David Henry Hwang’s Ch’ing∙lish is a comedy playing at the Longacre Theatre. Leigh Silverman directs this spectacular show. The way this play touches on the subject of cultural differences will keep you laughing for most of the two hour performance. It originally premiered on June 18, 2011 in Chicago at the Goodman Theatre and came to Broadway in October.
Hwang impeccably relates as many aspects of the story as he can to the subject of cultural differences. The play is about an American businessman attempting to do business in China. Business is about coming to agreements and successes or failures. This fits with the theme of successes and failures in interactions between cultures. Daniel Cavanaugh, the main character, runs a sign business. This is significant to the play because signs are a major form of communication in today’s world and there have been many mistranslations of signs. A few of these mistranslations are used in the play to add a comical element to the subject.
Hwang refers to the Enron scandal, a well-known event related to business ethics, to show the reactions of two cultures to one event. Cavanaugh goes to China for business because he was involved in the Enron scandal. It turns out that, in China, his involvement in Enron was actually viewed as a good thing. To the Chinese, it is believed that the ability to cause a scandal that large requires a great amount of skill. This shows the way different cultures can view things in extremely different ways.
The character of Daniel Cavanaugh is played by Gary Wilmes. His portrayal of the character that has been unsuccessful in all areas of his life is believable. He convincingly conveys the feelings of a man who has been unsuccessful in his work in his home country, has an unhappy marriage, and is attempting to start fresh in a new country that he does not fully understand.
Jennifer Lim plays the character of Xi Yan, a working woman that is unhappy with but committed to her marriage. Lim’s character works for Minister Cai Guoliang in the beginning of the play and is unhappily married to a judge. She has an affair with Daniel Canvanaugh as an escape from her marriage but also to help her husband get ahead. Lim portrays the character perfectly, with the right combination of rebellion, loyalty, and deceitfulness without ever seeming to realize that her actions may appear absurd to others. Her actions, which can seem absurd and contradictory to people of other cultures but absolutely normal to her, add to the theme in a way that is very funny.
They play even touches on the differences within a changing culture. The characters of Peter Timms and Minister Cai Guoliang represent an older Chinese culture that is on its way out. This symbolic meaning is present when Cai Guoliang is removed from his position and Peter supports him. These two men followed an outdated way of doing things and were left behind as a result. Peter Timms is played by Stephen Pucci and Minister Cai Guoliang is played by Larry Lei Zhang. Pucci’s depiction of his character provides a great representation of the mix of different cultures and different period. His character is a man who went from England to China, where he learned and adapted to the culture, which then changed. His emotions, loyalty, and outbursts are all very believable and add to his character as well as the meaning of the play. Zhang’s portrayal feels genuine and accurate as well. He seems to be more connected with more traditional methods of doing things. He typically gives jobs to people he is related to knows well. In addition, he appears to always want to do his duty. These characters help to show that cultural differences can be frustrating and can even exist within an evolving culture.
The sets for the play, which were designed by David Korins, felt real and accurate. They transitioned quickly and helped with the understanding of the play. I could understand, where the characters were and how their location impacted their behavior. For example, the hotel room depicted in the stage added to the believability of David Cavanaugh and Xi Yan’s private actions, such as their affair and arguments.
Overall, the performance of the play is very entertaining and thoroughly supports its message. Personally, after watching this remarkably amusing manifestation of cultural differences, I believed that it is best not to take these differences too seriously. Misunderstandings are inevitable when people of very different cultures interact and Ch’ing∙lish proves that it simply laughing them off can be a good way to deal with them.
