Review Roundup: CHINESE REPUBLICANS Opens at Roundabout Theatre Company

Read reviews for the Off-Broadway production of Chinese Republicans, opening tonight at Roundabout Theatre Company's Laura Pels Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre. See what the critics are saying!

Chinese Republicans features Jennifer Ikeda as Ellen/Ailin, Ben Langhorst as Waiter, Jully Lee as Iris, Jodi Long as Phyllis/Young Phyllis and Anna Zavelson as Katie.

Three high-powered businesswomen meet for lunch every month to discuss their latest career triumphs, as they’ve done for decades. But the group is jolted when Katie, a bright-eyed 24-year-old new to the workforce, joins to navigate the world of corporate finance. As each of the women attempts to steer Katie towards what they’re certain is best, they’re forced to grapple with how much they already have and are willing to sacrifice to climb the corporate ladder.

Shifting between sharp-tongued humor and the harsh realities of modern capitalism, this world premiere production explores themes of assimilation, intergenerational conflict, and gender politics in the workplace—all with unflinching wit and empathy. 

The creative team includes scenic design by Wilson Chin, costume design by Anita Yavich, lighting design by Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, original music & sound design Fabian Obispo, projection design by Hana Kim, hair & wig design by Tom Watson and fight direction by UnkleDave’s Fight-House.

Sara Holdren, Vulture: Lee gives the tirade all the TNT it needs: It’s funny and it blows up in our faces. That’s clearly the balance Chinese Republicans wants to strike as a whole, but even as Iris stands surefooted, the play itself is still teetering.

Jonathan Mandell, New York Theater: Much of “Chinese Republicans” provides a deepening and ultimately poignant portrait of four distinct characters, made all the more palpable by a first-rate cast. At the same time, through subplots or brief scenes or just a throwaway line here or there, the play touches lightly on a bracingly wide range of topical issues – the corrupting nature of corporate culture, anti-Asian violence, the costs of assimilation, female camaraderie and competition, sexism and sexual harassment in the workplace, abortion, immigration anxiety.

Steven Suskin, New York Stage Review: The playwright’s most promising comedic idea doesn’t pan out, either. Specifically, the notion presented by the title, Chinese Republicans. Sounds intriguing, no? But no. One of those scattered plot lines has a disgruntled employee quitting, discovering the works of Marx and Engels, lauding Teddy Roosevelt, and going on strike wearing a Ronald Reagan t-shirt. And then Lin and her characters and her play move on to something else.

Austin Fimmano, New York Theatre Guide: Each woman has a unique perspective on life in the investment banking firm, but with tragically similar trajectories. Despite what they do have in common, however, the tensions between them swell until they explode in the final scene, an epic confrontation that, nonetheless, doesn’t bring any real conclusion to the drama we just watched. But it’s not supposed to. Lin’s drama encompasses a question of identity that can have no answers, only different experiences.

Marc Miller, Talkin' Broadway: With a title like Chinese Republicans, you're bound to wonder what the heck you're in for. But Alex Lin's new play at the Roundabout Theatre Company's Laura Pels is, in fact, about Chinese Republicans, a very specific sub-variety of them. And, for the most part, save a couple of regrettable playwrighting missteps, they're an engaging crew–the sort of people you don't normally encounter onstage and probably know little about.

Thom Geier, Culture Sauce: The cast is consistently strong under Chay Yew’s direction, but I kept wishing that the characters and plot had been more deeply fleshed out so that we understood the message here. There are interesting ideas here, but Lin’s script at times seems undercooked and in other moments veers into spelling out ideas that would have more impact if they had been left unsaid.

Tim Teeman, New York Times: For a satire, “Chinese Republicans” is told disappointingly straight. Stiffly mounted, it doesn’t fully explore its own extremes, especially in Ellen’s swings of behavior and belief. The formation and dynamics of a group of true “Chinese Republicans” would make for a more intriguing show. Instead the play fillets its important, though well-worn, themes of racism and misogyny rather than examining the grit and nuance of characters and relationships. However, a quietly powerful final scene — revealing the reassertion of white patriarchy alongside one character’s weary determination to maintain her place within it — means “Chinese Republicans” concludes with a resonantly meaningful thud.

Tim Teeman, New York Times: For a satire, “Chinese Republicans” is told disappointingly straight. Stiffly mounted, it doesn’t fully explore its own extremes, especially in Ellen’s swings of behavior and belief. The formation and dynamics of a group of true “Chinese Republicans” would make for a more intriguing show. Instead the play fillets its important, though well-worn, themes of racism and misogyny rather than examining the grit and nuance of characters and relationships. However, a quietly powerful final scene — revealing the reassertion of white patriarchy alongside one character’s weary determination to maintain her place within it — means “Chinese Republicans” concludes with a resonantly meaningful thud.

Steven Suskin, New York Stage Review: Lin demonstrates that she is a talented writer, whipping up plot and characters into a series of frenzies. It all adds up to an entertaining comedy, with sparks of laughter and even a nightmarish Mandarin gameshow. What it doesn’t add up to, alas, is a compelling piece of theatre. The playwright aims arrows in many directions: the glass ceiling, sexual abuse, loveless marriage, the sacrifice of children for career, immigrant battering, intra-racial badgering (as in which Chinese characters are really Chinese and which aren’t Chinese enough), and more. Harvey Weinstein even makes a cameo, surprisingly but—in the context of the play—inevitably.

Matthew Wexler, 1 Minute Critic: But the “Republican” part of Chinese Republicans feels shoehorned into its structure, with references from Roosevelt to Reagan. And stylistically, when the action moves to a storage room to prep for a company-wide event, the slapstick physical comedy undermines the world that Lin has created. When Chinese Republicans trusts its characters, it’s electric. When it doesn’t, even the Louboutins can’t carry it.

Average Rating: 60.0%