The Return of the Artistic Company

The Oskar Eustis Troupe | The artistic director of the Public Theater creates productions that are the result of ongoing workshops that can continue for years. On its set for ‘‘Hamlet,’’ designed by David Zinn, in downtown New York are, clockwise from left: actor Oscar Isaac, composer Jeanine Tesori, actor Elizabeth Marvel, playwright David Henry Hwang, writer and director Alex Timbers, director Lear deBessonet, actor John Leguizamo, Eustis, playwright Suzan-Lori Parks and playwright, composer and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda. Photographed on Sept. 1, 2017.CreditPhotograph by Jason Schmidt. Location: The Public Theater’s Anspacher Theater on the “Hamlet” set designed by David Zinn.

The troupe — a roving band of actors, musicians and directors who produce a variety of plays and entertainment — is centuries old. So why has this generation of stage, television and cinematic impresarios found new resonance in this old form of communalism?

Read more at New York Times Magazine

How Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Joined Forces With Huang Ruo & David Henry Hwang To World Premiere New Version of ‘An American Soldier’

For the upcoming 2018 festival, the company will be producing the world premiere of Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang’s “An American Soldier.”

The opera follows the story of Private Danny Chen, a first-generation Chinese-American who enlists in the army in 2011 but soon finds himself at the center of deadly military hazing once he arrives in Afghanistan. The opera is based on a true story and brings up major themes of abuse and division in a time where the country is battling this very issue.

Read more at Operawire

Soft Power will play at the Curran in 2018

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.

Read more at nytimes.com

David Henry Hwang and Daniel Dae Kim Developing TV Series Adaptation Of ‘First Rule Of Ten’ Book

Courtesy of EPR

Daniel Dae Kim’s 3AD production company, which is behind breakout ABC drama series The Good Doctor, is developing First Rule of Ten, based on the successful books by Gay Hendricks and Tinker Lindsay, as a television series. Kim has partnered with Tony-winning playwright David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly) on the project, which is set at ITV Studios America where 3AD recently signed a two-year first-look deal.

Read more at Deadline.com

The Dance and the Railroad at the Under the Sal Tree Festival

The Dance and the Railroad was presented as part of Under the Sal Tree, a four-day annual theatre festival that takes place in the small, sleepy hamlet of Rampur in Goalpara, located some 200 kms west of Guwahati in India. The festival takes place outside, and The Dance and the Railroad was presented by the Inter Cultural Theatre Company of Imphal,  directed by Joy Maisnam.

Read more about the festival at TheHindu.com.

Julie Taymor on the stage magic of The Lion King, the real shock of M. Butterfly & more

Julie Taymor on Show People with Paul Wontorek

It’s no secret that Tony-winning director Julie Taymor is a visionary icon. The talented creator is having a major moment: The Lion King, Broadway’s box office bursting king of the jungle that earned her two Tony Awards in 1998, celebrated its 20th anniversary on the Great White Way on November 13. She is at the helm of a resplendent revival of David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly, currently playing at the Cort Theatre. Taymor shows no signs of stopping her creative streak. Hear all about her days as a traveler full of wanderlust before hitting it big in show business, why she’s beyond ready to bring Across the Universe to Broadway and more on this week’s Show People with Paul Wontorek.

Read more at Broadway.com

Clive Owen on Broadway starring in revival of 'M. Butterfly'

Actor Clive Owen is usually recognized for his roles in TV and movies, but now, he is starring on Broadway in the show "M Butterfly."

See the video of his interview on abc7ny.com
 

Foreign Goods: Collection of writings by British East Asian Artists to be released

The book marks the first collection of modern dramatic writing by British East Asian writers.

Foreign Goods features eight contemporary pieces including full plays, short plays and monologues. Its new material is relevant for actors and new plays are available for production.

Edited by award-winning playwright Jingan Young and veteran theatre writer David Henry Hwang, Foreign Goods contributes to the representation of British East Asian people in the theatre and beyond.

Read more at weareronate.com

Jenn Colella-Led GROUP, Plays by David Henry Hwang, Enda Walsh and More Set for Drama League's 'DirectorFest'

The Drama League announced today the expansion of their annual event, DirectorFest, into a multi-week, city-wide festival focusing on the art of Contemporary Stage directing.

For its 34th year, the festival will include five fully-staged productions, a showcase evening of new musicals, staged readings, discussion panels, books signings, workshops and conversations with America's most notable directors.

Taking place over two weeks in venues across Manhattan, highlights of the festival include rarely-seen plays by David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly), Enda Walsh (Once: The Musical), new works by Gabrielle Reisman, Alejandro Ricaño and more, all directed by the 2017 Drama League Directors Project Fellows: Laura Brandel, Bonnie Gabel, Matt Dickson, Flordelino Lagundino, and Rebecca Martinez.

Read more at Broadwayworld.com

BWW Interview: Celeste Den Conducts Dangerous Liaisons in M. BUTTERFLY

Celeste Den, who plays Comrade Chin in David Henry Hwang's M. Butterflyrevival, was searching for a UPS truck after a recent matinee, a box tucked under her arm. "I was told a truck would be here but I guess that was bad information," she said with a laugh.

Den knows about passing on information.

Chin is the Communist Party liaison who meets with the famed actor Song Liling, played by Jin Ha. He is the Butterfly of the play. Song is having a torrid affair with a Parisian diplomat, Rene Gallimard, played by Clive Owen. Chin extorts sensitive military secrets from Song and, well, you know how it goes.

Read the full story at Broadwayworld.com.

11 Asian-American Shows to Watch For in the 2017-18 Season

David Henry Hwang will be collaborating with Jeanine Tesori on Soft Power, to receive its world premiere in Los Angeles next year.
(© Joseph Marzullo / Tristan Fuge)

"With Asian-American theater off to a fairly strong start in 2017, we put together a list of the productions (from New York to Los Angeles and places in between) to look for throughout the rest of the 2017-18 season."

Read the full story at Theatermania.com

Hale Centre Theatre debuts high-tech, $80 million stage with ‘epic’ production of ‘Aida’

Courtesy photo) Kandyce Marie as Aida, Casey Elliott as Radames, and Amy Shreeve Keeler as Amneris in Hale Centre Theatre's new production of "Aida."

On many levels, Hale Centre Theatre’s new production of “Aida” has a full-circle sensibility.

The Elton John/Tim Rice Broadway musical will be the first show performed on the company’s new high-tech, arena-style Centre Stage. The 900-seat house is one of two new theaters in Sandy’s $80 million Mountain America Performing Arts Centre. The show opens with a gala preview Nov. 16, and the run continues through Jan. 20.

Read the full story at the Salt Lake Tribune website.

This 30-Year-Old Play About Gender And Asian Identity Is More Relevant Than Ever

Jin Ha as Song Liling. Photo by Matthew Murphy.

When M. Butterfly premiered on Broadway in 1988, audiences were stunned to discover that the central character, Song Liling, was actually a man. Nearly 30 years later, as the revival runs at the Cort Theatre, the cat is out of the bag.

The story of M. Butterfly, which won three Tony Awards including Best Play, is now more well known than the real-life story it was based on — the affair between French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and Peking opera singer Shi Pei Pu. The culture has also progressed, and with it our language and sensitivity surrounding gender identity: The reveal of a character’s gender as a surprise twist, once a feature of M. Butterfly, now seems like a dangerously regressive relic.

That’s something playwright David Henry Hwang was well-aware of when he set about revising his play for a new production directed by Julie Taymor. In revisiting his seminal work, Hwang undertook a heavy rewrite, one in which Song’s gender is addressed early on — and the themes of toxic masculinity and Asian gender stereotypes are as clear as ever.

Read the full story at Buzzfeed.

Photo Flash: David Henry Hwang and Julie Taymor In Conversation At Asia Society

On November 3rd, Asia Society presented an illuminating conversation with Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang and director Julie Taymor, moderated by Asia Society Director of Global Performing Arts Rachel Cooper.

Check out photos from the event at Broadwayworld.com

Metamorphosis From Madama Butterfly to M. Butterfly and Miss Saigon

Clive Owen and Jin Ha star in Julie Taymor's 2017 Broadway revival of M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang.
(© Matthew Murphy)

A rare species of theatrical achievement can be discovered in New York City this month by the most intrepid of audience members. On Friday, November 17, spectators at the Metropolitan Opera will see one of the most popular operas ever written: Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly. A day later, on November 18, the same viewers can watch two Broadway shows, back-to-back, that are inspired by this foundational work: David Henry Hwang's Tony-winning drama M. Butterfly and Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg's musical Miss Saigon.

Read the full story at Theatremania.com

Photo Flash: David Henry Hwang Presents 2017 Kesselring Prize To Lauren Yee At National Arts Club

On November 5, 2017, Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang presented the 2017 Kesselring Prize to rising young playwright Lauren Yee at the National Arts Club. Ms. Yee earned the Kesselring for her play THE GREAT LEAP, to be produced this season by Denver Center, Seattle Rep and Atlantic Theater Company. The Prize includes a $25,000 award and a two week residency in the historic clubhouse of the National Arts Club in order to develop her work.

Read the full story and see the photos at Broadwayworld.com

David Henry Hwang: How the Trump Presidency Gave 'M. Butterfly' Fresh Relevance

photo by Lia Chang

Nearly 30 years after its debut, M. Butterfly is back: A new revival, featuring an updated script by Hwang and direction from Julie Taymor, debuted on Broadway on Thursday. Though much of the story remains the same, the America of 2017 — one in which Donald Trump is president and conversations about race and ethnic identity dominate the national discourse — has changed. So, too, has the world, one in which China's ascendance to superpower status was scarcely assured in 1988.

Asia Blog recently caught up with Hwang to talk gender, ethnic identity, and explore why the election of President Trump has given M. Butterfly fresh relevance.

Read the interview at asiasociety.org.

Tarzan: The Musical' comes to Broward Center

The cast of Slow Burn Theatre's “Tarzan The Stage Musical” in the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, performing from through Nov. 5.

 (Rodrigo Balfanz/Courtesy)

Slow Burn Theatre Company stages the venue's first sensory-friendly performance in Fort Lauderdale at the Broward Center. The adaptive production of "Tarzan The Stage Musical" is specially designed for individuals with sensory processing and autism spectrum disorders.

It will include special seating arrangements, pre-curtain preparatory activities, modifications to stage and auditorium lighting, lower sound volumes and the use of noise-cancelling devices as well as the availability of a quiet room for those experiencing sensory overload.

Read more at Sun-Sentinel.com

Interview with M. Butterfly star Clive Owen

Photo by Tom Millward

The New York Theatre Guide recently caught up with Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner Clive Owen. The British actor is currently starring as Rene Gallimard in the first-ever Broadway revival of David Henry Hwang's Tony Award-winning play M. Butterfly, directed with a stylized, Brechtian touch by Tony Award winner Julie Taymor. Mr. Owen made his Broadway debut in September 2015 as Deeley in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of Harold Pinter's Old Times at the American Airlines Theatre. We were curious to find out what keeps bringing him back to the stage and how he developed the intimate connection with his co-star Jin Ha...

Read the interview at NewYorkTheatreGuide.com

M. Butterfly is Back and Better Than Before

Frank H. Wu, Contributor
Author, Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White

"Playwright David Henry Hwang is not aware of this, but as a journalist I have long looked up to him as an older brother type figure. That would be appropriate in the Chinese culture from which we both are descended, and even in the American culture to which each of us has assimilated. He is not only a bona fide writer; he is a commercially successful one. Hwang’s big hit, M. Butterfly, has been revived on Broadway with a touched-up script, directed by Julie Taymor of Lion King fame and Spiderman infamy, starring Clive Owen, the cerebral action hero in movies such as Children of Men and the BMW short ads. I saw it immediately, and I was impressed. What follows is an appreciation, not a proper review. Hwang and I have had maybe a half-dozen conversations since as a student a decade younger I invited him to speak on campus, and he told me as I drove him from the airport that his parents had wanted him to become a lawyer. We are friendly enough I would not presume to evaluate his work. His achievement deserves admiration though: he has expressed what many of us have thought halfway but not been able to put into words clearly. There is nobody else doing what he does."

Read the full article at Huffingtonpost.com