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Golden Child
By David Henry Hwang
Directed by Stuart Carden
Produced by Silk Road Theatre Project
At The Historic Chicago Temple
77 W. Washington
Chicago, IL
Call 312-857-1234, x 20, tickets $28 - $25 for Seniors & students
Thursdays at 7:30 pm
Fridays at 8 pm
Saturdays at 4 & 8 pm
Sundays at 4 pm
Running time is 2 hours, 10 minutes with intermission
Through April 22, 2007
Chinese tale suffers from poor acting
The Silk Road Theatre Project has assembled a fine body of work in their compact Loop space over the last couple of years. In their first Equity production, David Henry Hwang’s Golden Child, a drama set in 1918 China suffers from poor acting by, ironically, the two Equity actors---Vic Chao as Tieng-Bin and Cheryl Hamada as Wife Number One. My problem with both lies in their diction, their speaking style—they delivered their lines in a stiff sort of “actor’s speak” wherein delivering their lines sounded hollow and wooden. Their predictable tone rang out as if they were actors reciting lines written for them—not naturally speaking like their characters would. This diluted their performance substantially. I simply couldn’t relate to them.
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I also found Hwang’s script tedious and predictable. Set in China in the early 1900’s, Golden Child tells the story of a Chinese merchant who amasses a fortune over three years living in the Philippines. He returns to a traditional China steeped in Mandarin practices. He believes Western ideas can liberate China from its superstitious past. His three wives bicker jealously for his attention and love. When he becomes a Christian putting aside ancestor worship, which of his three wives will follow him? Hwang presents a look into the clash between the old Oriental ways and new modern Western ideas. Foot binding and polygamy are to be eliminated.
The nice set (Lee Keenan) and the colorful costumes by Carol J. Blanchard together with Robert Steel’s unique sound design presented a realistic look at traditional China before the Nationalist took control. The glimpse into the old ways is the strength of this show. Melissa Kong, as Ahn, sparkled. If only the two main characters were more believable and emphatic, Golden Child would be terrific. A tighter pace would serve the play well. This show is worth a look despite some weak players.
Somewhat Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: March 24, 2007
Jeff Recommended
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