Wednesday, February 24, 1999
‘Tiger’ studies emotional plight of Asian Americans
THEATER: Play tells story of Vincent Chin’s family using
cultural imagery
By Louise Chu
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
When an aggressor comes toward you, you can use his strength
against him.
Such profundity inspires tai-chi disciples and fueled the Asian
American civil rights movement of the early ’80s.
When Cherylene Lee decided to pen a play based on the 1982
beating death of Vincent Chin, she drew from the wisdom of the
ancient Chinese exercise to illustrate the tragic events that
sparked one of the largest rallies of activism in the Chinese
American community.
"It was a case that really opened up my eyes about how people
view Asian Americans," reflects Lee, a fourth generation Chinese
American. "It was the first time that I realized that there are
people who don’t see me as American. It was a shock."
Lee was not alone. When the two white men convicted of killing
the 27-year-old Detroit resident evaded a prison sentence,
widespread outrage prompted a drastic reassessment of Asian
Americans’ place in society.
Thirteen years later, Lee decided to capture the dramatic events
in "Carry the Tiger to the Mountain." The play, produced by East
West Players, will hold its west coast premiere tonight at the
David Henry Hwang Theater in Little Tokyo.
While Lee incorporates the political struggle into the piece,
she specifically chose to focus on the personal story of Lily Chin,
Vincent’s mother.
"I think that (Lily Chin’s experience) was an aspect of the
story that was not really covered in the documentary ‘Who Killed
Vincent Chin?,’" Lee explains. "I think it was a very good
documentary, but this is really a dramatization. It goes through
much more of the emotional journey."
Reggie Lee, who plays Vincent, was also reluctant to utilize the
insight of the Academy Award-nominated documentary. Instead, the
actor opted to find inspiration in his personal experiences. He
found parallels between their lives, including growing up in the
Midwest and having a strong family foundation.
"I was raised in Cleveland, where there are, like, two Asian
families," Reggie Lee says. "From the time, I was in 5th grade, I
was called a chink … I could draw from that and take the anger
from that. Not to say that I’m substituting what I feel into the
story, but using that and knowing how I feel about that and using
Beulah (who plays Lily) as my mother."
Taking a hearty dose of artistic freedom, "Tiger" weaves themes
of Chinese spirituality and the American dream into a portrayal
that also attempts to address more universal Chinese American
issues.
"The first act of the play is very much an American metaphor,"
Cherylene Lee says. "The selling of the American car is the selling
of the American dream that a lot of immigrants really buy into …
In the second act, I use a Chinese metaphor because I really wanted
to have this duality of East and West, the softness and the
strength, and the light and the dark."
"Tiger" originally premiered in West Virginia as part of the
governor’s initiative on race. There, politicians from around the
United States, including one of President Clinton’s advisors,
attended the production in support of the movement and the
arts.
Despite the central themes that remain constant from show to
show, productions of "Tiger" have been as varied as the responses
to the piece.
In West Virginia, the playwright recalls an audience that was
primarily non-Asian. The show placed greater emphasis on the beauty
of the Chinese culture, abandoning the accuracy of the Chin
family’s working-class background. Of the uninitiated audience, she
says, "To them, this was totally an eye-opener. They had never even
considered that Asian Americans had not taken part equally in the
American dream."
In sharp contrast, the New York production remained truer to the
actual context, presenting the darker, grittier side to what
Cherylene Lee considered "a very knowledgeable audience." As
"Tiger" opens in Los Angeles, Lee points to the poignancy of the
subject, which reminds the diverse community here of the Asian
American struggle.
At the end of the play, a picture of the real Vincent Chin
appears on the stage. There is no immediate response, no applause.
A brief moment of silence and reflection washes over the crowd.
"You see that picture, and you think, ‘How far have we really
come?’" Lee says.
"Maybe we haven’t come that far, even after all the pain that
people went through."
THEATER: East West Players’ production of "Carry the Tiger To
the Mountain" opens tonight at the David Hwang Theater at the Union
Center for the Arts in Little Tokyo, and runs through March 14. For
more information, call 213-625-7000.
Comments, feedback, problems?
© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]