Chinglish Opens on the Great White Way

David Henry Hwang, the playwright probably best known for his Tony-winning play M. Butterfly (which was also a Pulitzer finalist), is being represented again this year on Broadway. His latest play, Chinglish, opened last night at the Longacre Theatre. The play, about the language barrier between an American business man in his negotiations with a Chinese businesswoman, has received generally strong reviews across the board. The only negative comment about the show, the script for which has some English but is mostly in Mandarin with supertitles, was that the director was so careful to make sure that the audience could understand the Mandarin that the experience of the alienation caused by the language barrier was lost on the audience. That being said, I predict that this play will get a fair number of Tony nominations in May. As far as I can tell, the play will be nominated for Best Play, Best Director for Leigh Silverman, Best Actor for Gary Wilmes, Best Actress for Jennifer Lim, Best Featured Actress for Angela Lin, Best Scenic Design and a strong maybe for Best Featured Actor for Stephen Pucci.