Laowang
| Laowang: A Chinatown King Lear | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Alex Lin |
| Based on | King Lear |
| Premiere | |
| Date | November 16, 2025 |
| Place | 59E59 Theaters, Manhattan, New York City |
| Directed by | Joshua Kahan Brody |
Laowang: A Chinatown King Lear is a play written by Alex Lin and directed by Joshua Kahan Brody. Part of 59E59 Theaters' winter 2025–2026 season, it reinterprets King Lear in Chinatown, Manhattan.[1]
History
A cast and crew was announced on October 2, 2025. The show officially opened on November 16 and ran through to December 14.[2]
Cast
- Cindy Cheung as Amy Choy and others
- Wai Ching Ho as A-Poh
- Amy Keum as Lai-Fa Choy and others
- Jon Norman Schneider as Steven Choy
- Daisuke Tsuji as Wesley Chiu and others
Critical reception
TheaterMania lauded Lin's writing and Brody's direction, as well as "Sharp performances" from the cast.[3]
Exeunt concluded that "Rewriting King Lear (or any canonical text) is a high-risk, high-reward strategy" and felt that Laowang fell short in developing its characters, keeping its tone and modernism consistent, and otherwise tackling the source material imaginatively.[4]
References
- ↑ Wild, Stephi (2025-08-05). "LAOWANG, CALF SCRAMBLE, and More Set For 59E59 Theaters' Winter 2025/26 Season". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
- ↑ "Off-Broadway Cast Announced for Laowang: A Chinatown King Lear - TheaterMania.com". 2025-10-02. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
- ↑ "Review: Laowang Cooks Up a Shakespearean Tragedy in Chinatown - TheaterMania.com". 2025-11-17. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
- ↑ Wertheimer, Lorin. "Review: Laowang, a Chinatown King Lear at Primary Stages". Exeunt Magazine NYC. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
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