Customer Reviews

Golden Child

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I will never understand why this play tanked in New York. It is a simple, elegant tale about assimilation and familial dysfunction. David Henry Hwang is a masterful writer, and this is some of his best work. The only weakness is its ending, which falls a little flat as a character (who is clearly the author) explains the entire point, as if the audience missed it. Although this (like most of his work) is about Chinese, it should be read by people of all walks of life.

If you liked the segments of the film "The Joy Luck Club" which took place in China, you'll love David Henry Hwang's play "Golden Child." Although Hwang is probably better known for his play "M. Butterfly," "Golden Child" is a remarkable piece of writing which deserves attention. According to the production history included in the book version, an early version of "Golden Child" premiered in 1996, and a later version was presented at Broadway's Longacre Theatre in 1998. But "Golden Child" is also one of those plays which succeeds purely as a readers' text.

"Golden Child" opens with Andrew, a Westernized man of Chinese heritage, who is visited by the ghost of his Chinese-born mother. This brief prologue leads to the story of his mother's girlhood in China. We meet Andrews's grandfather, Tieng-Bin; Tieng-Bin's three wives; and the Western clergyman who seeks to convert them to Christianity.

"Golden Child" is a thought-provoking exploration of family life and cross-cultural contact. There is both humor and tragedy in the dialogue. The story addresses such topics as polygamy, foot-binding, ancestor worship, and opium use in traditional Chinese culture. Hwang's ironic portrayal of the politics of "conversion" may be a revelation to those Western Christians who harbor romantic, idealistic notions about bringing the "light" to non-European peoples. I was very impressed with Hwang's writing, and I highly recommend "Golden Child."

I don't normally read plays. I always feel as if I will be missing something by reading the script rather than seeing it performed. After reading David Henry Hwang's "Golden Child", however, I am hoping that I will one have the opportunity to see this play in person.

Hwang mentions in the introduction that "Golden Child" underwent several rewrites until the final draft was completed. The end product, to me, is utterly flawless. A perfect mesh of comedy and tragedy unfolds as Hwang confronts the effects a man's conversion to Christianity has in early 20th century China.

A very captivating read, I highly recommend David Henry Hwang's "Golden Child".