The title is a mistranslation of a sign in China, which actually should say “Slippery Road Ahead”, this is one of the many signs that have been mistranslated in China. This sets up the premise of the story in David Henry Hwang’s new comedy Ching’lish, about the perils of mistranslation while doing business in China. These mistranslations display the difficulty of understanding more than just the language but the culture of differing nations. The play attempted to demonstrate that the cultural differences between the two great powers, America and China, are still vast.

Gary Wilmes stars as Daniel Cavanaugh who has arrived in a small city in China named Guiyang. Daniel attempts to get the contract to make the signs for the new cultural center in Guiyang. Along the way Wilmes falls in love with Xi Yan, performed by Jennifer Lim, hires a business consultant Peter Timms, acted by Stephen Pucci. Throughout the play the audience slowly discerns that these characters all have their own secret agenda. Like how Xi Yan, only helps Daniel so that she can help her husband’s career. Also, Peter is not really a business consultant but only an English teacher. Even Daniel who appears to be a good man hid the fact that he worked in Enron.

Daniel’s interactions with the natives are the funniest scenes because of the problem they have with communication. The mistranslations during the business meeting scenes were very entertaining, especially with the incompetent translators. I thought that the character development of Xi Yan and Peter allowed me to empathize and comprehend their characters. Timms pretended to be a business consultant because I felt he wanted to feel useful because he was beginning to feel insignificant. Timms says that back when he first came the fact that he could speak Chinese so well amazed the locals but now there are dozens of westerners that speak Chinese. Timms represents the older era of China. His love for old Chinese operas and his story about the past demonstrates how much he misses the past and really feels out of place in the modern era. Hwang uses Timms to illustrate how China has begun to move towards a more modern era by having him run out to be arrested with Minister Cai (Larry Lei Zhang) towards the end of the play.  Timms and Zhang’s arrest displays that China has completely moved away from the old age into the modern age.

Xi Yan the vice minister of culture, plays the love interest in this play. Xi Yan helps Cavanaugh get the contract for the signage but her motive was not just for the sake of Cavanaugh. She only helps Cavanaugh because by helping him she helps her husband, a husband whom she has said she does not love. The complexity of the relationship among the Chinese is shown when Xi says that she doesn’t love her husband but still helps him to get a promotion.  Although she appeals to Cavanaugh saying that the affair part was for her, Xi’s other actions make it hard to believe her. I think that she cannot be believed because her other actions lead me to believe that she is a liar and would do anything to help her husband.

It seems to me that director Leigh Silverman has encouraged her actors to emphasize their emotions through body language and facial expressions. This could be because a large part of this play is in mandarin. In the scene with prosecutor Li (Angela Lin) and Judge Xu Geming (Johnny Wu) when Daniel confesses that he uses to work for Enron, Li and Xu are delighted. During this scene the expressions of prosecutor Li and judge Xu seemed overtly stressed, especially some of their laughing.

David Korin’s revolving sets was very nice touch because they transformed quickly. This set design really gave a feeling of a full city with offices, restaurants, and hotels. The revolving set is sometimes a little confusing with the set changing and actors running across the set. This goes hand in hand with the play, where the stark differences between the cultures that are shown and sometimes the troublesome problems of communicating. David Henry Hwang does a great job with Ching’lish, which is a very funny play but also has real depth to it.

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.

Earn a few pointers about starting business in China by investing some time and money to watch the play Ch’ingŸlish, by David Henry Hwang! Hwang creatively fabricates a story of an American businessman venturing to expand his company to Guiyang, China. Leigh Silverman successfully directs Ch’ingŸlish, with the help of the actors and cast behind the scenes, to humorously portray the importance relationships have in China, especially in business.

Lead actor Gary Wilmes starts off the play with a monologue about China’s rapid development. He takes this time to mold into his character, Daniel Cavanaugh. His directness with the audience sets an interactive mood, misleading me to think that he was a narrator of the play. His laidback joking attitude fits into the comedic atmosphere he creates as he explains language’s effect on China’s growth, proving his point with the help of Jeff Sugg and Shawn Duan’s projection of mistranslated Chinese signs ranging from bathroom signs to navigational signs, causing an eruption of laughter. However, his demeanor swiftly changes when the curtains rise signaling the beginning of his story.

Throughout Ch’ingŸlish, Wilmes never loses character as an American with no knowledge of Chinese culture or language. Even though he would have understood the Chinese being spoken from countless rehearsals, he keeps me captivated the whole time. His hand motions convey his frustration of the language barrier, while his strained voice illustrates confusion, with hints of angst and love. Wilmes sets a pace for himself according to his character, but manages to flow along with the other actors.

Cavanaugh’s business consultant and translator for Cavanaugh, Peter Timms, played by Stephen Pucci surprises me as he suddenly speaks Chinese. His acting runs smoothly, blending in with Chinese culture that is advised by Joanna C. Lee and Ken Smith. Pucci’s Mandarin Chinese streams out of him like it’s his first language. He explains the importance of “Guan Xi” to Daniel, attempting to illustrate his knowledge of business in China. He manages to conjure up a deal with Cavanaugh to become his business consultant. Timms holds an aura of mischief as he translates some parts of business discussions for Cavanaugh, holding back other information to him. However, Candace Chong’s translations on a subtitle screen provide the audience with all the information of what is happening. This provides dramatic irony, as the audience understands what is going on yet some of the characters do not, giving a humorous effect.

With Pucci’s character, we are able to identify the importance of relationship in China. He pushes the story into motion by arranging for business meetings to get Cavanaugh into the business industry. He helps him enter business with Minister Cai Guoliang, played by Larry Lei Zhang. Timms education of Mandarin Chinese leaves Cavanaugh clueless more than half the time during the meetings, generating laughter from viewers. Nonetheless, the mystery behind Minister Zhang and Timms becomes the base of relationships between a potential business partnership, bringing together the entire play.

Jennifer Lim does a wonderful job playing Xi Yan, a strict businesswoman, yet something more. Xi Yan leads a double life that illustrates the extent relationship plays in China. Lim’s emotions are spot on, being stoic, yet melting into freedom during her stress relievers. Her sharp Chinese tone displays her authority, blending well with her character. Xi Yan becomes Daniel Cavanaugh’s fairy godmother in a way as she helps him overcome his obstacle, which is not language, but his relationship with Minister Zhang. Lim does an excellent job conforming to her Asian ethnicity, providing the audience insight on Chinese culture and affiliations between people and reputation.

Even with the entire cast’s fantastic acting, the whole production would not have been as engaging as it were without the set by David Korins. Korins provides simple, clean simplicity of the sets hold hints of China. He sets the scene that makes you feel you have entered China, first with the Chinese restaurant and then with the simple, neat business room furnished with a painting demonstrating Chinese brush strokes. The simplicity of the set allows the audience to concentrate on the actors, while still taking note of the scene it takes place in.

The extent relationship plays in China and one’s understanding illustrate the importance of reputation and affiliation as well. Ranks and names are brought out to the open and manipulated to bend in favor of Cavanaugh, as well as other characters. To unravel the mysteries behind business in China, I suggest you see it first hand before flying half way across the world!