Chinglish First Preview

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/11/11 at 11:03pm

Saw the first preview tonight and think it was a nice effort, but needs some serious editing. It ran 2hr 20min with an intermission and could deal with a good half hour cut. I think they need to pull a Motherf!cker With a Hat and condense into one act.

The good news is parts are pretty funny, with one of the scenes at the top of act two particularly hysterical. The humor is kind of one note, but would stay funny enough for a 90 minute intermissionless play.

The lead actress is great and has many of the laughs in act one. The supporting cast does their best, even when their roles seem somewhat tangential to the plot. The lead actor is unfortunately a bit weak. I think if the producers wanted this to run they should have cast a star in this role.

SPOILER******
Who knew this was going to be the sequel to Enron?! Kind of an Enron: Where are they now? edition.
End SPOILER******

Guess I was kind of "eh" about it all, but can't deny I got a good laugh or two from it.

[BrodyFosse123]

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

Sadly, I see this never reaching Opening Night. How it made it to Broadway, baffles the mind.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/11/11 at 11:28pm

I think it will probably open, but can't imagine it running more than a few weeks. I was up in the balcony tonight which was deserted, and it looked like the mezz and orchestra were pretty empty too.

I should add that the set is cool. It sits on two turntables that morph into different locales before your eyes.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 10/11/11 at 11:29pm

I sat there for 2 hours and 20 minutes today thinking: nothing about this screams "this has to transfer to Broadway." A few people around us were laughing at nearly every line...couldn't tell if they were drunk or actually enjoying it. It definitely wasn't horrendous...just kind of blah.

Can't wait for OTHER DESERT CITIES tomorrow night!

[Jordan Catalano]

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

How much of the play is subtitled?

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 10/11/11 at 11:33pm

Approximately one third...they were very clear to read though, even from the balcony.

[WhizzerMarvin]

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

Maybe half the play, but it is done in a very playful way. It is about translating the Chinese language, so a typical scene has the American, his translator, a couple Chinese characters and their translator. You see what the Chinese characters are actually saying and then get to hear how the translators misinterpret the words.

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 10/11/11 at 11:44pm

Thank you Whizzer...though I was very excited about this play, I'm a tad more reluctant to see it now. Perhaps giving it a good preview period may change my mind. But based upon this thread...I'll be at Desert Cities this weekend.

...Maybe a little Venus in Fur, too.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/11/11 at 11:52pm

I saw both Other Desert Cities and Venus in Fur 0ff-Broadway and they are both better plays, plus you're getting the performances of Nina Arianda and Stockard Channing.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/12/11 at 11:23am

I really enjoyed it in Chicago, though recognized that it needed some work. I definitely saw the potential for Broadway, but it sounds like they may have not worked on it since the Goodman. As a comedy, it's very funny. As a commentary, it lacks depth.

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/12/11 at 11:27am

Matt, if I recall correctly, the critical reaction in Chicago was exceedingly positive, right? That could be a reason why it looked lucrative to Broadway producers. I haven't seen it, but it seems like they're selling it as a topical play. That said, I was surprised they decided to go commercial Broadway over the non-for-profit route. Hwang has a history with The Public; I thought for a while they might undertake it, and was somewhat surprised when they didn't.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 10/12/11 at 11:40am

This was supposed to be jointly produced by the Public Theatre. For reasons I'm not clear on (perhaps partly because the Public Theatre has been getting some flack for being too invested in Broadway transfers) they pulled out. The producers decided to carry on and open on Broadway regardless.

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/12/11 at 11:42am

Thanks for point that out, MB. I somewhat remember that now that you've said it.

[Panerofan]

Posted: 10/12/11 at 12:06pm

I'll probably see it if very cheap tickets come my way, but it's not very high on my list at all.
Updated On: 10/13/11 at 12:06 PM

[dshnookie]

Posted: 10/13/11 at 12:14am

I'm just thankful that there are people out there still taking chances on obscure pieces for us to experience and hopefully enjoy. I think the jukebox, Disney, movie-franchise shows have far exceeded their quota on Broadway.

[MadonnaMusical]

Posted: 10/13/11 at 4:11am

Who are the producers of this one? Huang comes from money right?

Doesn't matter either way, I would support anything he did based on the brilliance of YELLOW FACE... that would be a reason that it made it to Broadway.... darn... the buzz on this was so good until now... I was really excited.

[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.

[newintown]

Posted: 10/13/11 at 1:17pm

Innocuous posts are disappearing from this thread...
Updated On: 10/13/11 at 01:17 PM

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/13/11 at 1:45pm

Madonna, is there other buzz you are referring to other than the posts here?

[stone_blue]

Posted: 10/15/11 at 1:38am

Just wanted to drop in and say I really enjoyed the show tonight. It's certainly a straight up comedy, and there's no strong message per se, but it didn't need one to be good, smart fun. Great to see a fresh story and conceit in a new play.

I'd estimate that 1/3 of the play is supertitled, including 2 scenes and a couple of quick bits that are all in Mandarin. There are some insidery jokes, but the titles convey most of the wordplay well even though they're slightly condensed.

The set and staging are stunning. Running time is still close to 2:20 and it could stand some trimming (specifically, Xi Yan's random monologues and the indicating of some of the actors) but I honestly don't know why others are complaining that it wasn't funny.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 10/16/11 at 8:13am

How funny was it stone blue? The Chicago press, premise and quoted lines all seemed to me like to point to a hilarious and very successful- and much needed! - Broadway comedy. Not so the opening posts on this thread.

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/16/11 at 11:18am

Got a ticket for this Wednesday.

[Panerofan]

Posted: 10/16/11 at 11:53am

Back on topic (and sorry for going off of it before...)

Is there any chance they'd remove the subtitles during previews? Do you think they overall are a turn-off? I really don't mind them but I've only seen them in foreign films and a lot of operas. I'm sure a lot of people, especially older ones, might have issues with them.

I loved Yellow Face as a huge Miss Saigon fan.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 10/16/11 at 12:53pm

From what I understand, Panerofan, the humor and theme rely - and in Chicago, to great success - on the subtitles; in that mistranslation - think David Sedaris's "Me Talk Pretty One Day" - is a central metaphor.

[stone_blue]

Posted: 10/16/11 at 1:38pm

@henrik, The audience was laughing non-stop during the first act, and I thought it was well deserved; if you think any of those Chinglish signs (http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/05/03/world/asia/20100503_CHINGLISH.html) are funny you'll enjoy at least the first level of humor here. There are additional levels of kind of cultural jokes that might be funnier with experience, like the very Asian mode of bragging by self-deprecation, and the politics of the Party bureaucracy. But it is a beautifully integrated production well worth seeing by anyone.

@Panerofan, No chance of losing the titles, they aren't for throwaway lines from non-central characters and unlike song, dialogue is specific and point-to-point and not themed. 4 actors speak only Chinese onstage, the female lead speaks mostly Chinese and only rudimentary English, and the translator/consultant does extended dialogue in Chinese as well. You cannot understand the play or even each scene without reading the titles- even understanding Mandarin won't save you, as the lines are inaudible when the audience laughs at the titles before the dialogue is actually heard (whole 'nother issue...).

Because so much of the humor is based around mis-translating, they can't use the conceit of "foreign character speaking English so we can understand, but the other characters hear him in his native language" a la War Horse. There's also a short, hysterical scene on how you could say something totally unintended if you use the wrong inflection, which only works in the Chinese.