2020 Outer Critics Circle Award Honorees / May 13, 2020 by David Hwang

The OCC celebrated up to five honorees in each of its 26 categories this year due to the COVID-19 crisis

Watch the full announcement above. As previously announced, in lieu of selecting traditional nominees with one winner from each category, the 2020 Outer Critics Circle Awards celebrate up to five honorees in each of its 26 categories. The adjustment is to make room for a greater celebration in light of the public health crisis.

Soft Power, with a book and Lyrics by David Henry Hwang, and music and additional lyrics by Jeanine Tesori.

Theaters are closed but the music plays on in Ghostlight Records’ original cast albums / May 13, 2020 by David Hwang

Though audiences aren’t able to enjoy live on-stage performances during the ongoing coronavirus shutdown, Ghostlight Records offers cast recordings from a selection of popular musicals for digital download. Among the latest releases from the 2019-20 season are three award-nominated Off-Broadway favorites, featuring powerhouse performances of the original music and lyrics by the shows’ renowned stars.

Soft Power – A hot-button collaboration between Tony Award winners David Henry Hwang (book and lyrics) and Jeanine Tesori (music and additional lyrics), Soft Power examines American democracy from the perspective of China in a riotous and relevant new musical-within-a-play that had its New York premiere at The Public Theater last fall. Francis Jue, Conrad Ricamora, and Alyse Alan Louis lead the spirited cast through hard-hitting numbers filled with sharp-witted parodies and heartfelt honesty that will leave you laughing and thinking.

The Santa Fe Opera Cancels 2020 Season / May 13, 2020 by David Hwang

The Santa Fe Opera's 64th Season was scheduled to present 39 performances of five operas, including the world premiere of Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly; two company premieres, Wagner's Tristan und Isolde and Dvořák's Rusalka; Steven Barlow's inventive new production of Rossini's The Barber of Seville; the revival of Tim Albery's much-loved production of Mozart's The Magic Flute; and two Apprentice Scenes performances. The 2020 Season reflected the time-tested programming model pioneered by Santa Fe Opera founder John Crosby: a balanced and varied repertory of new, rarely performed and standard works portrayed in a new light. All other activities and services, including theater tours, preview dinners, shuttles, tailgate picnics, prelude talks, opening night dinners, opera storytellers summer camp, adult learning seminars and the Tristan und Isolde symposium, have been canceled.

Soft Power will play at the Curran in 2018 / January 29, 2018 by David Hwang

A new play by David Henry Hwang, will run as part of the Curran’s 2018 lineup. Featuring music by Jeanine Tesori, Mr. Hwang’s “Soft Power” examines Chinese-American relations in the present and future. Leigh Silverman will direct the production, which is scheduled to run from June 20 to July 8 after a premiere in Los Angeles at the Center Theater Group in May.