Four Asian women gather in a Chinese restaurant for what Ellen (Jennifer Ikeda) calls an affinity meeting. All work together in the same financial company. In essence, they are a work support group. Although each woman has her own agenda with a different range of experiences, they have much in common.

They are there to support the youngest, newest member Katie (feisty Anna Zavelson ) as she prepares for her job interview for a promotion.
Ellen, whose Chinese name Ailin, is divorced and childless and mentors Katie, seeing her as her protege and the daughter she never had. She envisions Katie breaking the glass ceiling and becoming a partner. When she does that, Ellen plans to rise with her.

Set in 2019 in New York with some political references to Democratic Mayor De Blasio and racial prejudice against Asians, Alex Lin’s play follows the women through several months. Katie gets her promotion and later is being groomed for a more important one.

Iris (Jully Lee) who speaks four Chinese dialects, hopes to become a citizen and is quick to mock Katie’s use of Duolingo to learn Mandarin. The sharp-tongued Phyliss (Jody Long) is the senior member of the group and the first Asian woman to be a managing director at an NYC investment bank. She was Ellen's mentor, even anglicizing her name and advising her to have a child to save her marriage. Long is funny and sarcastic and has great delivery.

When Katie is passed over in the job in favor a white man, she becomes militant and begins to campaign for a union. The quiet subservient Asian women suddenly and uncomfortably find themselves in the spotlight.

Except for some cultural references, a confusing nightmare scene with Iris in a Chinese costume, and comments about different accents, much of Lin’s play feels familiar. It depicts the struggle of female immigrants, sacrificing to get ahead in business, only to have the credit and promotions usurped by white men. These women happen to be Asian.

Directed by Chay Yew, Chinese Republicans feels like a work in progress with extraneous material tossed in. There’s the gay white waiter who provides a bit of comic relief in the second act as he is misinterpreted. Even the political party references don’t seem necessary unless being a Republican is the correct party to follow to get ahead.

The play shows the price of assimilation and what immigrants do to fit in. Ikeda is very sympathetic and the audience feels for her. Born to Chinese parents in America, Ellen knows nothing about the language or the country, nor does she feel the need to learn. She does everything right, right clothes, name and attitude to succeed in business but has gone as far as she can. She even has tolerated sexual harassment. But for what?

Except for the names, faces and accents, Chinese Republicans doesn’t offer anything we haven’t seen before. The play needs pruning and revising to work well. Some important issues like Anti-Asian hatred and sexual harassment don't get enough attention. So rather than be affected and learning from what we’ve seen, we nod. Yes, we’ve seen that already