VIDEO: Broadway Stars Talk Shutdown, the State of the Industry, and A Hopeful Future

Brian Stokes Mitchell, David Henry Hwang, John Lithgow, Christine Baranski, and more talk Covid-19 from Broadway's perspective.

The New Yorker is highlighting the trials and triumphs of Broadway throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

See some familiar Broadway faces including Brian Stokes Mitchell, David Henry Hwang, John Lithgow, Christine Baranski, and more join the feature to discuss their experiences in the coronavirus pandemic, from day one of the shutdown to the present.

Celebrating the resiliency of the industry and its members, look back on the last few months from the point of view of Broadway as its denizens grapple with the present, reflect on the past, and look to the hopeful future.

Read more at Broadway World

Stars in the House Welcomes Flower Drum Song's Lea Salonga, Jose Llana, More September 4

Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley's daily series benefits The Actors Fund.

Stars in the House, the daily live streamed concert series created by Playbill correspondent and SiriusXM Broadway host Seth Rudetsky and producer James Wesley, celebrates the 2002 Tony-nominated revival of Flower Drum Song September 4. Watch the stream in the video above beginning at 8 PM ET.

Guests include Tony winner Lea Salonga, Jose Llana, and Alvin Ing, librettist David Henry Hwang, and Tony recipient Baayork Lee, who appeared in the original 1958 production of the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II musical.

The reworking of Flower Drum Song officially opened on Broadway in October 2002. Featuring direction and choreography by Robert Longbottom and a new book by Tony winner Hwang, the musical played 25 previews and 169 performances. The production was nominated for three 2003 Tony Awards.

James Wesley and Seth Rudetsky Joseph Marzullo/WENN

Stars in the House launched March 16 to promote support for The Actors Fundand its services in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. It has also raised funds for the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Read more at Playbill

Recording of SigSpace Summit: David Henry Hwang and Prof. Diane C. Fujino

Playwright David Henry Hwang (Mme. Butterfly, Golden Child)  hosted Diane C. Fujino, Professor of Asian American Studies at UC Santa Barbara, for the SigSpace Summit on Black-Asian Alliances on August 26, 2020. Their conversation explored the historical alliances between Black and Asian American progressive activists, and how that legacy can shape the future.

Watch video below.

Read more at UCSB

What the Coronavirus Pandemic Means for the Future of Broadway

The last time I attended a Broadway show—a buzzed-about revival of “West Side Story”—was on March 6th. Even then, a night at the theatre felt like a calculated risk: riding the A train, sitting close to strangers in the audience, going out for a post-theatre drink. The next Thursday, amid reports that a part-time Broadway usher had tested positive for covid-19, Broadway shut down completely. Theatre is ephemeral, but the idea of Broadway—a $1.8-billion industry and a major part of the city’s (and the country’s) artistic lifeblood—disappearing like a soap bubble was hard to fathom. “It was unimaginable that New York would not have theatre, would not have shows on Broadway, and crowds in Times Square every night,” the actor John Lithgow says in the video above.

The Broadway drought, which at this point seems certain to last into 2021, has coincided with another upheaval: the Black Lives Matter protests and the calls for change that they’ve inspired in the arts. Newly formed collectives such as Black Theatre United and We See You, White American Theatre have demanded active measures to counter structural racism onstage and off. No one is cheering the prolonged pause, but the shutdown might help to open up space for a deeper reckoning than would be possible with Broadway in full swing. “Once it is possible to begin bringing audiences back, it may also be the case that we have to think about lowering ticket prices, and maybe we will have a younger audience, and maybe we will have a more diverse audience,” the playwright David Henry Hwang says. “Out of all this tragedy, there might be some silver linings for Broadway.”

Read more at The New Yorker

The 2020 Tony Awards to Be Held Digitally This Fall

The 74th annual ceremony, originally scheduled for June 7, was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Tony Awards, having put its 74th annual ceremony on hold earlier this year, will head online in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, co-presenters of the annual tradition, have revealed that the 2020 proceedings will take place in the form of a digital ceremony this fall.

No word yet on further details, including an exact date.

Read more at Playbill

Santa Fe Opera @ Home: "M. Butterfly"

The author

The creation of M. Butterfly began on May 11, 1986, with a report by The New York Times’ Paris correspondent.

“A former French diplomat and a Chinese opera singer have been sentenced to six years in jail for spying for China after a two-day trial that traced a story of clandestine love and mistaken sexual identity. … Bernard Boursicot was accused of passing information to China after he fell in love with Shi Pei Pu, whom he believed for 20 years to be a woman. … Mr. Boursicot said their meetings had been hasty affairs that always took place in the dark. ‘He was very shy. I thought it was a Chinese custom.’ ”

The trial of Bernard Bouriscot and Shi Pei Pu

David Henry Hwang read the Times story and was convinced it had the potential to become a play. The then-28-year-old Angeleno had attended the Yale School of Drama for a year, dropping out of its graduate program when his plays began to be professionally performed at New York’s Public Theater and elsewhere.

Determined not to write a docudrama, Hwang did no further research into the news item. “Frankly, I didn’t want the ‘truth’ to interfere with my own speculations,” he wrote in an afterword to M. Butterfly.He even told Stuart Ostrow, who eventually produced the play, that he thought it could be “some great Madame Butterfly-like tragedy,” although he hadn’t yet made the conceptual connection between the opera and the real-life story.

Read more at Santa Fe New Mexican

John Lithgow: A mentor on and off camera

In the span of his long acting career, one thing is sure; John Lithgow is a mentor, both literally and figuratively.

Lithgow’s best-known role is arguably the alien commander Dick Solomon in the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun, which ran from 1996 to 2001.

Despite the sitcom’s massive popularity, Lithgow said his most memorable role was in the award-winning 1988 play M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang.

Starring alongside BD Wong, he plays a French civil servant who falls in love with a star of the Peking opera, not knowing that the woman is a spy and actually a man cross-dressing in order to seduce him and extract information.

“An extraordinary, preposterous story, but David Henry Hwang took that and turned it into an extraordinary metaphor for the differences between the East and the West in particular, but Western men and Eastern women,” he said.

Read more at Jakarta Post

SONGS FROM THE SANTA FE OPERA at Home Computer Screens

On August l, 2020, Songs from the Santa Fe Operapresented Episode. 5: M. Butterfly. The opera by composer Huang Ruo and librettist David Henry Hwang, was to have been premiered on this date. We heard an usher playing the musical call to the non-existent audience. We saw a beautifully marked butterfly gliding through the empty open air theater and heard the "Humming Chorus" from Ruo's opera pleasingly sung by Apprentices: Stephen Carroll, Hayan Kim, Seiyoung Kim, Nicholas Martorano, Nate Mattingly, Jana McIntyre, Elliott Paige, Heather Petrie, Elizabeth Picker, Rachel Policar, and Jarrett Porter. John Arida accompanied at the piano and Susanne Sheston conducted. While they were singing, watchers online saw a tour of the grounds as the sun set behind the Jemez Mountains.

Read more at Broadway World

John Lithgow on the Asian-American play that changed his life forever

BD Wong and John Lithgow

During an video interview with Asian press members yesterday to promote his latest show, ‘3rd Rock from the Sun’ actor John Lithgow was asked if there was a part he played that deeply affected him on a personal level.

The Harvard alum cited the groundbreaking 1988 play M. Butterfly by Asian-American playwright David Henry Hwang that’s loosely based on a true story and inspired by the Italian opera Madama Butterfly.

John Lithgow (Gallimard) and BD Wong (Song Liling) in M. Butterfly on Broadway

In the play, Lithgow plays a French diplomat who falls in love with the star of the Peking Opera (played by actor BD Wong) whom he discovers is a spy for the Chinese government and a man.

“It was the first major, straight play big hit on Broadway, written by an Asian-American about very essential issues between the East and the West — a wonderful bold play and won the Tony Award that year,” Lithgow said.

“It’s become a major part of the American cannon ever since and the role was terrific.”

He added that the character who cross dressed was able to deceive a Western diplomat.

“An extraordinary preposterous story but David Henry Hwang took that and turned it into an extraordinary metaphor for the differences between the East and the West, in particular about Western men and Eastern women — I found that a real life-changing experience.”

Read and see more at Malaymail.com

Stars on the Moon: 9 Shows to Celebrate the Anniversary of the Lunar Landing

From Spaceman Off-Broadway in 2019 to the Andy Warhol-produced Man on the Moon in the ‘60s, these cosmos-set shows are out of this world.

On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 touched down on the moon and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on it. 

To celebrate the anniversary, Playbill has gathered a list of space–related shows ranging from operas set on the moon to an Olivier Award–winning musical.

The '90s saw Phillip Glass and David Henry Hwang create The Voyage, a three-act opera that celebrates the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery of America. Rather than center the show on him, however, the team focused on exploration through space and time. (Glass also wrote The Making of the Representative for Planet 8, which debuted in the '80s.)

Read more at Playbill

Video Flashback: Lea Salonga Sings a Cut Song From FLOWER DRUM SONG in 2001

David Henry Hwang's reimagining of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song made its world premiere at the Taper in 2001.

This new production, starring Tony Award® winner Lea Salonga, was the first major revival since its original Broadway run in 1958. After a successful run at the Taper, the revival moved to Broadway.

Inspired by his lifelong search for authentic representations of Asians and the Asian American diaspora, Hwang re-contextualized Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway hit after asking himself, "Could I aspire to write the book that Hammerstein might have written had he been Asian-American? Could I re-envision the musical in a way that would feel relevant and moving to more sophisticated, contemporary audiences?"

See video and more at Broadway World

Ruthie Fierberg Launches Debut Podcast

On July 15, Ruthie Fierberg, in association with the Broadway Podcast Network, launches the new podcast Why We Theater. 

The premiere episode will be available July 15, with new episodes released every subsequent Thursday for a limited season. Find it now at BPN.FM/WWT. 

An intersection of theatre and social justice, Why We Theater digs into today’s most thought-provoking and urgent onstage works with the artists who made them and real-world experts who advise us on how we can create impactful change in our offstage lives. “I like to think of ‘theatre’ not just as a place or a presentation but as an action,” Fierberg says. “‘To theater’ is to engage with art presented onstage. The curtain call of a play or musical is not the end of the experience; it’s the beginning.”

Each episode begins with a one-on-one discussion between Fierberg and the artist behind the theatrical piece at hand and then opens up to include real-world experts in that field to offer advice and steps to help us all take actions (re-wire a thought pattern, sign a petition, donate to a related charity, volunteer for a related organization, etc.) and manifest progress.

Fierberg also tackles Octet and internet addiction with the musical’s Drama Desk-nominated director Annie Tippe, USC Professor of Neurology, Psychology, and Education Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, co-founder and Chief Clinical Director at reSTART Dr. Hilarie Cash, and Senior Software Engineer at Niantic Inc. Daphne Larose; Soft Power, democracy, U.S.-China relations, and Asian-American culture with three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist David Henry Hwang, director Silverman, author and “Asian Pop” columnist Jeff Yang, and senior policy advisor to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign Jake Sullivan; and Pipeline, education inequity, and the school-to-prison pipeline with Obie-winning playwright Dominique Morisseau, Director of Integration and Innovation Initiative at NYU Metro Center Matt Gonzales, and Executive Director of Camelot Education Tyree Booker.

Read more at Playbill

YELLOW FACE Holds a Virtual Staged Reading On July 8

The next entry in the Off the Page series of virtual staged readings produced by Sierra Madre Playhouse is Yellow Face by David Henry Hwang. You will be to access it online via YouTube beginning at Noon on Wednesday, July 8, 2020. Viewing time will continue throughout the day until 11:59 p.m. The event is 120 minutes in duration with a ten-minute intermission. You may begin viewing at any time, but you must commence viewing by 10:00 p.m. in order to see the entire reading. This event is FREE, but donations are accepted.

Read more at Broadway World

Renaissance to host auditions for MY Theatre production of Disney's Tarzan

MANSFIELD — The Renaissance Theatre will hold auditions for the MY Theatre production of Disney’s Tarzan: The Stage Musical via video submission, through July 15, 2020.

Disney’s Tarzan features music and lyrics by Phil Collins, including the Grammy and Oscar-winning song, "You'll Be in My Heart", and book by Tony Award-winning playwright, David Henry Hwang. 

Performance dates are September 17-20, 2020. All performances will be held on stage at the Renaissance. Disney’s Tarzan. will be directed by Dauphne Maloney, with musical direction by Brian K. Nabors. 

At the core of the smash-hit 1999 Disney animated film, and Broadway production is the story of an outsider trying to fit in.

Based on Edgar Rice Burrough’s classic novel Tarzan of the Apes, this high-swinging musical tells the story of Tarzan, orphaned as a baby on the shores of West Africa and taken in to be raised by a tribe of gorillas.

Read more at Richland Source

A3 Artists Agency Hires Veterans Adam Kanter and Andy Patman

A3 Artists Agency has hired industry veterans Andy Patman and Adam Kanter as partners in an effort to build its literary division and grow the company.

Patman has been hired as co-head of television content and Kanter has become co-head of motion pictures.

Patman spent more than 20 years at Paradigm, where he sold “Desperate Housewives” to ABC and represented William Broyles, Marc Cherry, David Henry Hwang, Robert and Michelle King, and Kenny Ortega.

Read more at Variety

10 Worst Movies By Great Horror Directors, According To Rotten Tomatoes

The horror genre has plenty of great directors working in it, but even some of the best among them have made some truly bad movies.

M. Butterfly (1993)

In the 1960s, French diplomat to China René Gallimard (Jeremy Irons) falls for Beijing opera singer named Song Liling (John Lone). The two embark on a love affair, with René not only unaware that Song is actually a spy, but ignorant (purposefully or not) that his lover is a male performer in female dress.

Before body-horror maestro David Cronenberg (Videodrome, The Fly) had worked out the kinks in his approach to straight-up dramas (i.e. Spider, Eastern Promises), he tipped a bit too far into soap opera territory with this pallid adaptation of David Henry Hwang's Tony Award-winning play.

Read more at Screenrant.com

Tim Rice reveals plans for Aida London production

"Disney Theatrical Productions, the producers, were gung ho about the new adventure, and had appointed a marvellous creative team. The director was to be Schele Williams, who had been in the original Aida cast. Two Aida veterans were also to be in the team – David Henry Hwang and Bob Crowley, they were the key figures. Plus me and Elton."

Read more at Whatsonstage.com

David Henry Hwang to Host Workshop and Q&A for American Theatre Wing's Master Class Series

As part of the ongoing American Theatre Wing's Master Class Series, David Henry Hwang will host a playwriting workshop and Q&A discussion, moderated by the Wing's President & CEO Heather Hitchens, on Thursday, June 18 from 4:00pm - 5:15pm ET.

As part of their National COVID-19 Response Effort, the Master Class Series will provide attendees with exclusive access to hear and learn from titans of the theatre industry about the many and vast ways to finding your way in the business.

Those interested in joining Thursday's master class can RSVP HERE (please note: registration is limited).

Read more at Broadway World

David Henry Hwang and More Featured in 'The Flashpaper: Theatre's Thoughts on Right Now'

Arts journalist and editor Mark Blankenship announced the debut of The Flashpaper: Theatre's Thoughts on Right Now, a new journal dedicated to the urgent ideas of contemporary theater artists. Each issue of this print-only publication features original content created in response to a timely prompt from a diverse group of artists working in a variety of forms. Contributions can take shape in any printable form including playscripts, comics, essays, photo diaries, and more. Utilizing the speed of on-demand printing and an innovative approach to editing, each issue of The Flashpaper can be conceived, written, and produced within six weeks. The first issue of The Flashpaper is currently on sale at theflashpaper.com.

What Will It Be Like When Social Distancing Ends? is the prompt for the debut issue.

Read more at Broadway World

David Henry Hwang Offers Master Class & More

David Henry Hwang to Host Playwriting Workshop & Q&A
As part of the American Theatre Wing's ongoing Master Class series, playwright, screenwriter and theater professor David Henry Hwang will host a playwriting workshop and Q&A discussion, moderated by the Wing’s President and CEO Heather Hitchens on June 18 beginning at 4PM ET. As part of their National COVID-19 Response Effort, the Master Class Series provides viewers with exclusive access to hear and learn from industry luminaries about the many ways to participate in the business. Those interested in joining Hwang's Master Class may RSVP here.

Read more at Broadway.com