3 Review(s)

Characters: 3 male, 3 female Comedy The Wongs are American as apple pie. Desdemona dreams of Princeton but could use some help with her calculus. Her brother Upton wants to be a World of Warcraft champion but needs more free time to train. Upton solves both their problems by bringing an indentured servant home one day, but they soon discover that "Ching Chong" has American dreams of his own! An irreverent new comedy by Lauren Yee is skewering every cliche about Asian American identity. The show won the 2007 Yale Playwrights Festival. "...a lively, likable show! Playwright Lauren Yee gleefully highlights the assimilated life of the Wongs, who defy the stereotype of the hard driving Chinese-American family. It's clever and her insights are astute!" -Ken Jaworowski, New York Times "...a wildly inventive, raucously funny ride. Though rooted in Asian American literary tradition, this play upends its conventions with inspired irreverence. You have not seen anything like this before. The fourth wave of Asian American playwriting has arrived!" -David Henry Hwang, New York Times "a smart, fast-paced comedy that wrings laughs from the topics of cultural identity and assimilation.Neither predictable nor politically correct, it's a satirical cartoon that has heart and even occasional poignancy" -Theatremania.com, Patrick Lee "Yee's characters have a substantial basis in camp...Ching Chong Chinaman shines in its countless bit parts and joking asides..." -Nicole Villeneuve, Backstage "Wildly funny...makes hilarious splash in melting pot" -Contra Costa Times "Whip-smart and very funny...Particularly clever is Yee's deft use of magical realism." -East Bay Express "Fast, furious and very funny...an exhilarating send-up" -Berkeley Daily Planet "Great laughs...unexpectedly moving" -Examiner.com