2020 TCG Gala Celebrates Legacies and Potential / February 13, 2020 by David Hwang

David Henry Hwang. (Photo by Ryan Bourque)

NEW YORK CITY: Songs from ‘Soft Power,’ ‘A Strange Loop,’ and a Prince deep cut highlighted a celebration of the National Black Theatre Festival and David Henry Hwang.

History and legacies were in the spotlight as the theatre community gathered on Monday night, Feb. 3, for Theatre Communications Group’s 2020 Gala. Celebrated were the work and legacies of playwright David Henry Hwang and the National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, N.C. As the gala celebrated the honorees’ decades of service to the industry, the awardees themselves also looked forward toward a brighter future.

Inside the 2020 TCG Gala Honoring David Henry Hwang and The National Black Theatre Festival / February 13, 2020 by David Hwang

David Henry Hwang (Tricia Baron) — David Henry Hwang (Tricia Baron)

The Tony winner of M. Butterfly and organizers of the Winston-Salem festival were celebrated at the Edison Ballroom.

The Theatre Communications Group’s honored playwright David Henry Hwang and the National Black Theatre Festival of Winston-Salem at its 2020 Gala at the Edison Ballroom February 3. The event featured playwright Nambi E. Kelley and producer Stephen Byrd, who saluted NBTF Artistic Director Jackie Alexander and Board President Sylvia Sprinkle-Hamlin as well as performances from Off-Broadway’s Soft Power and A Strange Loop.

Prolific Tony-winning playwright to be in Quad-Cities Feb. 12-13 / February 13, 2020 by David Hwang

In an astoundingly prolific career, David Henry Hwang has written with people ranging from pop stars Elton John, Phil Collins and Prince to composers Philip Glass and Jeanine Tesori.

And that doesn't even count the scads of stories for theater, TV and film he's penned solo.

A 62-year-old Los Angeles native, Tony winner and two-time Pulitzer finalist, Hwang will be in the Quad-Cities Wednesday, Feb. 12, and Thursday, Feb. 13, for events at Augustana College's Brunner Theatre Center, 3750 7th Ave., Rock Island. The residency is being sponsored by Augustana and Quad City Arts.

Official: Re-Imagined AIDA Will Premiere at Paper Mill Playhouse and Tour in 2021 / February 1, 2020 by David Hwang

As BroadwayWorld first reported last year, a new North American tour of Elton John and Tim Rice's Tony-winning Broadway smash Aida will premiere at Paper Mill Playhouse, February 4 - March 7, 2021.

The production will officially play Charlotte, Chicago, Fort Worth, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Nashville, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., among other cities to be announced.

To receive news about the Aida North American tour, please sign-up for email alerts at AidaOnTour.com. For information on the Paper Mill run, visit PaperMill.org.

The new production, updated and re-imagined, retains the beloved Tony and Grammy-winning score and features a book revised by David Henry Hwang, who co-authored the acclaimed original production with Linda Woolverton and Robert Falls.

Read more at Broadway World

Archive Recovery To Begin At Museum Of Chinese in America Days After Devastating Fire / January 30, 2020 by David Hwang

Recovery efforts may begin Monday for what remains of the archives of the Museum of Chinese in America, including some priceless historical records, that are feared damaged by a five-alarm fire last week.

The Chinese playwright David Henry Hwang was among those who tweeted about the urgent need to help the museum.

David Henry Hwang✔@DavidHenryHwang
MoCA needs us
We need MoCA

Last Friday, the Museum of Chinese in America suffered a fire which ravaged its precious archives. Please consider donating to help them recover from this tragedy. https://twitter.com/mocanyc/status/1220961507212779520 …
Museum of Chinese in America✔@mocanyc
Thank you to all of you who have reached out in this difficult time. In response to your inquiries as to how you can help, we’ve set up this page https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/mocafirerecovery …

Theatre Communications Group Has Announced the Co-Chairs of 2020 GALA: OUR STORIES / January 27, 2020 by David Hwang

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, has shared the co-chair and host committee list of the 2020 TCG Gala: Our Stories, which will be held on Monday, February 3, 2020 at The Edison Ballroom, 240 W 47th St, New York, NY 10036. The Gala will honor the National Black Theatre Festival, David Henry Hwang, and TCG's arts advocacy at the federal level

Read more at Broadway World

Guggenheim’s Spring 2020 Works & Process Series / January 27, 2020 by David Hwang

A discussion with playwright David Henry Hwang (Soft Power) and the minds behind The Democracy Project at Federal Hall, including Michael R. Jackson (A Strange Loop) and Bruce Norris (Clybourne Park).

The series' slate of offerings also includes a sneak peek at the Broadway revival of West Side Story (directed by Ivo van Hove). A February performance will highlight the new chamber opera adaptation of Intimate Apparel from Lynn Nottage (Sweat) and Ricky Ian Gordon (Morning Star). A moderated panel ahead of the premiere of the Metropolitan Opera’s Agrippina will provide insights from the production by the creative team and cast.

The Dramatists Guild of America's 'Librettists Initiative' to be Featured at Opera America's New Works Forum / January 14, 2020 by David Hwang

Opera America will feature a public discussion with The Dramatists Guild's Opera Committee's Librettist Initiative at their New Works Forum on Thursday, January 16 at 10am at the National Opera Center, 330 7th Avenue, 7th Floor, New York.

The upsurge in new American opera has generated a greater focus on the story, and given new prominence to the librettist in the creation of new works. Michael Korie and Mark Campbell formed the Librettists Initiative, with the Dramatists Guild of America's Opera Committee, in order to develop more equitable working conditions for librettists and help improve the collaborative environment for everyone involved in the creation of new opera.

The session at the New Works Forum will include:

• A brief introduction to the Initiative;

• The premiere of "Credit the Librettist," a new film created by the Librettists Initiative, which features interviews with Anthony Davis, Ricky Ian Gordon, Tony Kushner, Craig Lucas, Terrence McNally, Lynn Nottage, John Patrick Shanley, Stephen Schwartz, Jeanine Tesori, David Henry Hwang, and many more;

Read more at Broadway World

Watch This Space: Playwrights Train for All Media / January 11, 2020 by David Hwang

In 2018, a record 495 original scripted series were released across cable, online, and broadcast platforms, according to a report by FX Networks. And with the growing popularity of streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon (not to mention new players like Disney and Apple), a whopping 146 more shows are up and running on various platforms now than were on air in 2013. So how does peak TV relate to theatre?

For playwright David Henry Hwang, who joined the faculty at Columbia University School of the Artsas head of the playwriting MFA program in 2014, success should be a byproduct, not a destination. “As a playwright, I don’t believe it’s possible to ‘game’ the system—i.e., to try and figure out how to write something ‘successful,’” he said. “The finished play is your reward for taking that journey. The thing that makes you different, and uniquely you, is your superpower as a dramatist, because it is the key to writing the play only you can write. Ironically, by focusing not on success but on what you really care about, you are more likely to find success.”

Ten Off-Broadway Productions From 2019 That Would Enrich Broadway In 2020 / January 7, 2020 by David Hwang

merlin_161405073_249e92b2-4032-45d8-b683-f4c7078ba865-articleLarge.jpg

To this very frequent theatre-goer, the most exciting and gratifying development on New York stages since 2010 has been the growing number of productions that, before hitting it big on Broadway, graced the stages of the city's non-profit Off-Broadway companies.

David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori's smartly done SOFT POWER (The Public Theater) comments on the well-intentioned ignorance of those who see themselves as allies to inclusiveness with its satirical reversal of Rodgers and Hammerstein's THE KING AND I. In this version, a Chinese businessman travels to New York and winds up advising Hillary Clinton in her bid for the presidency. Just like in THE KING AND I, they clash on social issues while struggling with attraction for each other, only this time it's the Asian who is seen as the wise teacher, bringing civilized thought to a vulgar, overtly militarized America where violence, religious fundamentalism, racism and homophobia are the norms.

Read more at Broadway World

OperaWire’s Top 10 Must-See Operas In 2020 / January 7, 2020 by David Hwang

The year 2019 offered up its fair share of amazing opera experiences. As the calendar changes to 2020, OperaWire is taking a look at some of the most hotly anticipated performances that the New Year will have to offer for audiences. Without further ado, here are the top 10 opera productions of 2020 that we are most excited for(This list only includes productions that have been announced).

M. Butterfly – Santa Fe Opera

Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang world premiere their new work for the Santa Fe Opera. The opera will be directed by James Robinson and will star David Bizic, Kangmin Justin Kim, Hera Hyesang Park, Kevin Burdette, and Joshua Dennis. Xian Zhang conducts the premiere.

Performance Dates: August 1-26, 2020

FEATURE: Top 10 of 2019 / January 7, 2020 by David Hwang

By my count, I’ve attended 234 performances of theatre, dance, music, opera, and cabaret during 2019. Out of a field that large, it’s hard to pick just ten, but nevertheless, here are my top ten (ok, eleven) favorite shows I saw:

“Soft Power” (The Public Theater)
David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori’s new “musical-within-a-play” premiered in New York following two west coast engagements in 2018. This clever examination of the “disaster” of American democracy following the 2016 presidential election is a reverse version of “The King and I”, in which a Chinese film executive falls in love with a post-election Hillary Clinton, teaching her lessons from China’s perspective. A successful experiment in dramatic convention—what starts as a play becomes a musical dream—this smart and poignant show is notable for the economy of its storytelling, the tautness of its writing, its incisive interrogation of American politics and culture, and its nearly all-Asian cast. Read my review. Listen to my podcast episode. (closed 11/17)

The top ten theater productions of 2019 / January 7, 2020 by David Hwang

This year, for the first time since I began compiling these best-of-the-year lists in 2003, no Broadway shows at all have made the top ten. In part, that's an accident of timing; two shows that opened on Broadway this year, Oklahoma! and Slave Play, were on my 2018 top ten list for their earlier Off Broadway runs, and What the Constitution Means to Me was an honorable mention. Still, it speaks to a general truth of theatergoing in New York City: That much of the most exciting work is happening in smaller venues—including original musicals, of which there are four on this year's list. And it's been an especially strong year for Playwrights Horizons and the Public Theater, two longtime pillars of the Off Broadway world. Here are my picks for the best theater of 2019.

Soft Power (Public Theater, closed Nov 17)
At its best, David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori’s feverish musical offered a brilliant deconstruction of classic Broadway storytelling by projecting it through a Chinese lens.

Don Shirley's theatrical highlights of 2019 / January 7, 2020 by David Hwang

Looking for a New Year's resolution? Try seeing more LA theater in 2020. It might be necessary to show some resolve in the face of the growing number of distractions.

Beyond the usual complaints about LA distances, traffic and the price of tickets, LA theaters currently face competition from the increasingly urgent televised drama from Congress, the White House and the upcoming most-important-election-ever. And then there are the proliferating temptations of streaming movies and TV. Even stage devotees might be lured to sprawl on the sofa for the wonderful Canadian theater-centric TV series "Slings and Arrows" -- instead of going to see actual LA theater.

Still, for those of us who believe in that live-person-to-person alchemy that happens on stages but can't happen on screens, Los Angeles continues to offer enviable opportunities.

"M. Butterfly." Speaking of the ever-growing conversation about gender ambiguity (see "IAMA," above), it was a great idea for South Coast Repertory to bring us David Henry Hwang's revival of his landmark play, somewhat re-written for the current times. Desdemona Chiang's direction was the first time the play was staged by an Asian-American woman.

Playwrights Are Finding ‘Television Money’ Helps Pay the Bills / January 7, 2020 by David Hwang

Courtney Baron speaking with playwriting students taking her television writing class at the New School in Greenwich Village. More drama programs are offering instruction geared to TV.Credit...Joe Carrotta for The New York Times

More top playwriting programs are preparing students to write for the small screen. And TV writers’ rooms are scouting those classrooms for new talent.

At Columbia, students can now take upper level classes like TV Revision, because when David Henry Hwang took over the program five years ago, he said one of his goals was to expand the TV offerings available to playwrights.

After all, even some of the most successful playwrights out there were writing for television. Hwang is one of them: a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and a Tony Award winner for “M. Butterfly,” he spent four years as a writer for Showtime’s “The Affair.”

David Henry Hwang guests on BBC's The Way I See It / January 7, 2020 by David Hwang

David Henry Hwang on Martin Wong's Stanton near Forsyth Street.

Art critic Alastair Sooke, in the company of some of the leading creatives of our age, continues his deep dive into the stunning works in the Museum of Modern Art's collection, whilst exploring what it really means “to see” art. Today's edition features playwright, librettist and screenwriter, David Henry Hwang. He chooses a painting by the artist Martin Wong - Stanton near Forsyth Street (1983).

Listen to the interview at BBC

2019’s top advice from leading theatremakers / December 24, 2019 by David Hwang

“A certain amount of luck is a huge factor in this business, “ - Playwright David Henry Hwang.

Theatre Communications Group Will Honor David Henry Hwang and National Black Theatre Festival at 2020 Gala / December 24, 2019 by David Hwang

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, has announced the 2020 TCG Gala: Our Stories will be held on Monday, February 3, 2020 at The Edison Ballroom (240 W 47th Street). The Gala will honor the National Black Theatre Festival of Winston-Salem and David Henry Hwang and will include festive performances, inspiring speakers, and a celebratory dinner with theatre leaders, celebrities, and enthusiasts. A 6:00pm cocktail reception will be followed by a 7:00pm seated dinner, with entertainment beginning at 7:20pm. Additional programming will be announced soon.

Read more at Broadway World

David Henry Hwang will be honored at Theatre Communications Group's 2020 gala on February 3 at the Edison Ballroom. / December 24, 2019 by David Hwang

Welcome to TheaterMania's Weekend Report, where you'll find recent news stories from the New York theater scene and beyond.

The Best Theater of 2019: Little to Sing About, Plenty to Praise / December 24, 2019 by David Hwang

While this year’s musical scene was underwhelming, new plays, revivals and first-class talent gave theatergoers lots to enjoy.

On Broadway and across America, it’s the same old story: Large-scale musicals are in a long-term slump. I saw only two new musicals of quality, “Hadestown” and “Soft Power,” this past year, and both of them were distinctly unconventional small-scale productions.