Fanboy Nation says The Chinese Lady is “breathtaking”.
“The Chinese Lady at Chance Theater is a breathtaking two-person play that puts its characters on display, humanizing the past via artistic interpretation.”
“In The Chinese Lady, making its regional premiere at Chance Theater under the direction of Shinshin Yuder Tsai, the word “irrelevant” is repeatedly lobbed at Atung, the quiet translator and servant to Afong Moy portrayed with striking clarity, humor, idealism and warmth by Michelle Krusiec. However, in Albert Park’s hands, the character of Atung is anything but. In fact, Park’s performance becomes one of the production’s most emotionally relevant and technically impressive elements, proving that sometimes the quietest voices hold the most power.”
“Lloyd Suh’s poetic and potent play”
“Krusiec captures the strange mix of duty, dignity, and displacement with remarkable grace.”
“it’s Park, as Atung, who repeatedly grounds the show in emotional truth. As he fluidly transitions between Atung’s subdued presence and a remarkable reenactment of President Andrew Jackson; complete with dialectal shifts that never feel caricatured, Park’s performance becomes a masterclass in transformation. The moment in which Park simultaneously channels the late president’s bombast and Atung’s translation between his perfect interaction with Afong and the broken English used with President Jackson is one of the most riveting scenes of the night. As Bruce Lee famously said, “Be like water”, Park flows, embodying the play’s philosophical undercurrents with fluid ease.”
“Tsai’s direction is splendid in interpreting Suh’s writing, bringing the heart of the piece to life.”
“Tsai smartly highlights this tension with a staging that both isolates and elevates the characters.”
“Christopher Scott Murillo’s minimal but evocative set design echoes this duality, while Grace Kim’s costuming elegantly marks the passage of time and the internal erosion of identity. Lighting by Masako Tobaru punctuates Afong’s emotional revelations with subtle grace, and Natalia Duong’s dramaturgical input is felt throughout in the tight historical framing and cultural specificity of the work.”
“This production of The Chinese Lady doesn’t just revisit history, it reflects it.”
“In a time when conversations about representation, visibility, and who gets to tell which stories continue to resonate, Chance Theater‘s staging couldn’t feel more urgent”
“This production reminds us that even the most marginalized characters can be central to the story.”
“The Chinese Lady asks us not only to look, but to see.”
Read the latest review of The Chinese Lady from Fanboy Nation HERE.
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