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Trying to find Chinatown
Author(s):
David Henry Hwang
Lost on his way to Chinatown, Benjamin asks Ronnie for directions. Ronnie, playing his violin on the street for money, is offended that just because he looks like an Asian he automatically knows where Chinatown is. Caucasian looking, Benjamin was adopted by an Asian-American family at birth. He revels in his heritage and is looking for the house where his father was born. Ronnie, on the other hand, throws himself into all things American and finds it hard to sympathize with Benjamin who, when he finds his father's house, is filled with a special elation. BONDAGE. In a Los Angeles S&M parlor, a dominatrix and her client are clad head-to-toe in leather costumes that conceal their faces and ethnicity's. These elaborate disguises allow them to play out fantasies based on racial stereotypes and sexual mythologies: she pretends to be an African-American woman to his white, liberal man; he transforms into an Asian-American and she into a blond WASP, etc. Exchanging biting social observations with stinging humor, they progress through their power games to expose the arbitrariness of racially minded thinking. All the while, however, they are haunted by an awareness that in spite of their efforts, they may be moving towards the most terrifying reality of all--a true intimacy which transcends the bounds of race.
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Genre(s): | Not Available | Time Period(s): | Not Available | Play Type: | Play | Runtime: | Not Available | Acts: | Not Available | Set Complexity: | Not Available | Set Information: | Not Available | Year First Published: | Not Available | Total Characters: | 2 | Male Characters: | 1 | Female Characters: | 1 | Androgynous Characters: | Not Available | Minimum Cast: | Not Available | Maximum Cast: | Not Available | Cost: | FEE: $25 per performance Royalty/cost information prone to change. Please check with the publisher for the most accurate information. | Publisher: | Dramatists Play Service Click on the publisher's name above for additional information, including updated prices. | ISBN: | Not Available |
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