David Henry Hwang's Golden Child

I found David Henry Hwang's Golden Child at Silk Road Theater to be a very satisfying evening. All of the actors were very strong, and the concept of bringing change to a traditional household (bringing Christianity to a home with an established Chinese religion) can cause much heartache. Nor does the reason behind why change must occur seem virtuous. For everyone, it's not about Jesus and what the religion stands for, but about what each one needs. For instance, the head of the household (a man with three wives), it's about wanting to be with one wife; for the all-too-eager-to-change wife, it's about power; and for an adoring child, it's about being released from a tradition of foot-binding.

It all ends tragically but resolves well as a "ghost" reveals to a newer generation the suffering that brought about a "better" way years later. The play explored an interesting time in a way that makes the seemingly foreign truly relative to what we experience today.

As an aside, six of us from Asians and Friends Chicago went to see the play, eating at Siam Rice prior to the show and then following up with a trip to Gentry on State for cocktails and live piano bar music. Siam Rice was truly an unexpected pleasure. A really classy ambiance with a down-to-earth price. It was a really nifty evening.