CAAL 40th Anniversary Presents the Play: “Interconnect” – New England Chinese American Stories

The original play “Interconnect” by Nick Ning inspired by the real stories of Chinese Americans during the COVID pandemic will stage at Cary Hall in Lexington on April 8! The play presented by Shiyin Poetry Society, Chinese American Association in Lexington, and New England Chinese American Alliance will feature many performance groups in the Boston area.

 “Interconnect” 1.0 @UMB premiered at UMass Boston on November 19th last year and was a full-house sensation.  “Interconnect” 2.0 @MIT on February 26th at the MIT Kresge Main Theater has addition of English subtitles. It was wowed by the broader audiences as “an epic production!”.

“Interconnect” 3.0 @Lex Cary Hall on April 8 is the best ever! It tells stories of the Chinese American community in Lexington and the Greater Boston area. Their trailblazer initiatives and spirit of love have built connections and communities in times of crisis. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Chinese American Association of Lexington. Let this play be the “first shot” to kick off the celebration of Patriot’s Day, and the May AAPI Heritage Month!

Director’s Notes:

Interconnect, a play (with English subtitles), tells the story of a Chinese student at MIT and a Chinese-American family in Lexington coming together to grapple with the turmoil of the COVID pandemic. Though they face the same global and local events together, Qiang and the Ding family have very different experiences – and yet some remain similar in surprising ways. All of them wonder about the way forward. How do we build bridges instead of walls between people in times of crisis?

This original six-act drama presents the dynamic lives of Chinese and Chinese-Americans as they navigate experiences from finding love to coping with loss and everything in between. Their stories are based on real events from the past three years, including Chinese-American efforts to help Wuhan, widespread mask relief campaigns, and joining in the Stop Asian Hate movement. Even Michelle Wu’s election as the new mayor of Boston gets a moment!

As tensions between the US and China escalate ever higher, this play is a relevant look at the people caught in the middle. Where are Chinese-Americans supposed to fall? What does it even mean to be American, or Chinese? 

In general, how is identity formed – is it chosen, earned, or destined?

Showtime：7:00 – 9:00 pm, 2023/04/08

Address: Cary Hall, 1605 Massachusetts Ave, Lexington, MA 02420

Ticket, Parking and more Info about the show: http://interconnect.caal-ma.org