The Australian premiere of the celebrated play by Asian-American Broadway success story David Henry Hwang

Jonathan Chan and Shan-Ree Tan. Photo credit: Clare Hawley

Yellow Face

It is not such a strange move that a playwright should make themself the central character in their own work, but in David Henry Hwang’s Yellow Face, it is an obviously absurd conceit. Fictionally, the Asian-American writer commits the theatrical cardinal sin, by mistakenly casting a white man to play one of his Asian characters. Hilarity ensues, perhaps unsurprisingly, in this quirky comedy about race relations in America, and racial representation in the arts more broadly.

Much has changed, in these political discussions, since the play’s original 2007 premiere. Enjoying its Australian premiere at Kings Cross Theatre, some of its arguments seem slightly dated, as does some of its humour. Still, the essence of what it wishes to impart remains valuable. The current resurgence of anti-Asian sentiment, most notably in post-Trump USA and in the middle of a global crisis, has brought back analysis and commentary around the concept of the “model minority”. Hwang certainly embodies this idea, being one of the biggest success stories of Asian-Americans who have made it on Broadway.

Read more at Time Out

Theatre Review: Kings Cross Theatre’s Yellow Face will make you laugh, then break your heart

Written by David Henry Hwang, Yellow Face at Kings Cross Theatre is a semi-autobiographical play that features the playwright himself as the protagonist. Set in America over the course of the 1990s, Yellow Facefocuses particularly on the inception, creation, release and subsequent failure of Hwang’s 1993 play Face Value, and everything that follows.

When we first meet Hwang (Shan-Ree Tan) he is a celebrated, Tony Award-winning playwright. Upon hearing the news that the upcoming Broadway play Miss Saigon, will star a white, British actor in the starring role (of an Asian man), Hwang writes a public letter of protest against the casting.

The uproar that ensues is told through the media headlines from various publications and, combined with the pressure of trying to write a new play, Hwang starts to consider if perhaps he should have just kept his mouth shut.

Read more at The AU Review

5 insightful plays to peek into the AAPI theater scene

Not familiar with AAPI theater?

Not a problem, we have collected some fabulous plays you can get yourself started with. This week, we have gathered the works by Frank Chin, David Henry Hwang, Jay Kuo, and Diana Son.

Soft Power, David Henry Hwang

The story begins as Xue Xing, an entertainment producer from Shanghai, travels to America for work and falls in love with Hilary Clinton.

Xing then attempts to recruit a character (who is DHH’s theatrical avatar) to compose a Chinese audience-oriented musical. The development of the plot is intertwined with DHH’s real-life experiences – particularly a sidewalk stabbing in the neck that almost left DDH near death in 2015.

Read more at KULTUREHUB

Live at the Lortel Interview Series Announces May Lineup of Guests

The virtual conversation series hosted by Eric Ostrow, with co-hosts Joy DeMichelle and John-Andrew Morrison, will welcome Tony-nominated actor and playwright Charlayne Woodard (Ain't Misbehavin') May 3, Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly, Flower Drum Song) May 10, theatre educator and intimacy director Ann James May 17, and current Tony nominee Robyn Hurder (Moulin Rouge!) May 24. The live interviews take place at 7 PM ET, with podcast episodes released the following week. For more information or to join live, click here.

Read more at Playbill

Charlayne Woodard, David Henry Hwang, Ann James, and Robyn Hurder Join LIVE AT THE LORTEL Lineup

The Lucille Lortel Theatre today announces its upcoming May guest lineup for its popular "Live at The Lortel" podcast series. To end its 2020-2021 season, the interview series Tony Award-winning actress and playwright Charlayne Woodard (May 3), Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang (May 10), theater educator and intimacy director Ann James (May 17), and Tony Award-nominated actress Robyn Hurder (May 24).

The live interviews will take place Mondays at 7:00 PM EST, offering theater fans the opportunity to view interviews and participate in a Q&A with artists. To join the audience, please visit www.liveatthelortel.com.

Read more at Broadway World

How Theater Community Mobilized to Stop Asian Hate

In response to the shooting in Atlanta and the rise in hate crimes it underscored, Asian American theater artists took action, organizing support and self-care programs for the Asian American community while using their platforms as performers to speak out.

The two guests on this week’s episode of Variety’s Stagecraft podcast, Christine Toy Johnson and Leslie Ishii, were among the theater creators who appeared in “Stronger Together. And Stronger Than Ever” (pictured), the video statement released by the Consortium of Asian American Theatres and Artists (CAATA) and featuring Lea Salonga, David Henry Hwang, Ruthie Ann Miles and Telly Leung, among many others. “It was to say: ‘We’re strong. We have come together in solidarity, and we’re actually stronger because we’re together and we’ll be moving this way as we go forward,'” said Ishii, the board president of CAATA and the artistic director at Perseverance Theater in Juneau, Alaska.

Read more at Variety

Disney, from Pinocchio to Hercules: all live-action remakes in development

During the Investor Day of last December 2020, in addition to announcing an avalanche of titles coming for the Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar franchises, Disney also officially unveiled what the future holds in terms of projects live-action inspired by his animated classics, announcing the development of three new remakes - Pinocchio, Peter Pan & Wendy e The little Mermaid - and a prequel de The Lion King. However, thanks to the always punctual Hollywood trade we know that the studio is not only working on these four products, but on many more: from the Hercules franchise anticipated by the Russo brothers to the sequels of Aladdin e The Jungle Book.
While cinemas around the world (or almost) and Disney + are preparing to welcome Cruella with Emma Stone from next May 28th, therefore, we have decided to collect all of them in this article the remakes and their respective sequels in progress at Walt Disney Studios. Before leaving, however, we specify that none of the films listed below have yet obtained an official release date.

The hunchback of Notre Dame

Almost two years after the House of Mouse hired David Henry Hwang to write the screenplay for the live-action The Hunchback of Notre Dame, last January one of the producers involved, Josh Gad, finally confirmed that the film is still in development e "it's getting closer and closer". Unfortunately at the moment we don't know much about the project, but according to the first reports it could be Gad himself who plays the role of the sweet bell ringer Quasimodo.

Read more at Sun Rise Read

The Kennedy Center is turning 50 with a year-long celebration of new works and special performances — in person, no less

The Skylight Pavilion is reflected in a pool on the grounds of the Reach complex at the Kennedy Center. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)

The Kennedy Center is planning an extended celebration of its 50th anniversary in its 2021-2022 season, featuring new commissions by Philip Glass and Esperanza Spalding, year-long artist residencies by the Roots and Robert Glasper, interactive exhibitions commemorating its first five decades and a new outdoor bronze statue of JFK. The festivities will end with a restaging of Leonard Bernstein’s theatrical “Mass,” which opened the center on Sept. 8, 1971.

“We’re never going to be 50 any other time,” Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter said over Zoom Monday. “Whenever you think about these milestones, you think, ‘Should we reflect back, or should we look forward?’ You can see that there are some things that are very much about looking forward . . . in particular the way we designed commissions of new works and the folks we have invited to lead our journey.”

The schedule includes the Washington National Opera’s “Written in Stone,” a collection of four commissions that “celebrate the diversity and acknowledge the struggles” of America, according to the arts center. Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz Jason Moran, Artistic Director of Social Impact Marc Bamuthi Joseph, composer Huang Ruo, playwright and librettist David Henry Hwang and composer and instrumentalist Kamala Sankaram are among the artists involved in the project. The four pieces will premiere together during a six-performance run March 5-25, 2022.

Read more at The Washington Post

Reimagine Candlelight Vigil with David Henry Hwang

This month's Reimagine Candlelight Vigil is co-led by Tony Award-winning playwright and screenwriter, David Henry Hwang. In particular, we will be mourning the lives lost to Asian hate.

Join us as we honor those we’ve lost since the pandemic and to explore the role of self-expression/arts in metabolizing our relationship with death, in the service of helping us all live more fully.

At this vigil, we are particularly looking to also engage in mourning lives lost to Asian hate, thereby elevating this topic more broadly. 

​We are excited to invite David Henry Hwang to join us for so many reasons; he has his own brushes with death to draw on, he’s explored themes of life and death and race through his own creative pursuits, and he’s a powerful voice in elevating a conversation about the atrocities long in the shadows against Asian Americans.

Read more at Lets Reimagine

American Lyric Theater Presents FROM ERASED TO SELF-EMPOWERED: CELEBRATING BIPOC OPERA COMPOSERS AND LIBRETTISTS

From April 6-10, American Lyric Theater (ALT) presents FROM ERASED TO SELF-EMPOWERED: CELEBRATING BIPOC OPERA COMPOSERS AND LIBRETTISTS, a three-part online seminar and roundtable, culminating in a free virtual concert performance April 10th at 7:30 pm et. The program is open to composers, librettists, educators and the general public. Advance registration is required.

"BIPOC composers and librettists have written for the Lyric Stage for centuries, but so many of their contributions have been consciously erased from the opera house - historically white, Euro-centric, racist institutions where select, self-anointed groups of people have gone out of their way to control the repertoire, who writes opera, who is represented on stage, and how," said ALT's Founder, Lawrence Edelson, explaining the impetus behind the program. "The tide is beginning to turn, but we still have a long way to go before opera reflects the vibrancy and diversity of contemporary American society."

Led by ALT's newly appointed Associate Artistic Director Kelly Kuo, the first part of the seminar will explore the history of remarkable BIPOC composers and librettists who wrote for the opera stage, but whose works have been erased from the repertoire. ComposersDaniel Bernard Roumain, Justine F. Chen, Anthony Davis, Huang Ruo, and Errollyn Wallen, and librettists Richard Wesley, David Henry Hwang, Kanika Ambrose, and Andrea Davis Pinkney, then join Kuo for two roundtables where they will discuss their own pathways into opera; why they are drawn to opera to tell their stories through music; navigating racism in the opera field; and the complementary value of allyship and self-empowerment in advancing BIPOC artists' contributions to the operatic repertoire.

Read more at Broadway World

This Is Who We Are: David Henry Hwang

This Is Who We Are is a series featuring Columbia School of the Arts’ professors, covering careers, pedagogy, and art-making during a pandemic. Here, we talk with Associate Professor of Theatre and Playwriting Concentration Head David Henry Hwang about his most recent projects, the challenges of collaboration in the Zoom era, and the power of authenticity in art. 

Last March, COVID-19 emerged as a long term threat to our health and our patterns of daily living. Activities we might have taken for granted—dining in a restaurant, booking plane tickets, or seeing a Broadway show—became unavailable as state and local governments moved to stop the spread of the virus. Almost a year later, with over 51 million fully vaccinated Americans, many of the country’s most hard-hit industries have managed a slow return to normal. 

 But Broadway, one of New York City’s most defining and beloved features, remains closed, not expected to reopen until September of 2021. Despite the necessary but disheartening closures, many artists have demonstrated considerable resiliency, creating virtual projects or working in anticipation of the day when their art will have an in-person audience again.

Read more at Arts Columbia

Asian American and Pacific Islanders Resources for Racial Justice

Racism against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders has a long and painful history. In light of the recent increase in hate crimes, this history has become all the more urgent, even as “model minority” myths obscure a clear picture of this persistent struggle. This evolving list, compiled by multiple contributors across departments at MoMA, brings together readings and films as well as links to grassroots organizations and community businesses that you can support immediately to make sure the history we’ve inherited is not the future we perpetuate.
–Simon Wu

Some Readings

Gordon H. Chang, Ghosts of Gold Mountain: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad (Mariner Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020)

Gordon H. Chang, “Whose ‘Barbarism’? Whose ‘Treachery’? Race and Civilization in the Unknown United States-Korea War of 1871,” The Journal of American History 89, no. 4 (2003): 1331-365.

Iris Chang, The Chinese in America: a Narrative History (New York: Penguin Books, 2003)

Some Listening

Hear David Henry Hwang discuss Martin Wong’s Stanton Near Forsyth Street with curator Michelle Kuo, as part of the MoMA and BBC Series The Way I See It

Find more at MOMA

CAA Amplify Town Hall To Address Surge Of Violence Against Asians; Kelly Marie Tran, Lisa Ling, Simu Liu, David Henry Hwang, H.E.R. and more Set To Make Appearances

At the top of the pandemic, when former reality show host Donald Trump referred to the coronavirus as the “China Virus” and “Kung Flu”, violence and harassment against Asians and Asian Americans started to surge. This all came to a head on March 16 when Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Delaina Ashley Yaun Gonzalez, Paul Andre Michels, Soon Chung Park, Hyun Grant, Suncha Kim and Yong Ae Yue were senselessly murdered by a man who, according to authorities was “having a bad day” when it was clear as day that this was a hate crime.

Featured CAA Amplify Town Hall speakers and appearances, among others, will include:

• Actor and Co-Founder of RUN AAPI, Chloe Bennet

• President of Anthem of Us, Anurima Bhargava

• Writer and Cultural Strategist, Jeff Chang

• Founding Partner of Stop AAPI Hate and Co-Executive Director of Chinese for Affirmative Action, Cynthia Choi

• Academy Award-Nominated and Grammy Award-Winning singer and songwriter, H.E.R.

• Co-Founder of The Hundreds, Bobby Hundreds

• Playwright and Screenwriter, David Henry Hwang

• Co-Founder of RUN AAPI, Brad Jenkins

• Actor, Minari, Alan Kim

• Most Decorated U.S. Figure Skater, Michelle Kwan

• Artistic Director of The Young Vic, Kwame Kwei-Armah

• U.S. Congressman (D – Los Angeles County), Ted W. Lieu

• Journalist, Lisa Ling

• Actor, Author, and Activist, Simu Liu

• Founder and CEO of Rise, Amanda Nguyen

• Actor, Author, and Co-Founder of ActToChange.org, Maulik Pancholy

• Tony and Grammy Award-Nominated Actor, Emily in Paris, Ashley Park

• President and CEO of TIME’S UP Foundation and TIME’S UP Now, Tina Tchen

• Actor and Producer, Raya and the Last Dragon, Kelly Marie Tran

• Actor, Advocate, and Producer, DeWanda Wise

• Comedian, Writer, and Actor, Jenny Yang

Read more at Deadline

Actor George Takei, Playwright David Henry Hwang Discuss Fight For Change As Anti-Asian Attacks Spike In U.S.

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — There has been an alarming rise in attacks against Asian Americans over the past year.

As more people offer support for this diverse community, there are two high-profile celebrities who’ve been fighting for change for decades, CBS2’s Cindy Hsu reported Monday.

In the last year, nearly 4,000 Asian hate incidents were reported nationwide. But there’s a long history of anti-Asian violence in the U.S.

Hsu spoke with Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang, who was stabbed in the neck in Brooklyn five years ago while walking home from the grocery store.

“Turned out that the attacker had severed my vertebral artery. I’d lost about a third of my blood,” Hwang said. “But I was out of the hospital in about three or four days. So I was a lot more fortunate than many attack victims.”

Read more at CBS New York

Asian and Pacific Islander Theatre Artists Call for Unity and Strength in Anti-Hate PSA

The video includes dozens of Broadway alums, including David Henry Hwang and Lea Salonga.

A new PSA from the Consortium of Asian American Theatres & Artists (CAATA) calls for AAPI theatre artists to stay strong and unite against the hate faced by Asian Americans that is making headlines around the world. The video features over 50 theatre artists, including Ann Harada, Lea Salonga, Jenna Ushkowitz, Ruthie Ann Miles, Marc delaCruz, and Telly Leung. 

“As storytellers, we know the importance of representation on stage and in films and media. We speak our truths in the face of apathy and hatred,” the artists collectively say. “Whatever platform you have, use it.”

The video begins with a quote from Soft Power, the 2020 Pulitzer Prize finalist with a score co-written by David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori, that explores the Asian-American experience. Conrad Ricamora and Francis Jue, who starred in The Public's Off-Broadway premiere production of the musical, both appear in the PSA, as does Hwang.

Stop AAPI Hate: A Resource Guide to Support the Asian-American Community 

See more at Playbill

WATCH: Lea Salonga, David Henry Hwang and Hoon Lee Urge Support of #StopAsianHate in Digital Video Series

The video series also features Kelly Marie Tran, Constance Wu, MILCK,epresentative Grace Meng (D-NY), Isa Briones, Jon Jon Briones, Jake Choi, Midori Francis and more.

Today, Jess McLeod (Resident Director, Hamilton Chicago), Arianna Afsar (Singer/Actor, Hamilton/Netflix's Wedding Season), Eric Keen-Louie (Producing Director - La Jolla Playhouse), and Lauren Yee (Playwright, Cambodian Rock Band) announced the launch of a celebrity digital video campaign aimed at raising awareness about the dramatic rise in hate crimes against the Asian American community. The series was coordinated in collaboration with Parag Parikh (Director, South Asians for Biden) and playwright Stefani Kuo.

Watch videos at Broadway World

AAPI Broadway Unites on Stars in the House- Live at 8pm!

Stars in the House continues tonight (8pm ET) with #AAPI Broadway with Ann Harada, David Henry Hwang, Jose Llana, Ruthie Anne Miles and Pearl Sun joined by a special guest from the National Immigration Law Center.

Stars in the House, which officially kicked off on March 16, 2020 is a daily series that features stars of stage and screen singing or performing plays live (from home!) to promote support for charitable services for those most vulnerable to the effects of Coronavirus (COVID-19). Joining Seth and James for the shows is Dr. Jon LaPook, chief medical correspondent for CBS News.

Thanks to YOU Stars In The House has raised over $750,000 for The Actors Fund and over $203,000 for other organizations including: The Trevor Project, You Gotta Believe, NAACP LDF, Cats4CovidRelief, The Humane Society of New York, Broadway at CBST, Greater Orlando Performing Arts Relief, Cancer Support Community, New York Gay Men's Chorus, Youth Pride Chorus, and Tonewall and Bullets to Books (The Jüdische Kulturbund Project).

Read more at Broadway World

Representation isn’t just about visibility. Shootings remind us it’s about life and death

Francis Jue as DHH in David Henry Hwang’s “Soft Power” at the Ahmanson Theater in 2018.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?” In a single line from the final song of “Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel Miranda nails the cultural struggle of our age. 

The battles of #OscarsSoWhite, #MeToo, Black Lives Matter and cancel culture are part of the escalating war over the American narrative. The conflict isn’t only about who tells the story but also how it is being told. What are the assumptions of the storyteller? Whose experience is being prioritized? And, most important, which audience is being addressed?

In the last week, I’ve been thinking about the immigrant workers in Martyna Majok’s plays, the house cleaners, caregivers and sweatshop drones of “Ironbound,” “Cost of Living” and “Queens.” And I’ve been haunted by what happened to playwright David Henry Hwang, who included in his book for “Soft Power” (the musical he wrote with Jeanine Tesori that had its premiere at the Ahmanson Theatre in 2018) his experience of being stabbed while carrying groceries near his Brooklyn home.

Read more at Los Angeles Times

May Adrales Named Next Artistic Director of the Lark

NEW YORK CITY: The Lark, an international play development laboratory dedicated to amplifying the voices of playwrights, has announced that May Adrales, the acclaimed director of Vietgone and Luce, will serve as its new artistic director. After an inclusive search process led by ALJP Consulting, Adrales was selected by a committee composed of Lark artists, staff, and board members to succeed founding artistic director John Clinton Eisner, who announced his departure after 27 years last week. Adrales will lead the organization alongside executive director Stacy Waring.

Adrales has a long history with the Lark, having first come to the company through the New Generations Future Leaders Fellowship from TCG, and later serving as the its director of artistic programs.

“The Lark…by creating a dynamic, radically supportive and inclusive space for living theatremakers, has influenced and shaped me to be the artist I am today,” said Adrales in a statement. “My vision for the Lark is to wholly empower artists and encourage their fullest potential by providing artistic, financial, and career-building support. My hope is that the work created under the wing of the Lark reveals the widest range of human experience and works towards an equitable, compassionate, and imaginative world.”

As the Lark’s director of artistic programs, Adrales played a leading role in designing artistic programs that continue to be core to the Lark’s play development process, including Monthly Meeting of the Minds, Winter Writers’ Retreat, and Playground. In her acclaimed career as a director, Adrales has also directed numerous world premieres and productions of Lark-affiliated writers, including Katori Hall, David Henry Hwang, Rajiv Joseph, including Katori Hall, Rajiv Joseph, David Henry Hwang, A. Rey Pamatmat, Idris Goodwin, Chisa Hutchinson, Lloyd Suh, Thomas Bradshaw, and Lauren Yee.

Read more at American Theatre

“Soft Power” was inspired by playwright and librettist David Henry Hwang’s experience of being stabbed

“Soft Power” was inspired by playwright and librettist David Henry Hwang’s experience of being stabbed near his Brooklyn home in 2015.

His assailant was never apprehended, and some believe the incident was an anti-Asian hate crime. “All the Asian Americans I know, we’re very conscious of feeling a more hostile environment,” Hwang says of the recent rise in anti-Asian violence. “It started last spring. You would just get a different vibe from people. I got yelled at in a doctor’s office. I was having a regular checkup, and someone in the waiting room yelled, ‘Have you been to China?’” Hwang is hopeful that the success of filmmakers like Jon M. Chu, Lulu Wang, Chloé Zhao and Lee Isaac Chung is a sign that Hollywood finally has “the willingness to look at Asian American stories as not only marginalized stories but as stories that have universal appeal.”

Read more at Variety