6 / 10
Under Leigh Silverman's direction, the cast craftily exploits every comic opportunity, and smoothly inhabits David Korins' clever, ever-moving set -- the business hotel is brilliantly bland. The weakest link here is the lead. Wilmes sticks to a single note of befuddled candor, and delivers all his lines as if afflicted with mild stomach pain. Not for one second do we believe a doofus like Daniel used to be a senior manager at Enron.
8 / 10
The actors, all excellent, sink their teeth into some nicely nuanced roles. Jennifer Lim as the multi-faceted Madame Xi is riveting and bravo to Gary Wilmes whose expressive face alone is worth a million words. The play, intricately plotted and over-written in spots, could use a healthy trimming. But for the most part Chinglish serves as a highly entertaining lesson that no matter how foreign we seem to each other, when it comes to making money, we're really pretty much alike.
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Play | Jennifer Lim |
| 2012 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Play | David Henry Hwang |
| 2012 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Set Design | David Korins |
| 2012 | The Hewes Awards | Hewes Design Award | David Korins |
| 2012 | Theatre World Awards | Outstanding Debut Performance | Jennifer Lim |
