LAOWANG

NOVEMBER 1 - DECEMBER 14, 2025

59E59 THEATERS (59 East 59th Street)
Tues-Fri @ 7pm; Sat @ 2 & 7pm; Sun @ 2pm
Thurs @ 2pm on November 20, December 4, & 11
We will have an altered schedule during the week of Thanksgiving

written by ALEX LIN
directed by JOSHUA KAHAN BRODY


Don't mess with a Chinese grandma.

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 in response to the gentrification of America’s Chinatowns.

Run time: 1 Hour, 30 Minutes with no intermission

Laowang was developed as part of the Liff Lab, a innovative new play development program at Primary Stages.

Lead support for Laowang is provided by The Andrew Leynse Legacy Project at Primary Stages.

Major season support provided by the The Howard Gilman Foundation, the A.R Gurney Playwrights Fund, The SHS Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

MEET THE TEAM

TALKBACKS

Talkbacks will be led by a member of the Primary Stages artistic staff and offer an opportunity for the audience to engage in a dialogue with the artists in our productions.

Talkbacks for Laowang will take place on Sunday, November 23 and Tuesday, December 2, 2025.

API Night: A Community Night and Talkback in collaboration with CAATA (the Consortium of Asian American Theater Artists) will take place on Saturday, November 15.

BUY TICKETS

Click the link below to purchase tickets via the 59E59 Theaters box office.

For any questions or to purchase over the phone, please call the 59E59 Theaters box office at (212) 753-5959.

SHOW LOCATION

59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street (between Park and Madison Avenues)