nativists in the later 19th century. I found this all quite affecting; you may require more drama.... Read more Read less

See it if fan of writer Lloyd Suh, want to encourage Asian-American writers & performers, learn about history of Asian folk in sideshows, clever set

Don't see it if don't like idea of people put into sideshows, time jumping plots, 2-character plays with one gone for most of play,

See it if Touching experience of Chinese girl brought to NY in 1834 as a freak show. Shannon Tyo portrays her as educated and dignified. Heartbreaking

Don't see it if Daniel K. Isaac is clever as her passive-aggressive translator/assistant. Isaac also has one of the most resonant voices on the NY stage.

Also Lloyd Suh also wrote the hilarious "Charles Francis Chan Jr.'s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery." One of my favorite plays. Along with "The Chinese Lady," Lloyd Suh proves to be an incisive chronicler of the Asian-American experience.... Read more Read less

See it if 'Dear white people, I was the hopeful caged bird and I don't want to sing anymore.' Cutting humor laid with cruel treatment of immigrants.

Don't see it if Don't like hearing how the US / white people have treated people poorly.

Also Ticket from online site with discount code for $38.88.

See it if the history of & on-going discrimination against & ill treatment of immigrants to this country interests you. Based on a true story.

Don't see it if You fear or avoid looking at our weak spots

See it if great acting/script...very relevant to today's immigrant stuggles.

Don't see it if you don't like monologues and two character plays..

See it if Great acting, colorful staging, a misunderstood culture, immigration, and complex issues about expectations. Good production values.

Don't see it if The the work was still in progress when I saw it, re-writes currently being addressed.

See it if meta-theatrical historical plays are you jam. Be ready for an uncompromising look at the history of anti-immigrant discrimination in America

Don't see it if You need naturalism in your plays. Uncomfortable facing America's racist past.

Also I jokingly described it to a friend as "the most depressing TED talk I've ever seen." But Lloyd Suh has done a marvelous job forcing the audience to be complicit as the oppressive gaze that resulted in Afong Moy's tragic life.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy some light history

Don't see it if you prefer musicals

See it if you are curious about the history of the U.S. and its attitude towards non-white immigrants over the years.

Don't see it if you have no interest in stories about non-white immigrants/need to see something jolly. There are moments of humor, but...

See it if You like entering worlds different from yours.

Don't see it if If you want you don’t want to think.

Also I found this play a timely reminder of who we are as a country. I read one commenter here who said this play wasn’t needed in NYC, because we’re somehow more politically evolved. It couldn’t be more wrong. This isn’t simply about the history of this country, it’s told from the perspective of a person of color. That matters to me.... Read more Read less

See it if Want to experience a sad story of a Chinese woman who for years was expected to be an object in an American exhibit.

Don't see it if Expect fast action and drama, there is very little of that.

See it if you like good acting. Good costumes and set. If you like historical immigrant stories.

Don't see it if if you don't like plays where there isn't a lot of movement on stage. Where the story is repetitive.

See it if You’re interested in the history of Chinese Americans. You like clever storytelling. You have a quirky sense of humor.

Don't see it if You cannot sit with one character for a long time.

See it if you enjoy a tale interweaving historical context and the philosophical impossibility of knowing the Other.

Don't see it if First person declamatory speeches annoys you.

Also Some anachronisms are distracting: the qipao worn at the later part of the show would not come into fashion until 1920s or so - much later than the actual period. The modern shipping container echo well the room she was 'trapped' in for 40 years, but is still jarring as shipping containers have only been around for a few decades.... Read more Read less

See it if Politics. History. Enchanting performance by Shannon Tyo. Interesting Set

Don't see it if No need to arrive early.. Politics. History. Be prepared for the Ugly American reminders.

See it if you wish Suzan-Lori Parks’ Venus had a clearer message on imperialism & objectification; found The Greatest Showman disingenuous

Don't see it if you thought Venus was crystal clear/kind of passé; if Greatest Showman’s cheery msg of acceptance still outperforms a grim history lecture

Also Pros: Recommended viewing if you sense you’re behind on America’s multiculturalism problems and want to get caught up on the basics. The Chinese Lady’s life-as-an-exhibit is a succinct, lucid crash course in Orientalism. This show would be earth-shattering in my hometown and probably in a lot of American cities and schools…

Cons: …but in NYC, where multiculturalism is the norm (or at least pretending it is), this play isn’t inventive enough to stand out. You've probably seen all of these points & jokes made before. Yet commercial exploitation along race/gender lines is subtler today than it was in the 1830s; storymakers are crafting more & more sophisticated incentives for ignoring it in favor of feel-good narratives (like Showman). TCL covers a valuable, ever-timely topic, but it needs to do more than repeat old refrains in order to cut through the noise and feel as urgent as it wants to.... Read more Read less

See it if you want an interesting history lesson in a cleverly conveyed format. Gives an understanding of Chinese culture and US immigration history.

Don't see it if you don't like a "Groundhog Day" style format, don't like two-handers, or have no interest in history or the subject matter.

Also I saw this show over the summer when it premiered at Barrington Stage Company with the same cast and creative team that transferred to this off-Broadway production. I found the format and the storytelling to be very clever. Even though the structure of the show can get a bit repetitive, you can really see the evolution in both characters. Humor is appropriately interspersed throughout. The show progresses cleverly and effectively demonstrates how events in our history remain relevant today. I enjoyed the performances of Shannon Tyo and Daniel K. Isaac and thought they played off of each other well. I am unable to get back to NYC to see it during its very short off-Broadway run, but I would see it again if I could. Just based on the description, I probably would have skipped it had it not been part of my subscription package to Barrington, but it was a pleasant discovery. Worth giving this one a chance.... Read more Read less

See it if You'll permit a story as old as the wind, as old as the rain to deliver new truth to your heart.

Don't see it if See it now because it has a very limited run through 11/18.

See it if You want thoughtful relevant theater. S. Tyo charms in a demanding role, but Daniel Issac's elegant, puissant performance is the cornerstone

Don't see it if You are not willing to sit through 90 minutes of thought provoking theater and history