Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture

‘Chinglish’ Performs Feb. 26-March 16 at Syracuse Stage

Thursday, February 20, 2014, By News Staff
Share
College of Visual and Performing Arts
Daniel Cavanaugh tells the Minister of Culture about his small family firm in "Chinglish."

Daniel Cavanaugh tells the Minister of Culture about his small family firm in “Chinglish.”

“Chinglish” is Tony Award-Winning playwright David Henry Hwang’s hilarious new comedy about the misadventures of miscommunication. It tells the story of an American businessman, Daniel Cavanaugh, who travels to a bustling Chinese province looking to score a lucrative contract in properly translated signs. But the deal isn’t the only thing lost in translation as he tangles with a government official, a bumbling consultant and a surprisingly sexy bureaucrat along the way. Time magazine named “Chinglish” one of the best plays of 2011, and the New York Post called it “a comedy gold mine!”

“Chinglish” performs Feb. 26–March 16 in the Archbold Theatre at the Syracuse Stage/Drama Complex. It is recommended for mature audiences. Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.SyracuseStage.org, by phone at 315-443-3275 or in person at the Syracuse Stage Box Office at 820 E. Genesee St. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more at 315-443-9844.

Pre- and post-show events during the run of “Chinglish” include the Opening Night Party on Feb. 28 with live music by Merit (http://www.gomeritgo.com), Wednesday @ 1 Lecture on March 5 (“Facing East: The Theater of David Henry Hwang” with Christian DuComb, assistant professor of English and theater at Colgate University), Happy Hour on March 6 (with half-price drinks and complimentary snacks), an Actor Talkback following the 7 p.m. show on March 9 and Prologues (moderated discussions with actors) on March 2, 8 and 13. Visit Syracuse Stage Events for more information.

Hwang drew inspiration for “Chinglish” from the common miscommunications he experienced while on business trips to China. On one trip in 2005, he visited a brand-new cultural center where everything was gorgeous, except for the badly translated, “Chinglish”-y signs. “For instance, the designation on the handicapped restrooms that read, ‘Deformed Man’s Toilet.’ “I started to think about using those signs as a jumping-off point for a play about doing business in China today, one that would deal with the issue of language. I’d never seen a play deal with this,” he says.

Nearly half of “Chinglish” is in Mandarin Chinese that is translated with more than 750 surtitle slides, letting audience members in on humor that stems from miscommunication between the plays’ characters. Almost all of the actors in “Chinglish” are required to speak fluent Mandarin Chinese. Three translators and a cultural consultant assisted the cast and creative team.

“Chinglish” debuted on Broadway in 2011 at the Longacre Theatre after a successful run at the Goodman Theatre, where it earned Hwang the coveted Jeff Award in the New York category. “’Chinglish’ explores the different levels on which people and cultures misunderstand each other,” Hwang says. “The most superficial of these is language. Going deeper, we encounter differing cultural assumptions and preconceptions. Beneath this, even when two people speak the same language, they often misunderstand each other, particularly in the arena of romance. In the play, two people discover they hold very different assumptions about the importance of love and the role of marriage in life.”

Hwang earned a Tony Award in 1998 and was a 1989 Pulitzer Finalist for his most famous play “M. Butterfly.” He was also awarded a Tony nomination in 1998 and OBIE Award for “Golden Child,” as well as another Obie Award and was a 2008 Pulitzer Finalist for “Yellow Face.”

May Adrales, director of “Chinglish” at Syracuse Stage, recently directed Hwang’s “The Dance and the Railroad” at NYC’s Signature Theatre Company followed by a run at the Wuzhen International Theatre Festival in China.

 

 

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Syracuse Stage Announces Changes to the 2020/2021 Season
    Sunday, January 17, 2021, By Joanna Penalva
  • Hehnly Lab Awarded $1.2M NIH Grant to Research Critical Tissue Formation
    Sunday, January 17, 2021, By Dan Bernardi
  • Important Information Regarding Proof of Eligibility for and Access to the COVID Vaccine
    Saturday, January 16, 2021, By News Staff
  • COVID-19 Update: Vaccination | Testing | Important Reminders | Zoom Sessions
    Friday, January 15, 2021, By News Staff
  • Important Update: Spring 2021 Pre-Arrival Testing Requirements (Students from New York State and contiguous states)
    Thursday, January 14, 2021, By News Staff

More In Arts & Culture

Syracuse Stage Announces Changes to the 2020/2021 Season

Syracuse Stage announced adjustments to the schedule for the remainder of the 2020/2021 season. These adjustments include replacing previously announced shows with new titles and come in direct response to the evolving situation concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting in February,…

College of Visual and Performing Arts Flexes Creative Muscle to Address the COVID-19 Pandemic

“Visual and Performing Arts students wouldn’t have a reason to be here if they couldn’t sing or hold an instrument or act onstage or spend time in the studio.  The arts are a social activity, not something that lends itself…

Special Collections Research Center Receives Grant to Process Forrest J. Ackerman Papers

The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation is providing Syracuse University Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) with a $17,000 grant to process the Forrest J. Ackerman Papers. Ackerman was a popular American science fiction author, editor, agent, collector and fan. His…

Architecture Students Help Design Street Renovation Project in China

Since April 2020, a team of students from the School of Architecture have been working on a master plan to transform a street scape in the future city of Xiong’an New Area in China’s Hebei province. After a long delay…

Rolling Appointed to Everson Museum of Art’s Board of Trustees

James Haywood Rolling Jr., a dual professor of arts education and teaching and leadership in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) and School of Education, has been appointed to the board of trustees of the Everson Museum of…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2021 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.