The Chickencoop Chinaman (Masterplots II: Drama)
At a glance:
- Author: Frank Chin
- First Published: 1981
- Type of Work: Social criticism
- Time of Work: The late 1960’s
- Setting: The Oakland district of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Principal Characters: Tam Lum, Kenji, Lee, Robbie, Charley Popcorn, Tom
- Genres: Social realism
- Subjects: 1960’s
- Locales: Pittsburgh, PA
The Play
The Chickencoop Chinaman opens in darkness. The audience hears sounds of a commercial jet in flight, then a man’s mischievous chuckle. Over the chuckle, a woman’s voice announces preparations for landing in Pittsburgh. An overhead spot comes on, revealing Tam Lum standing alone in a shaft of light. He describes his Hong Kong Dream Girl, and she appears onstage, a beautiful Asian in a drill-team uniform. Tam’s dream conversation with his Hong Kong Dream Girl, during his flight to Pittsburgh, constitutes scene 1 of the play. The girl wishes that Tam would do...
[The entire page is 3003 words long]
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