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.

Read more at Broadway World

Philip Glass and David Henry Hwang's new opera with Cirkus Cirkör premieres at Malmö Opera in 2021. / May 11, 2020 by David Hwang

In 2021, Circus Days and Nights will have its world premiere. A new opera by Philip Glass with libretto by David Henry Hwang and Tilde Björfors, based on a collection of poems by Robert Lax. Circus Days and Nights is co-produced by Cirkus Cirkör and Malmö Opera, with a world premiere at Malmö Opera May 29, 2021. The tour then continues to Stockholm, Hong Kong and venues in England, Norway, France and USA.

The 2020 Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Drama / May 5, 2020 by David Hwang

NEW YORK CITY: The Pulitzer committee has announced the recipients of the 2020 Pulitzer Prizes. The Pulitzer Prize for drama, with a $15,000 cash prize, was awarded to Michael R. Jackson for A Strange Loop. This year’s finalists were Will Arbery for Heroes of the Fourth Turning and David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori for Soft Power. Jackson’s is just one of 10 musicals to take home the Drama Pulitzer.

The Pulitzer Prize was established in 1917 by Joseph Pulitzer and recognizes achievements in journalism, literature, drama, and music composition. The award is administered by Columbia University.

The 2020 Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Drama / May 5, 2020 by David Hwang

A Strange Loop by Michael R. Jackson Wins 2020 Pulitzer for Drama

Heroes of the Fourth Turning and Soft Power were named finalists.

Michael R. Jackson's musical A Strange Loop has won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The musical ran in the summer of 2019 at Playwrights Horizons.

A Strange Loop explores the thoughts of Usher, a black, queer writer working a job he hates while writing his original musical: a piece about a black, queer writer, working a job he hates while writing his original musical. Jackson's blistering, momentous new musical (and his professional debut) follows a young artist at war with a host of demons — not least of which are the punishing thoughts in his own head — in an attempt to capture and understand his own strange loop. It was presented by Playwrights Horizons alongside Page 73 Productions.

Joining A Strange Loop on the Pulitzer Prize for Drama lineup are finalists Heroes of the Fourth Turning, by Will Arbury, and the musical Soft Power, written by David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori. Heroes also premiered at Playwrights Horizons, with Soft Power having its New York premiere at the Public Theater.

The 2020 Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Drama / May 5, 2020 by David Hwang

Soft Power, by David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori

A multi-layered and mischievous musical that deconstructs a beloved, original American art form to examine the promise and the limits of representation in both the theatrical and political senses of the word.

Track-by-Track Breakdown: David Henry Hwang on the Reverse King and I of Soft Power / April 30, 2020 by David Hwang

Nominated for 11 Drama Desk Awards, the Off-Broadway musical's cast album is now available from Ghostlight Records.

"A King and I, but from China’s point of view!” David Hnery Hwang says of the show-within-a-show that makes up the bulk of Soft Power. The musical, which Hwang co-wrote with Jeanine Tesorie, premiered Off-Broadway at the Public Theatre October 15, 2019, eventually earning 11 Drama Desk Awards nominations.

The cast album from Ghostlight Records, featuring the original Off-Broadway cast, is now available. Flipping the script on Western-centric representations of foreign cultures, Soft Power centers on a Chinese-American playwright who descends into an elaborate dream in which a Chinese theatrical producer travels to America and forges a powerful bond with then-Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Read more at Playbill

‘Soft Power’ leads Drama Desk nominations / April 24, 2020 by David Hwang

Mandy Hackett, Sam Pinkleton, David Henry Hwang, Leigh Silverman and Oskar Eustis attend the 'Soft Power' opening night. (Photo by Jim Spellman/Getty Images)

“Soft Power,” an Off-Broadway musical by David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori, received the highest number of Drama Desk nominations Tuesday.

The musical, which was directed by Leigh Silverman and played the Public Theater in September 2019, received 11 nominations, followed by “The Wrong Man” with nine nominations and “Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven” with eight. The nominations took into consideration Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway shows that opened before March 11.

The nominations were announced on Stars in the House Tuesday afternoon. The winners will be announced on May 31.

2020 Drama Desk Nominations: Soft Power, The Wrong Man Lead the Pack in Condensed Season / April 24, 2020 by David Hwang

Conrad Ricamora and Francis Jue in Soft Power Joan Marcus — Conrad Ricamora and Francis Jue in *Soft Power* Joan Marcus

he 65th annual ceremony—now taking place virtually—will go on as scheduled in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Nominations for the 2020 Drama Desk Awards were revealed April 21 on the afternoon edition of Stars in the House, the daily live stream benefit for The Actors Fund hosted by Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley. The series itself was named an honorary recipient during the announcement.

As previously reported, the 65th annual ceremony will take place as scheduled May 31, albeit digitally instead of at Town Hall due to continued restrictions on mass gatherings in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of the March shutdown of New York productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and beyond, the eligibility window for the season was revised to end March 11.

Soft Power, the collaboration between playwright David Henry Hwang and composer Jeanine Tesori, topped the list with 11 nominations for its New York premiere at the Public Theater last year. In addition to Outstanding Musical, the show's nominations included nods to both Hwang and Tesori, director Leigh Silverman, and stars Francis Jue (also nominated for Cambodian Rock Band), Conrad Ricamora, and Alyse Alan Louis.

Read more at Playbill

BWW Album Review: SOFT POWER Packs a Punch / April 24, 2020 by David Hwang

The groundbreaking musical from Tony Award winners David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly, Yellow Face) and Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home; Violet; Caroline, or Change), Soft Power, ran last fall at the Public Theater and is an exploration of America's place in the world, told through an East-West musical from China's point of view, in which a theater producer from Shanghai forms a unique bond with Hillary Clinton. Soft Power challenges us to dig deep and ask the bigger questions around how America fits with the rest of the world and what democracy means for every one of us.

Read more at Broadway World

DRAMA DESK AWARD NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED / April 24, 2020 by David Hwang

Nominations for the 65th Annual Drama Desk Awards have been announced, honoring the outstanding achievements of professional theater artists on Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway. The winners will be announced May 31, 2020.

In keeping with the Drama Desk’s mission and the theater industry shutdown in mid-March, the nominators considered productions that opened on Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway during the 2019-2020 New York theater season, the end of which the Drama Desk determined to be March 11, 2020.

DCMTA Spring 2020 Staff Favorites: Outstanding Community Theater Productions, Performances, and Design Elements / April 24, 2020 by David Hwang

Normally we who cover theater for DC Metro Theater Arts collect our favorites as the year draws to a close, but this has not been a normal year. In mid-March the 2020 season was interrupted by a pandemic and theaters went dark for who knows how long. Shows that were running closed. Shows in production got canceled. Suddenly the theater community felt profound uncertainty and anxiety.

Yellow Face at Silver Spring Stage
Silver Spring Stage put a unique imprint on this important work by playwright David Henry Hwang. Employing satire to explore racism, Yellow Face explores ethnic divisions through parody only to find some questions too serious to laugh at. The elements combined to make this production one not to miss. —Andy Arnold

Rattlestick Announces Online Programming With Kathleen Chalfant, David Henry Hwang and More / April 24, 2020 by David Hwang

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 / April 24, 2020 by David Hwang

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).

VIDEO: David Henry Hwang and Eric Liu Kick Off Public Theater's DIGITAL DUETS Series / April 24, 2020 by David Hwang

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 / April 17, 2020 by David Hwang

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 / April 17, 2020 by David Hwang

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).

EXCLUSIVE: First Listen to Conrad Ricamora on the Soft Power Cast Album / April 17, 2020 by David Hwang

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”

Listen to Francis Jue and More Sing ‘Election Night’ From David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori's Soft Power / April 17, 2020 by David Hwang

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 / April 17, 2020 by David Hwang

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.