Tiananmen Annie

I was very captivated by the characters and events in Tiananmen Annie. I felt as if I were living through Ann's year in Beijing along with her - felt her embrace the Chinese culture and felt her sadness at having to leave the people she'd come to know and stand up for prior to the Tiananmen uprising. I'm really glad I was able to share in Ann's experience. It was unusual, funny, dangerous and complex - history made intimate. ... full review

Not entirely sure what to expect from an American's one-woman show about the Tiananmen uprising, I was seriously impressed with this play and Ann Starbuck's performance. The play is autobiographical, covering her year abroad in Beijing as a junior in college, then being recruited by CNN to assist reporters and producers covering the protests. The show has plenty of humor - her experience changing money on the black market, her Chinese professor whose favorite movie was Ferris Bueller - as well as insight into Chinese culture, such as her learning about guan shi (sp?) and how to earn it. The show also has suspense - escorting a hunger striker to and from Tiananmen Square for an interview with Bernard Shaw - and sorrow - her Chinese friends fo... full review

This was a great show. A fascinating look at a historical event we rarely hear about, especially because China has done a very good job of encouraging/forcing people not to learn about this event. And Annie, the actor, does a great job of bringing the various characters to life. I really could see everyone she met during her time in China. A very enjoyable evening.... full review

I'm blown away by last night's Tiananmen Annie show! The one woman performance was a treasured inside glimpse of the days during the Tiananmen uprising. Written and performed in an unassuming and culturally respectful yet brave and honest first person account of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. I definitely recommend Annie Starbuck's show to anyone interested in learning more about this important historical event. It will make you cry, laugh, and think about it for days!... full review

Ann Starbuck gives a lively and energetic performance. Her staged memoir about her time in China as a young woman studying abroad during the Tiananmen uprising is sad and touching, but is also peppered with generous doses of humor, which is a very good thing. She introduces us to an ancient land on the other side of the world. It's well worth listening to someone who was a witness to one of the most fascinating, earth-shaking political movements of our time. I thoroughly enjoyed her performance.... full review

Tianamen Annie is truly an amazing show. Ann Starbuck tells her autobiographical story dymanically, her characters are compelling and convincing and her Chinese, to my American non speaking ear, is great! Ann transports the audience back to a historical time that even we have been conditioned to forget, the uprising in Tianamen Square. She reminds us of how her courageous friends in China sacrificed everything for their beliefs. The story is inspriational and reminds us to never forget. This really SHOULD NOT be missed. Worth so much more than the price of the ticket. I will see the show again, and next time, bring my 10 year old. She will love it! ... full review

When she was 21, Ann Starbuck went to China and here she revisits that adventure and brings us along. It was 1988, the country was under Mao’s punitive Communist rule and this gal was alone, hardly spoke Chinese and, in spite of a number of panic attacks, loved being there and seeing the Great Wall and other famous sites. As a student she was protected from the harsher rules her new friends lived under yet, being an intrepid traveler, she managed to become part of the local people’s lives. A job as gopher for a CNN camera crew brought her into the heart of the student uprising and the 1989 protest in Tiananmen Square that ended in a massacre by the Red Army. She portrays a number of characters, Chinese and American in a charming effortless w... full review

I've seen many shows at the Fringe, and this one has to be one of the best. The characters that Ann Starbuck brings to life, the themes, the visuals she creates with just a few simple movements, and the emotional roller coaster -- from laughter to tears -- fantastic. I brought three guests, and we were all delighted and grateful. Thank you Ann Starbuck for creating such a piece! ... full review

Tiananmen Annie was one of the most moving performances I've seen. The story is fascinating, and the storytelling is superb. Don't miss this show!... full review

I have always been fascinated with Tiananmen Square. Not only did Tiananmen Annie further my education about the Square and the massacre, it also deepened my fascination, beautifully connecting her personal account with the stories we've previously learned! The incredible stories are combined splendidly with the heartfelt performance that made it seem personal for everyone in the audience!... full review