We’ve got a first look at some advance and rehearsal photos just released from Berkeley Rep for their upcoming production of David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish.

As you might guess the show’s name is a mash-up of two languages – possibly the most widely spoken ones on planet earth.

How many times have you caught yourself speaking Chinese when you thought you were speaking English? Or vice versa?

Never? Fortunately, that’s not what this play is about.

In Chinglish, an American businessman heads to Asia to score a lucrative contract for his family’s firm—but the deal isn’t the only thing getting lost in translation. He collides with a Communist minister, a bumbling consultant and a suspiciously sexy bureaucrat.

Directed by Leigh Silverman, the production stars Vivian Chiu, Celeste Den, Michelle Krusiec, Austin Ku, Alex Moggridge, Brian Nishii, and Larry Lei Zhang.

The canny comedy of cross-cultural errors, which makes its way across the country from Broadway, opens September 8th at the Roda Theatre in Berkeley.

Chinglish – Berkeley Rep – Advance Photos

Michelle Krusiec and Alex Moggridge
Michelle Krusiec and Alex Moggridge
David Henry Hwang, the renowned playwright who’s won three Obie Awards and the Tony Award for Best Play, brings his new comedy Chinglish to Berkeley Rep for its West Coast premiere before the show goes to Hong Kong.
Two-time Obie-winner Leigh Silverman returns to the Bay Area to direct Chinglish.

Chinglish – Berkeley Rep – Rehearsal Photos

At Berkeley Rep, Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang and Obie Award-winning director Leigh Silverman lead a rehearsal.
Henry Hwang and Leigh Silverman.
Actors Brian Nishii and Alex Moggridge rehearse playwright David Henry Hwang and director Leigh Silverman.
Actor Alex Moggridge rehearses with director Leigh Silverman and playwright David Henry Hwang.
Actors Brian Nishii and Alex Moggridge (seen in the foreground) rehearse with playwright David Henry Hwang and director Leigh Silverman (centered in the background).
Director Leigh Silverman leads a rehearsal.
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