To write The Chinese Lady, Lloyd Suh looked back to the 19th century. In 1834, two American importers brought a 16-year-old girl named Afong Moy from Guangzhou, China, to New York City, making her the first Chinese woman to immigrate to America. Upon arrival, the men put her on display and charged people to gawk at her “exotic” look. For decades, they shuttled Moy around the country, treating her as an exhibition. Suh’s play tells the story from Moy’s perspective. Premiered in 2018 at the Barrington Stage in Massachusetts, the play now comes to New York City for an Off Broadway run. Shannon Tyo and Daniel K. Isaac reprise their roles as Moy and her translator. —Jensen Davis