StageSceneLA says The Chinese Lady is “mesmerizing”.
“A largely forgotten figure in Asian-American history is resurrected to indelible life by a stunning Michelle Krusiec in Chance Theater’s gorgeously staged regional premiere of Lloyd Suh’s critically-acclaimed off-Broadway hit The Chinese Lady.”
“As Afong undergoes these changes, so do we in the audience find our own reactions to her shifting from amusement at how clueless 1830s Americans were to cultures unlike their own, to disgust at what our ancestors did, to dismay at how little has changed, no matter how evolved we may kid ourselves into believing we are.”
“It’s powerful stuff as Suh has written it and even more so as directed with imagination and nuance at the Chance by Shinshin Yuder Tsai and performed to superb perfection by its two magnetic stars.”
“Krusiec has us rooting for Afong from the moment she announces with pride that she is “on display here for your education and entertainment,” the gifted stage vet delivering a performance that grows even more powerful as cynicism takes the place of innocence”
“Park’s role may be the smaller one, but he is no less delightful in early scenes or heartbreaking when it becomes clear that Afung is as unwelcome as a male Chinese immigrant”
“Scenic designer Christopher Scott Murillo has outdone himself in creating a vibrantly colorful set jam-packed with what 19th-century Americans would have imagined would be “typically Chinese” paraphernalia and Bebe Herrera’s equally apt props.”
“Grace Kim’s costume choices are equally spot-on in their deliberately inauthentic imitation of actual Chinese garb, Masako Tobaro’s lighting is subtly effective, and sound designer Jesse Mandapat underscores the play with appropriately Asian (or Asianesque) music.”
“As eye-opening as it is thought-provoking as it is emotionally affecting, The Chinese Lady is guaranteed to hold L.A. and O.C. audiences in its mesmerizing spell.”
Read the latest review of The Chinese Lady from StageSceneLA HERE.
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