His second play, it depicts a strike in a coolie railroad labor camp in the mid-nineteenth century American West.
Production
Ma cited that Hwang would often rewrite the play during rehearsals.[1]
The play premiered as part of a commission by the New Federal Theatre in 1981.[2] It had its professional debut on July 16, 1981 Off-Broadway at the Joseph Papp Public Theater. It was directed by John Lone, with Lone and Tzi Ma in the cast.[3]
An Off-Broadway revival was produced in 2013 at the Signature Theatre under the direction of May Adrales.[5]
It is published as part of Trying to Find Chinatown: The Selected Plays by Theatre Communications Group and also in an acting edition published by Dramatists Play Service.