Ma-Yi Theater Company and The Public Theater’s co-production of Lloyd Suh’s THE CHINESE LADY, directed by Obie Award-winning Ralph B. Peña, has been nominated for five Drama Desk nominations including Best Play for Lloyd Suh, Best Leading Actress in a Play for Shannon Tyo, Best Featured Actor in a Play for Daniel K. Isaac, Best Costume Design for Linda Cho and Best Projection Design for Shawn Duan.
Shannon Tyo has already won a 2022 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play and a 2022 Theatre World Award for Outstanding Debut Performance in a Broadway or Off-Broadway production.
Award Nominations:
2022 Lucille Lortel Award nominations for Outstanding Revival, Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play for Shannon Tyo, Outstanding Sound Design for Fabian Obispo, Outstanding Projection Design for Shawn Duan
2022 Outer Critics Circle Award Nomination for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play
The full cast includes Daniel K. Isaac (Atung) and Shannon Tyo (Afong Moy). Both returned to their roles from the 2018 Ma-Yi Theater Company production at Beckett Theater (Theater Row). During select performances, Cindy Im played Afong Moy and Jon Norman Schneider played Atung.
Inspired by the true story of the first Chinese woman to step foot in America, Lloyd Suh’s critically-acclaimed play, THE CHINESE LADY, is a tale of dark poetic whimsy and a unique portrait of the United States as seen through the eyes of a young Chinese girl. In 1834, 16-year-old Afong Moy sailed into New York Harbor and was immediately put on display for a paying public who were mesmerized by her exotic ways and horrified by her tiny bound feet. As audiences follow Moy’s travels through America as a living exhibit for decades, THE CHINESE LADY shares her impressions of a young country struggling with how to define itself.
THE CHINESE LADY features scenic design by Junghyun Georgia Lee, costume design by Linda Cho, lighting design by Jiyoun Chang and Elizabeth Mak, sound design and original music by Fabian Obispo, and projection design by Shawn Duan. Maggie Manzano serves as the production stage manager and Brody Thrash as the stage manager.
This production marks the second collaborative production between Ma-Yi Theater Company and The Public Theater following a successful run of Teenage Dick by Mike Lew in 2018.
Backstage Pass with Lia Chang 