Chinese Republicans (Roundabout Theatre Company)

By Harry Forbes

Playwright Alex Lin’s satirical comedy takes aim at misogyny and racism in the corporate workplace—familiar targets, perhaps, but Lin’s characters give the material a distinctive twist. While some of the plot’s turns feel scattershot, the play builds to a conclusion that lands with genuine force.

Set in 2019, the story centers on four Chinese women who meet monthly for an affinity-group lunch at a Chinese restaurant. All work at the investment bank Friedman Wallace, and their gatherings function as a kind of support group where they compare notes on navigating a predominantly white, male corporate culture. Yet solidarity only goes so far: each woman is also keenly aware of her own ambitions and the compromises that advancement may require.

Ellen, played with steely composure by Jennifer Ikeda, is a managing director who has achieved considerable success but still finds herself stalled short of partnership. Her protégé, Katie—portrayed by Anna Zavelson, memorable to many from Light in the Piazza at Encores—is a 24-year-old wealth strategies research associate whose trajectory takes an unexpected turn when she abruptly pivots toward activism. Jodi Long brings authority to Phyllis, now 65, once Ellen’s mentor and the first Asian woman to become a managing director in New York, currently working as a consultant. Completing the quartet is Iris, played by Jully Lee, a lower-level employee in the firm’s software division—an immigrant still awaiting a green card.

All four performers acquit themselves well, capturing both the camaraderie and the underlying tensions within the group. There is also amusing support from Ben Langhorst as a knowingly campy waiter who briefly punctuates the action.

Lin structures the play with occasional flashbacks and dream sequences, devices that sometimes add texture. Despite the title, the “Republican” aspect of the play is not emphasized as heavily as one might expect; the drama’s focus remains more squarely on questions of identity, advancement, and belonging within elite corporate spaces.

Visually, the production is solid if not showy. Wilson Chin’s revolving set proves practical, with the red-hued restaurant environment emerging as the most striking element. Hana Kim supplies projections that help mark shifts in time and perspective. Under Chay Yew’s brisk direction, the evening rarely drags, even when some of Lin’s plot developments stretch credibility.

If “Chinese Republicans” doesn’t always fully cohere, its sharp observations about ambition, loyalty, and the costs of corporate success keep it engaging—and its final moments suggest a more resonant play just beneath the surface.

(Roundabout Theatre Company’s Laura Pels Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, 111 West 46th Street; RoundaboutTheatre.org; through April 5)

Photo by Joan Marcus: (l.-r.) Jodi Long (Phyllis/Young Phyllis), Jennifer Ikeda (Ellen/Ailin), Anna Zavelson (Katie) and Jully Lee (Iris)

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