Indeed, there's something fascinating about how we are perceived by others and in Hwang's finely penned scenes you not only recognize the sometimes humorous and often painfully true Western stereotypes, you understand a bit of the Eastern philosophies that underline the Chinese characters who articulate them.
At a time when, perhaps more than ever, the West is ferociously exporting itself to the world, Silk Road Theatre Project examines East infected with West in its lavish production of Golden Child.
Why it took so long for a professional production of Golden Child to reach Chicago is baffling, given the dramatic richness and cultural insights of the play. Silk Road Theatre Project's beautiful and well-acted production shows what Chicago has been missing.
In its Midwest premiere by the Silk Road Theatre Project, an adventurous little troupe specializing in work that reflects Asian and Middle Eastern experience, Golden Child is a crackling drama that melds cultural commentary with urgent, often witty storytelling.
"Silk Road's best work to date...The fine, richly textured Vic Chao anchors the production as the family patriarch and Melissa Kong finds some poignancy as a young Chinese girl with a lot to gain and a lot to lose."
Golden Child, by David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly) offers more than a quaint family history, but nothing we haven't seen before. His great-grandfather's conversion to Christianity and its impact on his three wives and oldest daughter inspired the play, currently in its Midwest premiere at Chicago's Silk Road Theatre Project, a company that showcases works by Asian, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean playwrights.
Kevin Kenneally brings winning humor to the second act, playing Baines, an English minister intent on baptizing Tieng-Bin. Of course, the scenes are all performed in English for our benefit, but when Baines speaks, he talks in short, awkward sentences designed to simulate the situation that he's really speaking in broken Chinese.
The nicely paced production, under the direction of Stuart Carden, is accented by Carol J. Blanchard's wonderfully authentic costumes and Lee Keenan's graceful, period-perfect set.
