Rattlestick Announces Online Programming With Kathleen Chalfant, David Henry Hwang and More

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater has announced additional free weekly online programming designed to connect audiences with new ideas and artistic expressions. In addition to new topics and participants in the Virtual Salon Series, Rattlestick will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the closing of St. Vincent's Hospital with a communal ritual via Zoom on April 29 at 8pm. The event includes a reading of an excerpt of Cusi Cram's Novenas for a Lost Hospital with members of the original cast, a discussion, led by Cram and Rattlestick's Artistic Director Daniella Topol, with a nurse who worked at St. Vincent's during the AIDS epidemic along with a ritual of gratitude to healthcare workers on the frontlines of COVID-19.

On May 5 at 3pm, Obie-winner Jonathan McCrory will facilitate a conversation addressing how the pandemic is impacting the way we treat one another. Participants include award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang, cultural organizer Geoffrey Jackson Scott, and Rattlestick Managing Director Yue Liu.

Read more at Broadway World

What is the Sound of a Theatre Season Interrupted

Thirteen musicals were scheduled to open during the 2019-20 Broadway season. Only seven did, and of those only a few released more-or-less traditional cast albums. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to listen to — including some Off Broadway highlights. Here’s what’s out there.

‘Soft Power’

David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori’s musical within a play gets high scores for difficulty: It’s a political allegory, a crazy romance (involving Hillary Clinton) and a gleeful riposte to “The King and I.” Using clever pastiche and paradox to question American assumptions of supremacy, it is always working on many levels, as you can hear on the cast album scheduled to be released on April 17. (Ghostlight Records).

Read more at New York Times

Listen to “It Just Takes Time”

VIDEO: David Henry Hwang and Eric Liu Kick Off Public Theater's DIGITAL DUETS Series

Playwright David Henry Hwang and Citizen University CEO Eric Liu kick off Public Theater's premiere digital duet with a direct conversation centering on the challenges facing Asian Americans, the importance of bringing activism into art, and our duty to hold our leaders accountable.

Read more at Broadway World

2020 Lucille Lortel Award Nominations

Nominations for the 2020 Lucille Lortel Awards were announced April 14; watch above as Jeremy Jordan and Ashley Spencer reveal which productions and artists were recognized for their work Off-Broadway.

The Public Theater’s revival of Ntozake Shange's for colored girls, directed by Leah C. Gardiner, received five nominations, as did Dave Malloy’s a cappella musical Octet, and Jeanine Tesori and David Henry Hwang’s musical-play hybrid Soft Power.

Read more at Playbill

‘Soft Power,’ Which Set New Precedent For Asians In Theater, Has Vital 2020 Message

The off-Broadway musical’s cast album will be released Friday. HuffPost has a first listen to one of the songs.

As his stint on ABC’s “How to Get Away with Murder” comes to a close, Conrad Ricamora is getting back to his musical theater roots.  

Last fall, the actor returned to the stage in “Soft Power” at New York’s Public Theater. Written by playwright David Henry Hwang and composer Jeanine Tesori, the “play with a musical” had been received enthusiastically in Los Angeles and San Francisco prior to its New York debut. 

Ricamora starred as Xue Xing, a Chinese theater impresario who accompanies DHH (Hwang’s alter ego, played by Francis Jue) to a 2016 presidential election gala for Hillary Clinton (Alyse Alan Louis). 

Read more at Huffington Post

EXCLUSIVE: First Listen to Conrad Ricamora on the Soft Power Cast Album

Ricamora sings "The New Silk Road" from Jeanine Tesori and David Henry Hwang's score.

Ghostlight Records will release the original cast recording of David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori's Soft Power on digital and streaming platforms on Friday, April 17. Today, we bring you a track from the score. "The New Silk Road" is sung by star Conrad Ricamora and the company.

Listen to “The New Silk Road”

Read more at Theatremania

Listen to Francis Jue and More Sing ‘Election Night’ From David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori's Soft Power

The track comes from the Off-Broadway cast recording, out April 17.

A track from the Soft Power Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording explores the complicated realities of voting in America. Listen to Francis Jue, Jon Hoche, Austin Ku, and the ensemble sing “Election Night” below. 

As previously announced, the complete album will drop April 17 via Ghostlight Records for digital streaming and download. The Public and Ghostlight will host a virtual listening party that day with the cast and creative team to raise funds for the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. The stream will be available to watch on YouTube at 8 PM ET.

The album features the performances of the complete Off-Broadway cast, including Conrad Ricamora as Xuē Xíng, Jue as DHH, and Alyse Alan Louis as Zoe and Hillary.

Read more at Playbill

Listen to “Election night”

Exclusive: First Listen to 'Fuxing Park' From SOFT POWER

The Original Cast Recording for Soft Power will be available on digital and streaming formats on Friday, April 17. The album is based on the new musical's recent New York premiere production at The Public Theater.

To pre-order Soft Power, please visit ghostlightrecords.lnk.to/softpower.

Read more and listen at Broadway World

Race against time: Saving the largest archive of Chinese American history from fire

In January, a fire tore through an historic building in the heart of Manhattan's Chinatown, threatening to engulf decades of artifacts documenting Chinese life in the US.

The 130-year-old building, a former school turned community center, was home to the archives of the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) -- the world's largest archive of Chinese American history.

Some 85,000 items, dating from the late 1800s through the present, appeared doomed. Included in the varied archive was a Chinese typewriter from the 1920s, costumes used by the Cantonese opera clubs that proliferated in North American Chinatowns from the 1930s, and an 1883 document about the Chinese Exclusion Act, the first law to restrict a specific ethnic group from immigrating to America.

But through the years, as their efforts grew into the Chinatown History Project, and eventually MOCA, more people began recognizing the archive's historical importance. It has since served as a resource for individuals researching their family histories, academics writing scholarly tomes and even creative artists like the Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang. (Hwang wrote his 1981 play "The Dance and the Railroad" with the help of research conducted at the project.)

Read more at CNN

David Henry Hwang discusses his Soft Power, soon to release its cast recording, in Center Theatre Group's Art Goes On series.

Video Roundup April 9!

Stage favorites are making the most of social distancing in light of the COVID-19 crisis.

A host of Broadway celebrities and stage performers are taking to social media to spread joy when attending the theatre is not an option. The videos began appearing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is forcing nations around the world to self-quarantine.

Read more at Playbill

11 Transformative Reads for Solace and Solitude

Over the past few weeks, the world has had to adapt to a new normal, including spending more time in solitude. But physical distancing doesn’t have to mean that we are disconnected or glued to our phones—this can also be a time for deep contemplation.

KQED Arts & Culture and the Truth Be Told podcast team asked our readers and listeners, What books have shaped your life? We wanted to know why these books had an impact and why they are still markers of a change—in heart, mind or understanding.

Here's what we gathered from our staff and you.

M. Butterfly and Chinglish by David Henry Hwang

I stumbled upon David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly as a theater arts minor at UC Santa Cruz. At the time, he was the only Asian American playwright I was aware of. I was intrigued by the particular scene of Rene Gallimard staying behind after Song Liling’s performance of Madame Butterfly. Song Liling tears into Gallimard’s praise of “How it was a beautiful tragedy that a young Oriental girl sacrificed herself for a white man.” If it was the other way around, would it still be so beautiful?

Read more at KQED

David Henry Hwang, Lauren Gunderson, Tarell Alvin McCraney, and More to Judge Teen Plays Against Gun Violence

The #Enough contest, open for middle and high school students across the country, is now accepting submissions.

Playwrights Lauren Gunderson, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Robert Schenkkan, David Henry Hwang, and Karen Zacarías have signed on as judges for a national teen playwriting contest tackling gun violence. #ENOUGH: Plays to End Gun Violence, which is now open to middle and high school students around the country, encourages students to write ten-minute plays that will foster open dialogue in their communities and inspire creative action. 

Submissions are now open through June 20 (the original deadline of April 20 was pushed back due to the pandemic).

Read more at Playbill

New Center Theatre Group Video Series

Center Theatre Group has launched a new digital artistic project titled Art Goes On.

Born out of the search for new ways to inspire conversation and build community around art-and what that can look like while stages are dark, the Art Goes On project gives audiences an opportunity to get to know members of Center Theatre Group's artistic community on a personal level. Sharing what theatre means to them along with showcasing their art in the time of social distancing, this new video series highlights the importance of theatre both for the artist and audience.

The series launched with three inspiring artists and friends of Center Theatre Group: Carmen Cusack, Bill Irwin and Jennifer Leigh Warren. Other artists whose work will be featured include Hugo Armstrong, Kyle Branch, Kate Burton, Maria Dizzia, David Henry Hwang, Alan Mandell and Dominique Morisseau, among others.

Read more at Broadway World

Aida, Clue, and More Set for 2020-21 Season at Paper Mill Playhouse

Paper Mill Playhouse has announced its 2020-21 season, which is expected to kick off this fall.

Launching the season, October 7-November 11, is the stage play Clue, based on the beloved Hasbro game and 1985 cult film. Written by Sandy Rustin, with additional material by Hunter Foster and Eric Price and music by Michael Holland, Clue is directed by Casey Hushion.

The holiday season will see Mark S. Hoebee's production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music, running November 25-January 3, 2021, with the previously announced revival of Aida coming February 4, 2021-March 7, 2021. Schele Williams directs and Camille A. Brown choreographs the production, which features a score by Elton John and Tim Rice, as well as a revised book by David Henry Hwang, who collaborated on the original script with Robert Falls and Linda Woolverton.

Read more at Theatremania

THE PRODUCER'S PERSPECTIVE LIVE!

Tony Award-winning Producer Ken Davenport, announced today on his blog,TheProducersPerspective.com, that he will launch, The Producer's Perspective Live, a daily livestream on his Facebook page featuring Broadway guests who have appeared on his popular podcast, The Producer's Perspective Podcast.

Other Broadway guests include:
Stephen Schwartz - Tuesday, March 24th
Sierra Boggess - Wednesday, March 25th
Alex Brightman - Thursday, March 26th
Rick Miramontez - Friday, March 27th
Steven Flaherty - Saturday, March 28th
Pam MacKinnon - Sunday, March 29th
Steven Sater - Monday, March 30th
Jennifer Tepper - Tuesday, March 31st
Alan Cumming - Wednesday, April 1st
Leigh Silverman - Thursday, April 2nd
Sergio Trujillo - Friday, April 3rd (note different time: 8:45pm EDT)
Jeanine Tesori - Saturday, April 4th
Kevin McCollum - Sunday, April 5th
David Henry Hwang - tbd
Andrew Lippa - Tuesday, April 7th
Lonny Price - Wednesday April 8th
Susan Blackwell - tbd
Anthony Veneziale - Friday, April 10th
Damian Bazadona - tbd
Ryan Scott Oliver - Sunday, April 12th
Drew Hodges - tbd
David Rockwell - tbd

Aida in new Paper Mill Playhouse Season

The previously announced The Wanderer and Aida will also be a part of the 2020–2021 lineip.

The Paper Mill Playhouse 2020–2021 season will include the world premiere of the musical Bruce, based on the making of Steven Spielberg's summer blockbuster Jaws. Also on the slate are Clue and The Sound of Music, joining The Wanderer, which was postponed to next season due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida, announced in January. 

The Millburn, New Jersey, venue will kick off its season with the murder-mystery comedy Clue (October 7–November 11), directed by Casey Hushion. The stage adaptation features a book by Sandy Rustin, with additional material by Hunter Foster and Eric Price and original music by Michael Holland.

During the holiday season is Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music (November 25, 2020–January 3, 2021), directed and choreographed by Mark S. Hoebee. 

Aida, directed by Schele Williams and choreographed by Tony nominee Camille A. Brown, kicks off its new national tour at Paper Mill February 4–March 7, 2021. The musical features a revised book by David Henry Hwang based on the original by Robert Falls, Linda Woolverton, and Hwang.

Aida on Broadway and more!

The Elton John-Tim Rice pop opera opened at the Palace Theatre March 23, 2000.

Inspired by Verdi's classic opera, Aida opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre March 23, 2000. The musical, with music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, and book by David Henry Hwang, Linda Woolverton, and Robert Falls, played 30 previews and 1,852 performances before closing on September 5, 2004. The musical garnered five Tony nominations and won four, including Best Actress in a Musical for Heather Headley.

Aida tells the story of enslaved Nubian princess Aida, who falls for captain of the guard Radames, who is betrothed to the Egyptian princess who is Aida's mistress.

Read more at Playbill

International City Theatre Joins #ENOUGH: Plays To End Gun Violence For Grades 6-12

International City Theatre has signed on to join #ENOUGH: Plays to End Gun Violence, a national campaign that seeks to spark critical conversations about gun violence by providing middle and high school students with a platform to express themselves through storytelling, foster open dialogue in their communities, and inspire creative action.

The finalist plays will be chosen by a panel of award-winning, nationally recognized playwrights, including Lauren Gunderson and Karen Zacarías, two of the most-produced playwrights in the country; Tony Award winner David Henry Hwang; Academy Award winner Tarell Alvin McCraney; and Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Robert Schenkkan. The student authors of the chosen plays will be brought to the Utah Shakespeare Festival to workshop their scripts in August before their plays are made available to communities taking part in the #ENOUGH nationwide reading.

Read more at Broadway World

Brooklyn Hospital celebrates its 175th anniversary

It was an evening to honor the best of Brooklyn at the fourth installment in Brooklyn Hospital’s ongoing celebration of its 175th anniversary. Ten of the borough’s most illustrious civic leaders and organizations past and present were awarded medals of recognition for their impactful efforts in helping to shape and define Brooklyn during a celebration at the River Café.

The honorees were Keith Kinch, co-founder and general manager of Bloc Power, a Brooklyn-based technology startup rapidly greening American cities; Robert Catell, chairperson of the Advanced Energy and Research Technology Center; the late Seth Faison, a trustee and former board chair of Brooklyn Hospital; George Harris, trustee emeritus of Brooklyn Hospital; David Henry Hwang, the Tony-winning playwright, screenwriter, television writer and librettist who serves as associate professor at Columbia University’s School of the Arts; Barbara Just, director of nursing at Brooklyn Hospital; the late Albert Kronick, former chair and CEO of Abraham & Straus in Brooklyn; Dr. Yvonne Riley-Tepie, vice president and senior regional giving manager at TD Bank Charitable Foundation; the late Emily Warren Roebling, who led the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge and Michael “Buzzy” O’Keeffe, the founder of the River Café.

Read more at Brooklyn Daily Eagle

VWHS Theatre announces Disney’s Tarzan cast

Pictured is the Van Wert High School Theatre cast of Tarzan.

Van Wert High School Theatre has announced their spring musical, Disney’s Tarzan®, The Stage Musical,” which will be presented on April 2-4 at 7 p.m. at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center. This musical is based on the story, “Tarzan of the Apes,” by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Disney’s 1999 animated film, and the book by David Henry Hwang. With music and lyrics by Phil Collins, audience members will also enjoy all the favored melodies from songs such as “You’ll Be In My Heart,” “Son of Man,” and “Two Worlds.” Set deep in the jungle, “Tarzan®, The Stage Musical” focuses on stories of family, love, acceptance, and determination.

Read more at Van Wert, Ohio Times Bulletin