Woodstock Playhouse's Production Of David Henry Hwang's M. BUTTERFLY Completes Successful Run / December 7, 2022 by David Hwang

The Woodstock Playhouse presented its full-scale production of David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly with music by Lucia Hwong, for one weekend only at 7:30 p.m. Friday, November 18 and Saturday, November 19 with a Sunday, November 20 matinee at 2 p.m. at the Playhouse, 103 Mill Hill Road, Woodstock.

The cast featured David John Phillips as Rene Gallimard and Matthew Liu as Song Liling and included Kenny Andrew as Marc, Craig Cupone as Toulon, Shannon McDavid as Renee, Amy Pan as Comrade Chin, Myriam Phiro as Helga with Nick Baum and Loe Elvgren as the Kurogo.

Based on a true story that stunned the world, and inspired by Madama Butterfly, Giacomo Puccini's opera, M. Butterfly was an immediate sensation when it premiered on Broadway in 1988. The play opens in the cramped prison cell where diplomat Rene Gallimard is being held captive by the French government - and by his own illusions. He recalls a time when Song Liling, the beautiful Chinese diva, touched him with a love as vivid, as seductive - and as elusive - as a butterfly. The diplomat relives the 20-year affair from the temptation to the seduction, from its consummation to the scandal that ultimately consumed them both. M. Butterfly won the 1988 Tony Award for Best Play.

Read more at Broadway World

Photos: Inside Woodstock Playhouse's Production Of David Henry Hwang's M. BUTTERFLY / December 7, 2022 by David Hwang

M. Butterfly is based on a true story that stunned the world, and is inspired by Madama Butterfly, Giacomo Puccini’s opera.

The historic Woodstock Playhouse's sumptuous production of David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly dazzled all from November 18-20 under direction of Randy Conti with choreography by Nina Zoie Lam, costumes by Diane Stein and lighting by Tony Michael Clayton.

See photos below!

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Photos: Go Inside Opening Night of SANDRA at Vineyard Theatre / December 7, 2022 by David Hwang

Sandra is the first show in the Vineyard Theatre’s 40th Season and is currently in performances until December 11th.

Vineyard Theatre's Sandra, a one-woman thriller written by David Cale (Harry Clarke), starring Marjan Neshat (English and Selling Kabul) opened Sunday evening, November 20, with Shaina Taub, David Henry Hwang, Judy Kuhn, Rachel Sussman and others coming to show their support and celebrate after at The Penny Farthing.

See photos below!

The design team includes scenic design by Tony Award winner Rachel Hauck (Hadestown and How I Learned to Drive), costume design by Tony Award winner Linda Cho (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder and Anastasia), lighting design by Thom Weaver (Gypsy), and sound design by Kathy Ruvuna (Wives and The New Englanders).

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Photos: Go Inside Sir Tim Rice's Caricature Unveiling at Sardi's / November 22, 2022 by David Hwang

Tony, Oscar, Grammy and Emmy winning lyricist Sir Tim Rice joined the wall of drawings at Sardi's!

See photos from the event below!

Sir Tim Rice is an author and Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Emmy Award, Tony Award, and Grammy Award-winning lyricist. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Evita; with Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA, with whom he wrote Chess; for additional songs for the 2011 West End revival of The Wizard of Oz; and for his work with Alan Menken on Disney's Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and the musical King David. He also worked with Elton John on Disney's The Lion King, the musical Aida, and DreamWorks Animation's The Road to El Dorado and Ennio Morricone.

One of the most celebrated lyricists in British popular culture, Rice was knighted by Elizabeth II for services to music in 1994. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is an inductee into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, is a Disney Legend recipient, and is a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. The 2016 Sunday Times Rich List values Rice at Â£150m; the 15th-richest music millionaire in the UK. He is one of fifteen artists to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award.

M. Butterfly at Woodstock Playhouse / November 22, 2022 by David Hwang

The Woodstock Playhouse presents M. Butterfly, A play by David Henry Hwang with music by Lucia Hwong, for one weekend only, at 7:30 p.m. Friday, November 18 and Saturday, November 19 with a Sunday, November 20 matinee at 2 p.m. at the Playhouse, 103 Mill Hill Road, Woodstock.

Based on a true story that stunned the world, and inspired by Madama Butterfly, Giacomo Puccini’s opera, M. Butterflywas an immediate sensation when it premiered on Broadway in 1988. The play opens in the cramped prison cell where diplomat Rene Gallimard is being held captive by the French government — and by his own illusions. He recalls a time when Song Liling, the beautiful Chinese diva, touched him with a love as vivid, as seductive — and as elusive — as a butterfly. The diplomat relives the 20-year affair from the temptation to the seduction, from its consummation to the scandal that ultimately consumed them both.

M. Butterfly won the 1988 Tony Award for Best Play.

Photos: Go Inside Opening Night of Audible Theater's GOOD ENEMY / November 22, 2022 by David Hwang

Audible Theater is presenting the world premiere production of GOOD ENEMY written by Audible Theater Emerging Playwright Yilong Liu and directed by Obie Award winner Chay Yew. GOOD ENEMY is playing at the Minetta Lane Theatre (18 Minetta Lane, between MacDougal & 6th Avenue - one block south of W. 3rd Street), Audible's creative home for live performances in New York. This limited engagement runs through Sunday, November 27.

GOOD ENEMY's cast features Ron Domingo (The American Pilot, "As The World Turns"), Obie Award winner Francis Jue, Tim Liu ("Nepotism"), Geena Quintos (Soft Power, Emojiland), Alec Silver (Temping), Ryan Spahn (Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow), and Jeena Yi (Network, Somebody's Daughter).

Academy Museum to Present Monthlong ‘Hollywood Chinese’ Screening Series / November 9, 2022 by David Hwang

Clockwise from top left: Big Trouble in Little China, Enter the Dragon, M. Butterfly, The Joy Luck Club, Charlie Chan in Honolulu and Flower Drum Song 20THCENTFOX/COURTESY EVERETT COLLECTION (2); COURTESY EVERETT COLLECTION (3); TAKASHI SEIDA/GEFFEN PICTURES/COURTESY EVERETT COLLECTION

The program, curated by documentarian and Academy member Arthur Dong, features both celebration and critique of the first century of depicting Chinese in cinema.

The Academy Museum is dedicating November to a monthlong reflection on the history of Chinese depictions in cinema.

“Hollywood Chinese: The First 100 Years,” programmed by documentarian and longtime Academy member Arthur Dong, is a screening series of features and shorts – some classics, some obscurities – that mark both highlights and lowlights of how Chinese have been portrayed in film, particularly in the Western studio system. The series is an evolution of Dong’s 2007 documentary, which kicks off the series Nov. 4, and 2019 book of the same name.

In his programming of the series, Dong intends to help attendees reckon with the complicated and sometimes contradictory legacy of Chinese portrayals in Hollywood, sometimes within the same film, such as Charlie Chan in Hollywood, The Sand Pebbles (which earned Makoto Iwamatsu an Oscar supporting actor nomination) and even Flower Drum Song. “Flower Drum Song is one of my all-time favorite films, it’s celebratory, but as David Henry Hwang says, it’s a film that has a lot of guilty pleasures. Sand Pebbles is beautifully made and kickstarted Mako’s decades-long career on screen and stage and put him on the map. But it’s about colonialism and white saviors and Chinese prostitutes and lecherous Chinese men played by James Hong,” says the programmer. “Most if not all the films have questions but also levels of celebration, of saying that we should be proud of what we’ve accomplished – within context – and we should take the critique in context and move forward and learn from all that.”

World Premiere of Re-Imagined AIDA to be Presented in the Netherlands in April 2023 / November 4, 2022 by David Hwang

**Gaia Aikman, April Darby and Naidjim Severina are set to star.**

AIDA, the musical by Elton John and Tim Rice has been reworked and updated, and the world premiere is set for 23 April 2023 in the AFAS Circustheater in Scheveningen. Stage Entertainment Nederland and Disney Theatrical Productions have announced hat Gaia Aikman (The Lion King, TINA - The Tina Turner Musical), April Darby (Sister Act, The Bodyguard) and Naidjim Severina (The Lion King, Kinky Boots) will play the lead roles in the production.

The updated version of AIDA differs in a number of respects from the version performed here from 2001 to 2003, which attracted 1.3 million visitors. It goes without saying that the iconic music and lyrics by Sir Elton John (The Lion King, Billy Elliot) and Tim Rice (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita) have remained the same, but the creative team, led by director Schele Williams, has given the musical a contemporary feel without compromising its original quality.

The narrative of AIDA remains intact in this renewed version. It is the compelling and fateful story of two lovers belonging to feuding nations, torn between their conflicted loyalties to their countries and to each other. This love story is set against the backdrop of a nation immersed in nationalism that seeks to expand its empire by invading another country.

Scriptwriter David Henry Hwang, also responsible for the original version of AIDA: "The classic tale of Aida has touched audiences across cultures and time. I'm thrilled to adapt the performance we created twenty years ago to the current era, so that the epic love story can speak even more powerfully to audiences today."

Read more at Broadway World

Scottish Opera's evocative, intense new production of Ainadamar / October 14, 2022 by David Hwang

With £10 tickets for Under 26s and a UK premiere of Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar opening this month, there's never been a better time to give Scottish Opera a go.

If you're a millennial or Gen Z theatre-lover looking for something new, there's never been a better time to check out Scottish Opera. Through their Under 26 Ticket Scheme, young opera-goers can access £10 tickets to all of Scottish Opera's mainstage shows, and, for some touring shows, tickets go for as low as £5. These discounted tickets are for some of the best seats in the house, and they make a night at the opera an attractive opportunity to see a breathtaking performance – and maybe to dress up a bit for the occasion. This month, Scottish Opera is staging the UK debut of Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar at Glasgow's Theatre Royal (29 Oct - 5 Nov) and Edinburgh's Festival Theatre (8-12 Nov).

Ainadamar is the first opera directed by Olivier Award-winning choreographer Deborah Colker, with music by Grammy Award-winner Osvaldo Golijov. The production sports an impressive host of collaborators and co-producers: Opera Ventures, Detroit Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, and Welsh Opera are all on board. Originally staged in 2003, with a libretto by David Henry Hwang, Ainadamarpromises to be an impressive fusion of opera and flamenco.

It tells the story of Spanish Civil War-era poet Federico García Lorca, who was executed during the war for (rumoured) homosexuality. Told through the eyes of Lorca's friend and muse Margarita Xirgu, Ainadamar draws inspiration from flamenco and other Andalusian sounds, from folk to electronic music. In addition to his Grammy for Best Classical Contemporary Composition, Golijov has won the praise of several of our great living musical minds, including Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, Paul Simon, and David Byrne. David Bowie once called Golijov the "greatest living composer," and Björk has called his music "simply thrilling."

En Garde Arts Launches Joan D. Firestone Commissioning Fund / October 14, 2022 by David Hwang

En Garde Arts Launches Joan D. Firestone Commissioning Fund

The award will recognize a mid-career theatre artist engaged in social change through the arts with an unrestricted $18,000 prize.

NEW YORK CITY: En Garde Arts has announced the creation of the Joan D. Firestone Commissioning Fund. Named in honor of the longtime En Garde Arts chairperson and board member, the award will recognize one mid-career theatre artist who is engaged in social change through the arts with an unrestricted $18,000 prize. En Garde Arts has raised a total of $100,000 through a group of generous donors and plans to recognize one mid-career artist every year for five years.

“I truly believe that if it weren’t for the incredible philanthropic abilities of Joan D. Firestone, En Garde Arts wouldn’t exist today,” said En Garde artistic director Anne Hamburger in a statement. “In addition to her fierce determination to support the arts in any way she can, she is above all an extraordinary human being and I am honored to launch this fund in her name.”

“Joan has been a nurturing voice and unbelievable champion of artists for decades,” added two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage in a statement. “I’ve long admired her generosity and genuine commitment to supporting theatre artists who are making work that is socially engaged, complex, and endeavors to have a meaningful dialogue with audiences.”

En Garde Arts will hold the first public developmental reading of the new work/work-in-progress within one year to 18 months from the original commission date. The theatre will hold no rights to future productions of the commissioned work. The nominating committee includes Kim Bendheim, Linda Chapman, Joan D. Firestone, David Henry Hwang, Lynn Nottage and Anne Hamburger. Consideration for the award is offered by invitation only and the prize will be presented by Lynn Nottage and David Henry Hwang at the En Garde Arts Gala on Thurs. Dec. 8 at Ideal Glass Studios.

Signature Theatre to Unveil 42 Street Intersection as Jim Houghton Way / October 10, 2022 by David Hwang

Will Eno, Marin Ireland, David Henry Hwang and more will be taking part in the event.

On the afternoon of October 4, Signature Theatre will unveil the  42nd Street and Dyer Avenue intersection in New York City's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood as the newly co-named Jim Houghton Way, celebrating the groundbreaking company's founder, James Houghton (1958-2016). For this festive gathering, legendary members of the city's theater community will come together in honor of Houghton, who formed the company in 1991 with a mission of supporting playwrights through a multi-play residency model designed to invest in a body of work and provide a supportive artistic home.

Houghton was beloved by the theatre community and known for supporting visionary playwrights and theatremakers including Edward Albee, Will Eno, Horton Foote, Athol Fugard, John Guare, Katori Hall, David Henry Hwang, Bill Irwin, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Adrienne Kennedy, and Sam Shepard.

Read more at Broadway World

Special Offer: Limited Tickets Available for Elton John & Tim Rice's AIDA: In Concert! / September 27, 2022 by David Hwang

Elton John & Tim Rice's AIDA: In Concert
This is the story of a love that flourished in a time of hate!
Music by Elton John
Lyrics by Tim Rice
Book by Linda Woolverton and Robert Falls & David Henry Hwang

An enslaved Nubian princess, Aida, finds her heart entangled with Radames, an Egyptian soldier who is betrothed to the Pharaoh's daughter, Amneris. As their forbidden love blossoms, Aida is forced to weigh her heart against the responsibility that she faces as the leader of her people. Aida and Radames' love for one another becomes a shining example of true devotion that ultimately transcends the vast cultural differences between their warring nations, heralding a time of unprecedented peace and prosperity.

September 30 & October 1, 2022 at TPAC's Polk Theater
Tickets available at https://www.studiotenn.org/aida

Read more at Broadway World

YALE IN HOLLYWOOD Fest; Esteemed Jury to include Obie Winning playwright David Henry Hwang. / September 14, 2022 by David Hwang

Yale in Hollywood will present its third global virtual film festival, Yale in Hollywood Fest, from December 1 to 3, 2022, with a three-day line up of feature and short films and an esteemed alumnae jury consisting of actress Robinne Lee, Obbie winning playwright David Henry Hwang, last year's festival winner actor/writer Jeff Locker and actress/current Yale student Sophia Mitri Schloss.

Read more at Broadway World

Get a Look at M. Butterfly at Santa Fe Opera / August 25, 2022 by David Hwang

Left-Right; Ensemble, Kangmin Justin Kim (Song Liling), Mark Stone (René Gallimard), photo by Curtis Brown Photography for the Santa Fe Opera

The operatic adaptation of the David Henry Hwang play features a libretto by Hwang and music by Huang Ruo.

The world premiere operatic adaptation of David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly completes its run at Santa Fe Opera August 24. Hwang wrote the libretto, adapting his own script, with Huang Ruo (An American Soldier) penning the music. The opera began its run July 30. Watch highlights from the production above.

Countertenor Kangmin Justin Kim stars as Song Liling, with Mark Stone and Erik Grendahl sharing the role of René Gallimard, Hongni Wu as Comrade Chin and Shu Fung, Kevin Burdette as Manuel Toulon and Judge, and Joshua Dennis as Marc.

See Photos of Santa Fe Opera's World Premiere Adaptation of David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly / August 25, 2022 by David Hwang

Kangmin Justin Kim (Song Liling), photo by Curtis Brown Photography for the Santa Fe Opera

See more photos at Playbill

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Illusion and Betrayal in ‘M. Butterfly’ / August 8, 2022 by David Hwang

Huang Ruo, who wrote the music for the operatic adaptation of David Henry Hwang’s play, says its exploration of race, gender and power still resonates today.

The question from the Chinese-born composer Huang Ruo came out of the blue: Would David Henry Hwang, the American playwright, consider adapting his Broadway hit “M. Butterfly” for the opera stage?

It was 2013, and Huang, who had worked with Hwang on an Off Broadway revival of “The Dance and the Railroad,” was eager to collaborate again. The playwright agreed, and in late July, almost a decade after their first conversation, “M. Butterfly” had its premiere at Santa Fe Opera.

Like the play, the opera tells the story of René Gallimard, a civil servant at the French embassy in Beijing, who falls in love with Song Liling, a Chinese opera singer who seems to be the ideal woman. Gallimard eventually discovers that Song has been a man — and a spy — all along.

Having a birthday today, Aug. 11, 2022 / August 7, 2022 by David Hwang

Magazine columnist Marilyn Vos Savant is 76. Country singer John Conlee is 76. Singer Eric Carmen is 73. Computer scientist and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is 72. Wrestler-actor Hulk Hogan is 69. Singer Joe Jackson is 68. Playwright David Henry Hwang is 65. Actor Miguel A. Nunez Jr. is 63. Actor Viola Davis is 57. Actor Embeth Davidtz is 57. Actor Duane Martin is 57.

New York Public Library shares world's large archive of theatre recordings in new exhibit / August 7, 2022 by David Hwang

Playwright David Henry Hwang with actors John Lone and Tzi Ma on the set of The Public Theater production of "The Dance and the Railroad" in 1981. (Martha Swope/Billy Rose Theatre Division)

The world’s largest collection of live theatre recordings turns 50 this year. To celebrate, the New York Public Library, which curates the massive collection, is welcoming guests to its new exhibit called “Focus Center Stage.”

Of the more than 8,000 titles featured in the collection, about 4,500 are recorded productions. Curator Patrick Hoffman says he wishes every production could be taped for the archives, but that it isn’t financially feasible.

“We select what we believe are the outstanding productions on Broadway, off-Broadway,” Hoffman says. “And we’ve also taped in regional theaters over the years, too.”

‘M. Butterfly’ a different spin on the Puccini opera / August 1, 2022 by David Hwang

“M. Butterfly” turns Puccini on his head.

As beautiful as it is, “Madama Butterfly” presents problems of race, gender and cultural differences. Based on the Tony Award-winning Broadway play, “M. Butterfly” offers a corrective, composer Huang Ruo says.

“There are issues with Puccini’s opera,” Ruo said in a telephone interview from Santa Fe. “Of course, it was written 100 years ago by a composer who had never been to the country.”

In Puccini’s version of this unrequited love story, the naval officer Pinkerton seduces and marries Cio Cio San, a young Japanese geisha with whom he has a child. He subsequently abandons her, marrying an American wife who returns to take the child.

In “M. Butterfly,” a French diplomat falls for a Chinese opera singer who presents him with a son. But it is the diplomat who falls into tragedy.

The butterfly effect / August 1, 2022 by David Hwang

Song Liling (Kangmin Justin Kim) and René Gallimard (Mark Stone) in *M. Butterfly*; photo Curtis Brown for the Santa Fe Opera

David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly was the first play composer Huang Ruo saw in America after arriving here in 1996 to study at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. “I went because I knew Puccini’s opera,” he says, “and because I knew there was an Asian actor in it. I remember it was very shocking, and it struck me deeply.”

Twenty-six years later — and after three earlier collaborations — their operatic version of M. Butterfly will become the Santa Fe Opera’s 18th world premiere when it opens on Saturday, July 30.

Its plot is based on a real-life event. In 1986, a French diplomat and his romantic partner, a Chinese Opera singer, were convicted of spying for China. Their trial received international news coverage when it was revealed that for more than 20 years the diplomat had incorrectly believed the singer, who specialized in female roles, was a woman.

Hwang heard about the news reports at a Los Angeles cocktail party and was convinced it contained stage potential. About a year later, he had the “Aha!” moment that provided the entry point to the play. While driving down Santa Monica Boulevard, he asked himself, “What did the diplomat think he was getting with this Chinese actress?”