Tom Jacobson’s THE CHINESE MASSACRE (ANNOTATED) chronicles the first race riot in Los Angeles history: the 1871 lynching of 19 Chinese men by a mob of 500. A cast of 14 actors take on 42 roles in this epic and important retelling of a remarkably explosive event. At that time, Los Angeles was a violent, vicious town, population 6000, and suspected criminals were often hanged by vigilante groups. Overall, Jacobson’s “libretto” captures the recklessness of the era, but individual scene progressions can be confusing because you don’t always know who is who and when is when. It’s almost like going to the opera: You need a guide of some kind to follow the action.

The 1871 action occurs in the plaza around Olvera Street, the heart of Los Angeles at the time. The massacre took place on a street called Calle de los Negros. A small war was going on between two Chinese criminal factions called tongs, over possession of a woman. There was a shoot out between the two tongs and a white man was caught in the middle and killed.

Then all the simmering tensions between the Chinese community and the broader community came to a head. Hordes descended upon the Chinese community and nineteen men and boys were lynched over the course of one evening and Los Angeles had its first race riot.

Director Jeff Liu and the very talented ensemble of actors combine to keep the pace of the play at warp speed making it a bit difficult to follow, but taken as a whole the piece is still an enjoyable event. Performances are uniformly excellent, costumes are realistic, and the set is serviceable. Watching the piece readily brings to mind the Rodney King insurrection, the Watts Riots of 1965, and Zoot Suit Riots of 1943.