New England Premiere

Laowang

Written by Alex Lin

directed by Michael Hisamoto

April 14 - May 8, 2027

Boston Center for the Arts, Plaza Theatre

When a high-rise developer threatens to buy out A-Poh’s successful Chinatown restaurant, the martyr-complex matriarch gathers her three precious grandchildren from all corners of the country to plan their next mode of attack. 
There’s just one problem – A-Poh's memory is rapidly fading. What follows is a chaotic journey through reality, myth, and magic as A-Poh travels through now and the great beyond in a last-ditch effort to preserve what’s left of her family, legacy, and sanity. A caustic and imaginative spin on King Lear that explores the changing face of America's Chinatowns and the fight to preserve a fading cultural memory.
Dedicated to the legacy of Wai Ching Ho, 1943 – 2026.

At CHUANG Stage, tickets are "Pay-As-You-Are" to provide radical access to theatre for those who identify as working-class immigrants of Asian American descent, a population in Boston underrepresented in arts and culture patrons. When you "Pay-As-You-Are," we empower you to select the ticket price that best reflects your socio-economic status and take action in community accountability to make arts accessible for all.

About the Venue

Boston Center for the Arts supports working artists to create, perform, and exhibit new works; develops new audiences; and connects the arts to community.

The Plaza Theatre and Plaza Black Box Theatre are located beneath the BCA Cyclorama. These underground theatre spaces have been home to some of Boston’s most innovative artists arts and organizations for decades.

Creative Team

PLAYWRIGHT - Alex Lin is just a girl from Jersey. Plays at: Roundabout, Primary Stages, 2ST, NYTW, MTC, O'Neill, SCR, New Harmony, Two River, Playwrights Realm, Atlantic Theater Company, and many more. As an actor: NYTW, New Group, Actors Theatre of Louisville, New Victory, HVSF, Ma-Yi, Fault Line, Two River, Commonwealth Shakespeare, and others. Blackburn finalist, Stavis Award winner, two-time Kennedy Center Paul Stephen Lim Award winner. Colt Coeur, Rattlestick, Working Theater, and BMI residencies. TV: The Audacity on AMC. Forbes 30 under 30. Juilliard.

DIRECTOR - Michael Hisamoto (he/him/his) Michael is an interdisciplinary theatre artist who has worked with The Public Theater, the La Jolla Playhouse, Ma-Yi Theater Company, New York Stage and Film, the Huntington Theatre Company, Trinity Rep, South Coast Repertory, American Stage, Hope Rep, Lyric Stage Company Boston, New Rep, SpeakEasy Stage, Wheelock Family Theatre, Williamstown Theater Festival, the Kennedy Center, HowlRound/ArtsEmerson, Boston Court Pasadena, The Yale Prize for Drama, Gloucester Stage, CompanyOne, The Watertown Children’s Theatre, Flat Earth Theatre, Fresh Ink Theatre, MIT, Harvard, Boston University, Brown University, Merrimack Rep, East West Players, Central Square Theater, The Boston Playwright’s Theatre, Plays in Place, Ojai Playwright’s Conference, The Seven Devils Playwrights’ Conference, Palm Beach Dramaworks, and more. A champion of new work, Michael has helped develop hundreds of new plays from first time playwrights to Tony winners and Pulitzer Prize finalists. Michael was commissioned by Central Square Theater to adapt Our Town for the city of Cambridge. Education: Orange County High School of the Arts. BFA: Boston University. MFA: Brown/Trinity Rep. AEA. Former Co-Artistic Director of New Repertory Theatre. Board member of Seven Devils Playwrights’ Conference, current faculty at Boston University. michaelhisamoto.com | sevendevils.org