Chinglish at East West Players

Chinglish – Back by Popular Demand!

By David Henry Hwang
Directed by Jeff Liu

December 3, 2015 – December 13, 2015

“CRITIC’S CHOICE!…deliriously funny, deliciously mysterious play…the production is a highlight of the company’s 50th season.” – Los Angeles Times

An American businessman who’s desperately looking to score a lucrative contract for his family’s firm travels to China only to learn how much he doesn’t understand: his translators are unreliable, his consultant may be a fraud, and he is captivated by Xi, the beautiful, seemingly supportive government official who talks the talk – but what is she saying, anyway? From East West Players’ favorite playwright comes an uproarious new comedy.

East West Players re-opens the hugely popular production Chinglish with a revised ending by Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang and directed by Jeff Liu. The critically-acclaimed production will have a limited run the first two weeks of December, starting Thursday, December 3 through Sunday, December 13.

“When it comes to the pace of change, one year in China equals four years in the outside world. It’s been four years since ‘Chinglish’ played on Broadway, and the U.S.-China relationship has evolved at a breakneck pace, including puncturing the myth of Chinese economic vulnerability in 2015,” says playwright David Henry Hwang. “I wanted to revise the ending of my play to reflect this new complexity, and am grateful that the success of East West Players’ production has given me an opportunity to premiere these changes. Our two nations now seem joined at the economic hip, but we travel together into an uncertain future.”

“Our production of ‘Chinglish’ was very special in that we attracted both English speaking and Mandarin speaking audiences,” says Tim Dang, Producing Artistic Director. “It is rare that any changes are made after a play has received a Broadway run and has been published. However, for these 10 performances, audiences will experience an exclusive world premiere ending.”

Running time: 2 hours with a 15 minute intermission
*Chinglish utilizes supertitles to translate Mandarin Chinese. This production contains adult situations, mature language, and strobe effects.

Featuring (in alphabetical order)
Ewan Chung, Matthew Jaeger, Leann Lei, Jeff Locker, Ben Wang, Kara Song Wang, and Joy Yao

Creative Team
Scenic and Projection Design by Hana Sooyeon Kim
Costume Design by Yuheng Dai
Lighting Design by Lonnie Rafael Alcaraz
Sound Design by Dennis Yen
Prop Master Michael O’Hara
Stage Manager: Sylvia Trinh

Performance Schedule
Thursday, December 3 at 8:00 PM
Friday, December 4 at 8:00 PM
Saturday, December 5 at 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM
Sunday, December 6 at 2:00 PM
Wednesday, December 9 at 8:00 PM
Thursday, December 10 at 8:00 PM
Friday, December 11 at 8:00 PM
Sunday, December 13 at 2:00 PM & 7:00 PM

Authors

• David Henry Hwang