In 2018, Lloyd Suh, a Greenwood resident, saw the first production of his play The Chinese Lady. Much has happened in the world since that debut, and the Asian-American community has had to endure fear and xenophobia once again due to COVID-19 being labeled “the China virus.” Since 2020, violence against Asian-Americans has risen sharply. While not directly addressing this issue, The Chinese Lady certainly brings a sharp focus on the community itself through a different lens. Delicate without being fragile, the lady Afong Moy of the play’s title is the evolving voice of optimism and character in an America that will not accept or embrace “the other.”
Brought to New York City in 1834 by the Carne brothers, Afong Moy (Mi Kang) at the age of 14 was put on exhibit — literally a small stage adorned with Chinese imported goods — where she performed tea rituals, showed the audience how she used chopsticks, and displayed her bound feet for curiosity-seekers at regular intervals during shop hours. For a small charge, she would walk on her tiny feet and answer questions through the interpreter Atung (Trieu Tran). She is thought to be the first Chinese woman to come to the United States, although there were some Chinese men who had settled in the U.S. before. Afong Moy was also exhibited in a museum, where she gave regular shows for the public, who were curious about her way of dressing and her 4 inch feet. In the play, Afong Moy is brightly optimistic, seeing herself as an ambassador for the Chinese people. As the years progress, however, she begins to understand that she is being used, much like a tiger in the zoo, to sell tickets and merchandise. The people who come to see her are not interested in finding common cause with her, but to objectify her. She speculates to herself that an American girl could be sent to China and put on exhibit for Chinese people curious about Americans, but Atung quickly puts that idea out of her head. Afong Moy has an audience with President Andrew Jackson, and Atung translates her replies to him dumbing down her words and ideas. Atung also has dreams and hopes, and finds the “sideshow” increasingly offensive and limiting. Afong has learned enough English to get by on her own, and Atung leaves. Afong’s uniqueness fades by 1838, however, and she is no longer interesting to the audiences. The last part of the play is Afong talking about the influx of Chinese workers in 1848 seeking jobs in mines and on the railroads that built America, but denied citizenship. The last known exhibition for the Chinese Lady was in 1850, and then she vanishes from history. Afong though chronicles the troubles of the Asian community through the remainder of the 19th and 20th centuries, where they faced discrimination and violence.
The two person cast, Mi Kang and Trieu Tran, weave a compelling tale in this short play, giving memorable performances as two unique individuals who are expected to conform to certain stereotypes. Kang deftly portrays a young woman who sees her hopes for a better understanding slowly eroded by the realities of prejudice. Tran provides an acting master class with his portrait of a timeless man in an impossible situation who finally cannot contain himself.
Staged on the smaller Upperstage at the IRT, The Chinese Lady is an intimate play about a woman hardly anyone has ever heard of, but we should all get to know. The show continues through November 6. Visit irtlive.com or call 317-635-5252 for tickets.
