Before going to a play, we all do a little research to see if it deals with subjects and themes that we like. After all, a theater ticket is expensive. I am privileged to review plays, so I don’t usually know what to expect. In the case of InterAct Theatre, I am always excited to see what they are presenting, often a world or area premier. Artistic Director Seth Rozin has selected and put on the stage so many brilliant works. With their current show, “Quixotic Professor Qiu,” I did read their press release and looked forward to seeing this unusual play on stage. Though it got off to a promising beginning, with an interesting theme, the play didn’t deliver., not because of the acting but because of the weak, talkie script that is rather confusing and without enough substance.
Apparently Chinese-American scientists were being targeted for espionage and that inspired playwright Damon Chua to create a story of a math professor who is being scrutinized by the FBI and by his own colleagues because he is Chinese.
Professor Qiu (Justin Jain) is an intelligent math professor and researcher in the United States. Though born in China, he has been in America since he was a child. His only connection to China is his childhood friend, Anna Zeng (Bi Jean Ngo). But he did get a grant that financed about 10% of his research from a Chinese company. Fascinated by numbers, Qiu developed an obsession as he explored different patterns based on the seemingly infinite quantity of prime numbers.
He is soon referred to as the quixotic professor, a term I had to look up even though I knew of the tales of Don Quixote. It can mean easily sidetracked or unpredictable. It can mean crazy or foolish. Qiu is none of these. He’s just consumed by his fascination with prime numbers…. But he was born in China, even though he is thoroughly American. As a result of receiving money from the Chinese company, he is being investigated by the FBI for non-disclosure of his research which he insists is already in the public domain. It seems that one of his heroes wound up in prison for some sort of economic espionage. The FBI agent is relentless, though rather stereotypical.
What has the potential for making the story interesting are the two women in his life. One is Valeria (Madeleine Garcia), a fellow professor who flirts with him at the beginning. The other is Anna, the childhood friend whom he visits when he returns to China every summer before he goes to college. Children of parents who weren’t allowed to have more than one child according to the Chinese government, they are like brother and sister. This gets misinterpreted by the FBI and by Valeria. There is so much story potential, but playwright Chua doesn’t create the depth of his female characters. He doesn’t tell us why Anna rejects him. As for his fellow professor, Valeria, she’s turned into a rather shallow person. The press release states that Professor Qiu is forced to choose between his birth identity and his adopted land. I didn’t get that from the play. It’s an old theme- the persecution of an individual because of his or her ethnicity, color, religion, or gender. It needs more than the same old cliches.
I never thought I’d write a review requesting that a play be longer. As is, it is an hour and forty-five minutes with an intermission. But Chua needs to develop these characters and to give more depth to his quixotic professor as well as making it more accessible in order to create a powerful presentation of an important story.
“Quixotic Professor Qiu”” by Damoon Chua at InterAct Theatre Company at The Drake, 302 S. Hicks St., Philadelphia, PA 19102, 215-568-8079 interacttheatre.org Thru February 23, 2025
Philadelphia Theater Reviews by Frank Burd 