The Chinese Lady
“Moving and often sharply funny” (The New York Times)
By Lloyd Suh
Directed by Jess McLeod
Inspired by the true story of Afong Moy, The Chinese Lady is a darkly poetic yet whimsical portrait of our collective past seen through the eyes of a young Chinese woman. Afong is only 14 years old when she’s brought to the United States in 1834 and displayed as “The Chinese Lady” – the first to step foot on U.S. soil. Decade after decade, she performs as a living exhibit, showing curious white visitors how she eats and what she wears as merchants sell tea and Chinoiserie in the lobby. As time wears on, the lines between her performance and her identity begin to blur. Described as "moving and often sharply funny" (The New York Times), The Chinese Lady examines the ongoing struggle for empathy and understanding across cultural divides.
Ticket prices start at $25.
Get an inside look at the first day of rehearsals for The Chinese Lady!
Hertz Stage
The Alliance Theatre's Hertz Stage is a modern, 200-seat Black Box theatre. This versatile facility accommodates a number of distinct stage layouts.
Writer
Lloyd Suh is the author of plays including The Far Country (2023 Pulitzer Prize finalist), The Heart Sellers, American Hwangap, Franklinland, and Bina’s Six Apples, which premiered at Alliance Theater in 2022 (co-production with Children’s Theater Company). His work has been produced across the country, including The Public, Atlantic Theatre Company, Huntington, Berkeley Rep, and with Ma-Yi Theatre Company and Ensemble Studio Theatre. This summer, he collaborated with Atlanta-based artist and illustrator Nicole Kang Ahn on Bina’s Harvest, a book for young readers as part of the Mayor’s Summer Reading Club. Awards include the Steinberg Playwright Award, the Horton Foote Prize, the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts, and the Guggenheim Fellowship. He was elected in 2016 to the Dramatists Guild Council, and serves as a Professor of the Practice at Princeton University.
Lloyd Suh
Lloyd Suh is the author of plays including The Far Country (2023 Pulitzer Prize finalist), The Heart Sellers, American Hwangap, Franklinland, and Bina’s Six Apples, which premiered at Alliance Theater in 2022 (co-production with Children’s Theater Company). His work has been produced across the country, including The Public, Atlantic Theatre Company, Huntington, Berkeley Rep, and with Ma-Yi Theatre Company and Ensemble Studio Theatre. This summer, he collaborated with Atlanta-based artist and illustrator Nicole Kang Ahn on Bina’s Harvest, a book for young readers as part of the Mayor’s Summer Reading Club. Awards include the Steinberg Playwright Award, the Horton Foote Prize, the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts, and the Guggenheim Fellowship. He was elected in 2016 to the Dramatists Guild Council, and serves as a Professor of the Practice at Princeton University.
Director
Jess McLeod [she/her] is a New York-based director and social justice advocate specializing in risky new work about America. NYCLU Artist-In-Residence (Creatives Rebuild) and BOLD Resident Director (Woolly Mammoth). She has directed and developed new plays, musicals and opera at theatres across the country and served as Resident Director of Hamilton Chicago, Co-Chair (with Michael Korie) of the Dramatists Guild Foundation’s Musical Theatre Fellows Program, and Refocus Project Lead Curator at Roundabout Theatre Company. Working frequently at the intersection of arts and activism, Jess has also created operas with community groups (Lyric Opera of Chicago), musicals with incarcerated teen Chicagoans (Storycatchers Theatre), the #STOPASIANHATE video campaign for NY Rep. Grace Meng’s 3/26 Day of Action & Healing (co-creator), and curated Broadway Advocacy Coalition’s inaugural Arts In Action Festival. Recent/upcoming work includes The Thanksgiving Play (Steppenwolf); The Family Album, a new musical commission for La Jolla Playhouse; and On the Evolutionary Function of Shame at Second Stage. MFA: Northwestern. 1st Gen Korean-Filipina-Scottish American. www.jess-mcleod.com | @mcjessmc
Jess McLeod
Jess McLeod [she/her] is a New York-based director and social justice advocate specializing in risky new work about America. NYCLU Artist-In-Residence (Creatives Rebuild) and BOLD Resident Director (Woolly Mammoth). She has directed and developed new plays, musicals and opera at theatres across the country and served as Resident Director of Hamilton Chicago, Co-Chair (with Michael Korie) of the Dramatists Guild Foundation’s Musical Theatre Fellows Program, and Refocus Project Lead Curator at Roundabout Theatre Company. Working frequently at the intersection of arts and activism, Jess has also created operas with community groups (Lyric Opera of Chicago), musicals with incarcerated teen Chicagoans (Storycatchers Theatre), the #STOPASIANHATE video campaign for NY Rep. Grace Meng’s 3/26 Day of Action & Healing (co-creator), and curated Broadway Advocacy Coalition’s inaugural Arts In Action Festival. Recent/upcoming work includes The Thanksgiving Play (Steppenwolf); The Family Album, a new musical commission for La Jolla Playhouse; and On the Evolutionary Function of Shame at Second Stage. MFA: Northwestern. 1st Gen Korean-Filipina-Scottish American. www.jess-mcleod.com | @mcjessmc
Cast
Keiko Agena [she/her] is thrilled to join the cast of The Chinese Lady at the Alliance Theatre! Keiko is best known for her series regular roles on the shows PRODIGAL SON where she played Dr. Edrisa Tanaka and GILMORE GIRLS, where she played Lane Kim for seven seasons and reprised the role in the Netflix GILMORE GIRLS revival. In between Agena has been a series regular on HULU’s THE FIRST and recurring on BETTER CALL SAUL, DIRTY JOHN, DOOM PATROL and 13 REASONS WHY. As a guest star she has appeared on such shows as SHAMELESS, SCANDAL and NCIS LOS ANGELES to name a few. Keiko has also published an Artist Workbook titled NO MISTAKES through Penguin/Random house and as an improviser she’s performed shows at UCB, IO WEST and recently at The Elysian Theater. Her "fun facts" are that she got married in a helicopter and has forgotten what milk tastes like. Find her on social media: @KeikoAgena
Keiko Agena
Keiko Agena [she/her] is thrilled to join the cast of The Chinese Lady at the Alliance Theatre! Keiko is best known for her series regular roles on the shows PRODIGAL SON where she played Dr. Edrisa Tanaka and GILMORE GIRLS, where she played Lane Kim for seven seasons and reprised the role in the Netflix GILMORE GIRLS revival. In between Agena has been a series regular on HULU’s THE FIRST and recurring on BETTER CALL SAUL, DIRTY JOHN, DOOM PATROL and 13 REASONS WHY. As a guest star she has appeared on such shows as SHAMELESS, SCANDAL and NCIS LOS ANGELES to name a few. Keiko has also published an Artist Workbook titled NO MISTAKES through Penguin/Random house and as an improviser she’s performed shows at UCB, IO WEST and recently at The Elysian Theater. Her "fun facts" are that she got married in a helicopter and has forgotten what milk tastes like. Find her on social media: @KeikoAgena
Rex Lee [he/him] is a Korean-American actor best known for his role on HBO's ENTOURAGE. Born in Ohio, Lee grew up in Massachusetts and California. He graduated from Oberlin Conservatory of Music and worked as a casting director for projects such as the TV movie THE CURE FOR A DISEASED LIFE before landing the role on ENTOURAGE. TV: Entourage (HBO), Suburgatory (ABC), Young & Hungry (Freeform), Fresh Off The Boat (ABC), Glee (FOX), Castle (ABC) Film: Feel The Beat (Netflix), Advantageous (Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize), Entourage (Warner Brothers)
Rex Lee
Rex Lee [he/him] is a Korean-American actor best known for his role on HBO's ENTOURAGE. Born in Ohio, Lee grew up in Massachusetts and California. He graduated from Oberlin Conservatory of Music and worked as a casting director for projects such as the TV movie THE CURE FOR A DISEASED LIFE before landing the role on ENTOURAGE. TV: Entourage (HBO), Suburgatory (ABC), Young & Hungry (Freeform), Fresh Off The Boat (ABC), Glee (FOX), Castle (ABC) Film: Feel The Beat (Netflix), Advantageous (Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize), Entourage (Warner Brothers)
Understudies
Akasha Grace Atlanta credits: Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 and Kim's Convenience (Horizon Theatre), A Christmas Carol (Alliance Theatre), and Christmas Canteen (Aurora Theatre). Other favorite credits include: Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Younts Center), #14 in The Wolves (Warehouse Theatre), and Caroline in I and You (Clemson University). She originally hails from South Carolina and holds an MS in Applied Psychology from Clemson University. Most recently, she completed the Summer Drama Intensive at the Juilliard School in New York City. Up next, she'll be playing Ariel in The Little Mermaid at Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. IG: @xoakasha
Akasha Grace
Akasha Grace Atlanta credits: Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 and Kim's Convenience (Horizon Theatre), A Christmas Carol (Alliance Theatre), and Christmas Canteen (Aurora Theatre). Other favorite credits include: Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Younts Center), #14 in The Wolves (Warehouse Theatre), and Caroline in I and You (Clemson University). She originally hails from South Carolina and holds an MS in Applied Psychology from Clemson University. Most recently, she completed the Summer Drama Intensive at the Juilliard School in New York City. Up next, she'll be playing Ariel in The Little Mermaid at Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. IG: @xoakasha
Terence Lee [he/him] is an Atlanta based actor originally from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Recent credits include The Electric State, Out of Bounds, and several regional and national commercials. Terence holds an MFA in Acting and enjoys chasing his wonderful schnoodle, Emmy, all over the place. Terence is currently an instructor at Thrive Acting Hive. Terence would like to thank his friends, family, and mentors for always supporting and guiding him. Find him on social media: @terencelee
Terence Lee
Terence Lee [he/him] is an Atlanta based actor originally from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Recent credits include The Electric State, Out of Bounds, and several regional and national commercials. Terence holds an MFA in Acting and enjoys chasing his wonderful schnoodle, Emmy, all over the place. Terence is currently an instructor at Thrive Acting Hive. Terence would like to thank his friends, family, and mentors for always supporting and guiding him. Find him on social media: @terencelee
Creative
Lee Fiskness is a Chicago based Designer and making his debut at the Alliance Theatre. Credits: Off Broadway: Manhattan Theatre Club. Regional: The Old Globe, Steppenwolf, Goodman, Chicago Shakespeare, Kennedy Center, Mark Taper Forum, Cincinnati Playhouse, Emerson Colonial Theatre, Actor’s Theatre, Milwaukee Rep, Drury Lane, The Contemporary Theatre of Ohio. Opera: Chicago Lyric, San Jose, Dallas, Colorado, Portland, Kentucky, Florentine Opera. International; The Jurassic World Exhibition (China), Marriage of Figaro (Japan), Movement Stories (Abu Dhabi). Lee has worked on lighting teams for The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Rosie Show, The Steve Harvey Show, Fox Sports, NBC, Big Ten Network, and Chicago Bears. He is the local lighting designer for the holiday light show Lightscape at the Chicago Botanical Gardens. Lee was the Lighting Director at The Santa Fe Opera and worked with the company for 18 seasons. www.leefiskness.com
Lee Fiskness
Lee Fiskness is a Chicago based Designer and making his debut at the Alliance Theatre. Credits: Off Broadway: Manhattan Theatre Club. Regional: The Old Globe, Steppenwolf, Goodman, Chicago Shakespeare, Kennedy Center, Mark Taper Forum, Cincinnati Playhouse, Emerson Colonial Theatre, Actor’s Theatre, Milwaukee Rep, Drury Lane, The Contemporary Theatre of Ohio. Opera: Chicago Lyric, San Jose, Dallas, Colorado, Portland, Kentucky, Florentine Opera. International; The Jurassic World Exhibition (China), Marriage of Figaro (Japan), Movement Stories (Abu Dhabi). Lee has worked on lighting teams for The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Rosie Show, The Steve Harvey Show, Fox Sports, NBC, Big Ten Network, and Chicago Bears. He is the local lighting designer for the holiday light show Lightscape at the Chicago Botanical Gardens. Lee was the Lighting Director at The Santa Fe Opera and worked with the company for 18 seasons. www.leefiskness.com
Se Hyun Oh is a South Korean set designer based in NYC. Off-Broadway credits: Once Upon A Korean Time (Ma-Yi Theatre/ La Mama Theatre); The Unbelieving (The Civilians/ 59E59 Theatres); Mister Miss America (AFO Theatre/ Rattlestick Theatre). Selected regional credits: Clyde's, The Chinese Lady, Rooted (Cincinnati Playhouse); Man of God (Williamstown Theatre Festival, Geffen Playhouse); Underneath the Lintel (Geffen Playhouse); Tiger Style!, A Doll’s House Pt.2, Cambodian Rock Band, Yoga Play, Office Hour (South Coast Rep); Hold These Truths (People’s Light Theatre); Silent Sky (Perseverance Theatre). He graduated from Northwestern University with an MFA in Theatre Design. Member of USA Local 829. www.sehyunoh.com
Se Hyun Oh
Se Hyun Oh is a South Korean set designer based in NYC. Off-Broadway credits: Once Upon A Korean Time (Ma-Yi Theatre/ La Mama Theatre); The Unbelieving (The Civilians/ 59E59 Theatres); Mister Miss America (AFO Theatre/ Rattlestick Theatre). Selected regional credits: Clyde's, The Chinese Lady, Rooted (Cincinnati Playhouse); Man of God (Williamstown Theatre Festival, Geffen Playhouse); Underneath the Lintel (Geffen Playhouse); Tiger Style!, A Doll’s House Pt.2, Cambodian Rock Band, Yoga Play, Office Hour (South Coast Rep); Hold These Truths (People’s Light Theatre); Silent Sky (Perseverance Theatre). He graduated from Northwestern University with an MFA in Theatre Design. Member of USA Local 829. www.sehyunoh.com
Hahnji Jang 장한지 [they/them/형] uses their passion for fabric art & traditional printing techniques to upcycle garments and offer affordable styling outside the limiting gender and size binaries imposed by capitalism. They are on a continual journey to rematriate the closets of the individuals and institutions around them and last year created the Transcendent Punk Costume Closet to redistribute costume resources in an effort to make the costume industry more sustainable and accessible to the Queer community. To support follow @transpunkcloset or find out more at Hahnji.com
Hahnji Jang
Hahnji Jang 장한지 [they/them/형] uses their passion for fabric art & traditional printing techniques to upcycle garments and offer affordable styling outside the limiting gender and size binaries imposed by capitalism. They are on a continual journey to rematriate the closets of the individuals and institutions around them and last year created the Transcendent Punk Costume Closet to redistribute costume resources in an effort to make the costume industry more sustainable and accessible to the Queer community. To support follow @transpunkcloset or find out more at Hahnji.com
Megumi Katayama is thrilled to make her Alliance Theatre debut with The Chinese Lady! Favorite design credits include Off-Broadway/NYC: Titanic, Jelly’s Last Jam, The Light in the Piazza, co-design for The Life (NYCC Encores!), Alex Newell and the Gospel of a Diva (Minetta Lane), Regretfully, So the Birds Are (Playwrights Horizons/WP), The Nosebleed (LCT3), for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf (The Public), Romeo & Juliet (NAATCO), New Victory, Rattlestick, Little Island, NYTW Gala. Regional: Cambodian Rock Band (tour), English (The Old Globe), Rubicon (Denver Center for Performing Arts), 72 Mils to Go… (Alley Theatre), Sister Act (Geva Theatre Center), PROM (Zach), Legally Blonde (Theatre Aspen), POTUS (Trinity Rep), Arena Stage, Two River, Long Wharf, Yale Rep, Studio Theatre, Everyman Theater, Woolly Mammoth, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, KC Rep, Virginia Stage Company, Opera House Arts, Skylight Music Theater, OKC Rep, Chautauqua Theater Company, Dorset Theater Festival, and more. Originally from Japan, Megumi holds an MFA in Sound Design from Yale School of Drama. Megumikatayama.com
Megumi Katayama
Megumi Katayama is thrilled to make her Alliance Theatre debut with The Chinese Lady! Favorite design credits include Off-Broadway/NYC: Titanic, Jelly’s Last Jam, The Light in the Piazza, co-design for The Life (NYCC Encores!), Alex Newell and the Gospel of a Diva (Minetta Lane), Regretfully, So the Birds Are (Playwrights Horizons/WP), The Nosebleed (LCT3), for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf (The Public), Romeo & Juliet (NAATCO), New Victory, Rattlestick, Little Island, NYTW Gala. Regional: Cambodian Rock Band (tour), English (The Old Globe), Rubicon (Denver Center for Performing Arts), 72 Mils to Go… (Alley Theatre), Sister Act (Geva Theatre Center), PROM (Zach), Legally Blonde (Theatre Aspen), POTUS (Trinity Rep), Arena Stage, Two River, Long Wharf, Yale Rep, Studio Theatre, Everyman Theater, Woolly Mammoth, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, KC Rep, Virginia Stage Company, Opera House Arts, Skylight Music Theater, OKC Rep, Chautauqua Theater Company, Dorset Theater Festival, and more. Originally from Japan, Megumi holds an MFA in Sound Design from Yale School of Drama. Megumikatayama.com
Fan Zhang Recent Off-Broadway design and original music credits include: Jordans (Public); Good Bones (Public); Far Country (Atlantic); What Became of Us (Atlantic); At the Wedding (Lincoln Center Theatre); Snow in Midsummer (Classic Stage); Paris (Atlantic Theatre); the Golden Age (59E59); On That Day In Amsterdam (59E59); A Kid Like Rishi (Origin Theatre); Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (Second Stage & Women’s Project); Pumpgirl (Irish Rep); Suicide Forest (Ma-Yi & A.R.T); Molly Sweeney (Keen Company); Round Table (59E59); Behind the Sheet (Ensemble Studio Theatre); The Trail of the Catonsville Nine (Transport Group); Scissoring (INTAR); Three Girls Never Learnt the Way Home (Cherry Lane Theatre); Tania In the Gateway Van (The Flea). Regional: Shakespeare Theatre Company, Berkeley Rep, Arena Stage, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Milwaukee Rep, Capital Rep, Artists Repertory Theatre, Long Wharf, Pittsburgh City Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Studio Theatre D.C., Two River Theater, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Yale Rep. Member of Local 829 and TSDCA. Professor at Purdue University. Education: MFA, Yale School of Drama. www.fanzhangsound.com
Fan Zhang
Fan Zhang Recent Off-Broadway design and original music credits include: Jordans (Public); Good Bones (Public); Far Country (Atlantic); What Became of Us (Atlantic); At the Wedding (Lincoln Center Theatre); Snow in Midsummer (Classic Stage); Paris (Atlantic Theatre); the Golden Age (59E59); On That Day In Amsterdam (59E59); A Kid Like Rishi (Origin Theatre); Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (Second Stage & Women’s Project); Pumpgirl (Irish Rep); Suicide Forest (Ma-Yi & A.R.T); Molly Sweeney (Keen Company); Round Table (59E59); Behind the Sheet (Ensemble Studio Theatre); The Trail of the Catonsville Nine (Transport Group); Scissoring (INTAR); Three Girls Never Learnt the Way Home (Cherry Lane Theatre); Tania In the Gateway Van (The Flea). Regional: Shakespeare Theatre Company, Berkeley Rep, Arena Stage, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Milwaukee Rep, Capital Rep, Artists Repertory Theatre, Long Wharf, Pittsburgh City Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Studio Theatre D.C., Two River Theater, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Yale Rep. Member of Local 829 and TSDCA. Professor at Purdue University. Education: MFA, Yale School of Drama. www.fanzhangsound.com
Crew
Myah Harper [she/her] is ecstatic to be a team member of The Chinese Lady! Her previous credits include: The Preacher’s Wife, Fat Ham, A Tale of Two Cities, Roob and Noob, Into the Burrow: A Peter Rabbit Tale, and Oodles of Doodles (Alliance Theatre). Myah has also been a Teaching Artist with Alliance Theatre Education since the Summer of 2023. She is a Mississippi native and attended The University of Mississippi, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting along with specialized classes in Theatrical Design and Production. Myah would like to thank her family and friends for their never-ending love and support.
Myah Harper
Myah Harper [she/her] is ecstatic to be a team member of The Chinese Lady! Her previous credits include: The Preacher’s Wife, Fat Ham, A Tale of Two Cities, Roob and Noob, Into the Burrow: A Peter Rabbit Tale, and Oodles of Doodles (Alliance Theatre). Myah has also been a Teaching Artist with Alliance Theatre Education since the Summer of 2023. She is a Mississippi native and attended The University of Mississippi, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting along with specialized classes in Theatrical Design and Production. Myah would like to thank her family and friends for their never-ending love and support.
Xiaonan (Chloe) Liu [she/her] Chloe is the Stage Management Fellow at the Alliance Theatre, originally from China. She recently completed her first production, Something Moving, at the Alliance which she is so proud of. Chloe graduated from the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale where her credits include Next to Normal, Green Suga Bloos, The Cherry Orchard, The Alley, and Twelfth Night, as well as Choir Boy and Escaped Alone at Yale Rep. She holds a B.A. from Shanghai Theatre Academy. Her working experience in China included Beauty and The Beast, The Lion King, Man of La Mancha and The Sound of Music national tour.
Xiaonan (Chloe) Liu
Xiaonan (Chloe) Liu [she/her] Chloe is the Stage Management Fellow at the Alliance Theatre, originally from China. She recently completed her first production, Something Moving, at the Alliance which she is so proud of. Chloe graduated from the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale where her credits include Next to Normal, Green Suga Bloos, The Cherry Orchard, The Alley, and Twelfth Night, as well as Choir Boy and Escaped Alone at Yale Rep. She holds a B.A. from Shanghai Theatre Academy. Her working experience in China included Beauty and The Beast, The Lion King, Man of La Mancha and The Sound of Music national tour.