Chinglish First Preview- Page 2

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/13/11 at 12:31pm

I was planning to pick up a ticket for this today. It is high on my list.

[Panerofan]

Posted: 10/16/11 at 8:51pm

Thanks...I figured that was the case. I think as long as it's VERY clear to the audience going in/buy tickets that there will be subtitles for a good bit of it, then they're fine.

I recently went to a film that had a lot of flashbacks in a foreign language and heard people giving the movie theatre box office a hard time asking for the exact percentage that was in subtitles and that was just for a movie.

I know my dad has eight different kinds of glasses for different things, so it's people like him I think about not getting into reading them. I don't mind them at all, though.

[jas1234]

Posted: 10/17/11 at 11:39am

Caught this Sunday matinee. Was really surprised. It's funny, smart, sexy and it is unexpectedly moving. I didn't know what this was about or what to expect. The audience really seemed to be with it. Gary Wilmes, who was so wonderful in Gats last year, is terrific and so is his co-star Jennifer Lim. This one could be a sleeper.

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/20/11 at 11:37am

Saw it yesterday afternoon. It lost steam near the end of the first act, picked up steam at the beginning of the second act and kind of fizzled near the end. There were a number of good laughs but it isn't really the laugh-fest the ads seem to be promoting. The acting is pretty solid all the way around and the subtitles are no problem at all. I sat all the way upstairs and read them just fine. And that's good because they provide a lot of the laughs. You have to pay attention or you could get a bit confused over what is happening.

I have to say that I expected something a bit different but I am not sure what I expected! I didn't expect the story that it tells, although I enjoyed it. The set is pretty cool and I really liked the music enough to seek out someone from the production to ask about the composer. The show feels as if it needs to be tightened up or something. It could also use a few more laughs at the end of both acts.

[broadway_show_fan]

Posted: 10/20/11 at 11:55am

uncageg - I had asked you in the "Most Expensive/Least Expensive" thread but I don't think you saw: did you get your ticket priced at $26.50 as part of a rush or lottery? If so, can you provide the details for it, since I haven't found any info about one elsewhere?

I saw that they had $36 tickets in the balcony, and I actually really like the Longacre balcony, so I was considering those in the event that there is no viable $26.50 option. Where exactly did you sit? I know you said you saw the subtitles just fine, but were you able to see the staging and the expressions ok as well? Thanks for any help.

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/20/11 at 12:07pm

bsf, sorry I didn't see your question in the other thread. I went to Theatermania and used their discount. Printed it out and went to the box office. Just a warning, the Longacre has poles up in the balcony and I was seated behind one. They aren't wide but they are distracting. They are kind of in the center of the balcony section. Not a lot of them. I was able to move, thank goodness.

[broadway_show_fan]

Posted: 10/20/11 at 12:09pm

awesome! Thanks for the info. :)

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/20/11 at 12:31pm

You are most welcome!

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/20/11 at 12:50pm

Saw it last night and agree with most of what whizzer said.

The first ten minutes are pretty funny, but than the humor of things being "lost in translation" gets old. The entirety of the play (which ran 2:10 last night) is centered around that, and there's not enough there to sustain it all evening. It's just too one note. There is a scene at the top of act 2, however, that is very funny, and one of the only times during the play I laughed out loud.

The set was pretty cool.

A nice effort, but I'm glad I didn't pay much.

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/20/11 at 1:16pm

Also saw it last night. It was just OK. Some very funny moments, but the first act ran way too long. Overall, last night's performance ran 2:05-2:10, so they've definitely gotten the running time down. I enjoyed the lead actor and actress. The set was very impressive.
Updated On: 10/20/11 at 01:16 PM

[Calvin]

Posted: 10/20/11 at 1:30pm

Agree with the "meh" sentiment on here. Enjoyable in parts (especially since I've dealt with visiting China/trying to do work communicating through translators before) but it seemed rather disjointed overall.

Like what the heck was that 30-second scene where the guy was on the cell phone and said about two lines about meeting the English guy? Did that really require an entire scene/set change? It reminded me of the hairdresser scene in Women on the Verge. :)
Updated On: 10/20/11 at 01:30 PM

[stone_blue]

Posted: 10/20/11 at 11:01pm

The NYT published an interesting feature on Hwang today, which hits some of the "what is this play even about" points I think people are struggling with and also highlights the financial risk being taken: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/theater/david-henry-hwangs-chinglish.html?pagewanted=2&hpw

It's going to be a tough sell, no doubt, but I'm very glad the producers are willing to try. An interesting case study in how to advertise a new, original show with no stars (except the playwright), and a lot of nervous-making qualities. I haven't seen any of the TV ads- can anyone provide a link? The girl I saw it with was brought in on the strength of the commercials, but didn't know what to expect other than a comedy. I suspect she didn't enjoy it as much as I did; she also doesn't understand any Chinese, and I'm wondering if that's causal.

Can I ask if anyone else who's seen it does? It's not an excuse, and would be a massive liability for the show if true, but it seems like the show may be an example of the cultural differences between east and west, instead of just a discussion of such.

Last note, the difficulties of translation aren't simply in the realm of transliteration, but in the difficulty of business and personal relations when each side holds different motives and expectations and can't (or doesn't know to) communicate those to the other.

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/20/11 at 11:59pm

But 99% of the Chinese was translated. You didn't really need to know any Chinese to understand what they were say. It was projected on the set.

[stone_blue]

Posted: 10/21/11 at 1:18am

Yes and obviously it's working for some people whether or not they speak Chinese, and I hope it will for more. I already noted that you have to read the titles even if you're fluent because you simply can't hear all the lines. I'm just trying to figure out what's missing or getting lost or maybe completely not there, and if it can be fixed at all. Humor is subjective, of course, but that doesn't mean it's insensitive to medium.

Additionally, knowing some Chinese would mean one has familiarity with the tonal issues and can follow the path of how certain things get mistranslated. Actually I'll expand the question to posters who speak any other language(s). Idioms are shockingly if non-obviously difficult to translate.

[JillianSch]

Posted: 10/22/11 at 3:35pm

I'm really surprised by the response to Chinglish. I saw it Tuesday and consider it the "Book of Mormon" of plays. I don't speak a word of any other language and I am dyslexic yet had NO problem with following the sub titles. Chinglish is fresh and funny. It says so much about the times we live in- our values, the misunderstanding's between cultures. I laughed out loud most of the night.

[PopAria]

Posted: 10/27/11 at 2:58pm

It's really funny..

It's as if someone took the idea of this:

And made it into a play- a smart, funny, and sexy play.

Except the play uses real Chinese words, not these made-up words, and they change it around so that the Chinese terms are said and then translated into English to mean something similar yet completely wrong. You just have to see it.

[After Eight]

Posted: 10/27/11 at 3:42pm

I found it a one-joke show, and fairly dull. It's innocuous, though, and I've seen a lot worse.