Lloyd Suh Playwright

Helen Young + Director

Cast

Mi Kang * Afong Moy

Glenn Obrero * Atung

Production Team

John Culbert # ^ Lighting Designer

André J. Pluess # ^ Sound Designer

Eva Breneman ^ Dialect Director

Maura Kidwell Assistant Director
Arnel Sancianco # Scenic Designer
Izumi Inaba # Costume Designer
Forrest Gregor Sound Designer
Rowan Doe Properties Designer
Yiwen Wu Dramaturg
Jill Yetsky * Stage Manager
Finnegan Chu Associate Costume Designer
Dina Spoerl Dramaturgical Display Designer
Gianni Carcagno Production Assistant, COVID Compliance Officer

Understudies

Miriam Lee Afong Moy

Yuchi Chiu Atung

Reviews

Chicago Tribune

TimeLine’s production, directed by Helen Young, features a spectacular central performance from [Mi] Kang, still in graduate school at Northwestern University. … I was struck by how well Kang navigated the play’s occupation of the space between determination and tacit sublimation, her attention to the courage and vibrancy of her character as well as the indignity of her situation. This is, for sure, a moralistic play that wants to indict the audience in this particular history, which it does not see as having been subject to much improvement, and it makes a powerful case for that point of view. …[Kang gives] an exceptionally sophisticated performance at the heart of a small, assertive, resonant and moving play.

—Chris Jones

Chicago Sun-Times

The project of Suh’s multilayered two-hander, then, is to grant [the Chinese Lady] an imagined inner life. …The gorgeously detailed, diorama-like set, designed by Arnel Sancianco, holds a few surprises of its own. …clever, wry, and poetic in her conversation with us; was it the limits of translation or of empathy that flattened white Americans’ perceptions of her into little more than decorative garb and tea sets? …Suh’s script traces a tricky trajectory, but director Helen Young steers this TimeLine Theatre Company production handily around the tonal curves. The play asks a lot of its two actors. Obrero finds impressive nuance in Atung’s shifting feelings for Afong, but the production rests on Kang’s massively charming performance.

—Kris Vire

Third Coast Review

Kang’s portrayal becomes more intense and tinged with bitterness as Afong Moy speaks of the gold rush and how Chinese men looking for gold were turned into laborers to build the transcontinental railroad. Kang’s performance is brilliant as the character unravels … Obrero gives a taut and nuanced performance as an embittered and aging man with no future once he is no longer needed as a translator. Helen Young’s direction is even and steady as the play subject matter becomes darker and ominous. Arnel Sancianco’s scenic design perfectly showcases a display of Afong and the trappings of tea boxes and vases considered to be exotic. Izumi Inaba’s costume designs are beautiful…

—Kathy D. Hey

Broadway World

Directed by Helen Young, TimeLine Theatre Company’s Chicago premiere of Lloyd Suh’s THE CHINESE LADY is a poignant and well-crafted play … Mi Kang beautifully portrays Afong Moy, bringing an immense depth of feeling to the character. She also has a heart wrenching rapport with Atung (Glenn Obrero), her translator. …This layering allows Suh to reinforce questions of agency and identity within the play. Kang and Obrero play off each other beautifully; the connection between the characters feels honest and real. 

—Rachel Weinberg

Let's Play

TimeLine Theatre has once again brought a spectacular production to the stage. … Mi Kang is so captivating and charming as Afong Moy that you fail to realize she is sitting in an exhibit like a caged animal. … here is nothing irrelevant about his [Glenn’s] performance as Atung, who plays the role to perfection. … Director Helen Young masterfully reels us in like a fish on a hook that is slowly losing its will…

—Rick McCain