Every David Cronenberg movie, ranked / June 17, 2023 by David Hwang

Ranking every single David Cronenberg movie is no easy feat, but we did it anyway. With the release of the Dead Ringers remake (which is quite good, by the way), it only made sense to write up all 22 of Cronenberg's directorial features looking at what makes them great, unique, or just worth a watch.

Whether you only know him for gross-out body horror like The Fly or modern dramas like A Dangerous Method, his filmography truly has something for everyone – even the most serious of cinephiles. Scroll on to read through our ranking and see where your favorite movie falls on the list.

M Butterfly (1993)

As beautiful as it is bleak, M. Butterfly is a film adaptation of the stage play of the same name penned by David Henry Hwang (who also wrote the screenplay). A bit out of an outlier in Cronenberg's filmography, the story is based on the real-life affair between French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and Chinese opera singer Shi Pei Pu.

The stage play explores nonconforming gender identities, espionage, the artistry of the Peking opera, and the political climate of 1960s Bejing at length. These elements are mostly absent here in Cronenberg's adaptation – which puts the focus solely on Gallimard (Jeremy Irons) and Song's (John Lone) torrid love affair. Instead of including the rich color of the Peking opera, Cronenberg opts for his usual muted color palette which, when paired with lackluster dialogue and undeveloped plot points, adds to the film's overall bleakness.

Best Bets: San Francisco Playhouse Presents David Henry Hwang's 'Chinglish' / June 11, 2023 by David Hwang

They were the darlings of social media some years back: those public signs in China that included awkward English translations ("Beware of Missing Foot," "Slip and Fall Carefully!"). Their fascination has faded with time (and perhaps with the realization that they were only funny to Americans who expect every other country to speak English), but one lasting remnant of value is David Henry Hwang's play "Chinglish," which is enjoying a successful and well-received run at San Francisco Playhouse. The play centers on an American businessman who heads to China hoping to secure lucrative contacts for his family sign company. Of course, the prospective clients he meets don't always understand him very well, and what unspools is an insightful and comedic clash of idioms, expectations and motivations. But don't take our translation, go see for yourself. SF Playhouse's production, directed by the talented Jeffrey Lo, runs through June 10 at 450 Post St.; performances are 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $15-$100; go to www.sfplayhouse.org.

How America’s Playwrights Saved the Tony Awards / June 11, 2023 by David Hwang

Tony Kushner, the Pulitzer-winning playwright of “Angels in America,” and Lisa Kron, the Tony-winning librettist and lyricist of “Fun Home,” are among many Broadway artists who also work in film and television and have joined picketing screenwriters in New York. Credit...Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock

The screenwriters’ strike threatened next month’s broadcast, a key marketing moment for the fragile theater industry. That’s when leading dramatists sprang into action.

Martyna Majok, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, was revising her musical adaptation of “The Great Gatsby” after a long day in a developmental workshop when she heard the news: The union representing striking screenwriters was not going to grant a waiver for the Tony Awards, imperiling this year’s telecast.

So at three in the morning, she set aside her script to join a group of playwrights frantically writing emails and making phone calls to leaders of the Writers Guild of America, urging the union not to make the pandemic-hobbled theater industry collateral damage in a Hollywood dispute. “I had to try,” she said.

Surprising even themselves, the army of artists succeeded. The screenwriters’ union agreed to a compromise: it said it would not picket the ceremony as long as the show does not rely on a written script.

Tony Kushner and a number of acclaimed dramatists — including David Henry Hwang and Jeremy O. Harris — who spent a weekend phoning and emailing union leaders. At least a half-dozen Pulitzer winners joined the cause, including Lynn Nottage (“Sweat” and “Ruined”), Quiara Alegría Hudes (“Water by the Spoonful”), David Lindsay-Abaire (“Rabbit Hole”), Donald Margulies (“Dinner with Friends”) and Majok (“Cost of Living”).

Rare music composition performed under the Spruce Goose / June 11, 2023 by David Hwang

A piece of music by the composer Philip Glass will soon be performed under the tail of Oregon’s iconic Spruce Goose airplane. The piece, “1,000 Airplanes on the Roof,” has rarely been performed in full. It features numerous wind instruments, synthesizers, a vocalist and an actor performing scenes. Sarah Tiedemann, artistic director of Third Angle New Music, and actor Ithica Tell, join us to describe the performance in more detail and share its history.

The piece will be performed on May 20th and 21st at 8 p.m.

Dave Miller : From the Gert Boyle Studio OPB, this is Think Out Loud. I’m Dave Miller. You can watch a performance this weekend of a piece by the composer Philip Glass while sitting under the tail of Oregon’s iconic Spruce Goose airplane. The piece is called “1,000 Airplanes on the Roof,” and according to the organizers of the concert, the one act sci-fi melodrama has rarely been performed in full. Sarah Tiedemann is the Artistic Director of Third Angle New Music. She joins us now, along with Ithica Tell, a long time Portland actor who plays the only role in this production. Welcome to you both.

Sarah Tiedemann: Thank you.

Ithica Tell: Glad to be here.

Miller: Sarah, how did it come to be that you’re doing a concert under a huge airplane?

Tiedemann: Well, every year I spend some time on the internet as I’m doing our programming and for some reason, I was drawn to look at the Evergreen Museum’s website. I have never been there before, at that point. I had never seen the Spruce Goose. I didn’t know very much about the Spruce Goose, but I just felt kind of compelled. And then saw that it was the 75th anniversary of the one flight that it had made and the project kind of spiraled from there.

Weekend Picks: Art-A-Whirl, puppets, and an opera that goes to hell and back / June 11, 2023 by David Hwang

Plus: AAPI Generations Conference; Tammy Ortegon’s 30years Reflect Back/30years Inspired Forward exhibit.

AAPI CONFERENCE

David Henry Hwang is one of the most important playwrights writing in America today, with works that have led dialogue around anti-Asian portrayal, often taking canonical operas and musicals and deconstructing them with a new message. In “M. Butterfly,” he took on Puccini’s opera “Madama Butterfly,” with “Soft Power,” he re-invented “The King and I,” and he famously wrote a new book for the 1961 musical “Flower Drum Song,” significantly re-working the plot. He also wrote the book for “Aida,” and explored his own experiences writing a play about casting in “Miss Saigon” in “Yellow Face.”

Voices across time: Theater Mu ignites intergenerational conversation / June 11, 2023 by David Hwang

*The cast of Theater Mu's and Jungle Theater's 2022 production of "Cambodian Rock Band." Founded in 1992, Theater Mu is a national hub for Asian American theater.*
*Courtesy of Rich Ryan*

Twin Cities-based theater company Theater Mu is playing host to a national theater conference.

The AAPI Generations Conference gathers theater makers to discuss, reminisce and envision the past, present and future of Asian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) theater in America.

“[The conference] is an event we're doing to celebrate our 30th anniversary,” Lily Tung Crystal, Theater Mu’s current artistic director, told MPR News.

While the focus will be on Asian American theater, all are invited and encouraged to attend.

Founded in 1992, Theater Mu has been a national hub for Asian American theater and has been dedicated to platforming AAPI artists.

While the conference serves as a reunion of sorts for some of the early change makers in AAPI American theater — with guests like Shiomi and Tony winner David Henry Hwang — it is also an opportunity for intergenerational conversation to take place about where Asian American theater is now.

Tony Awards Will Give Their Regards to Broadway Amid Strike / June 11, 2023 by David Hwang

At the 2023 Tony Awards, the drama is offstage. The awards show was almost canceled amid the WGA strike, but on May 15, the guild granted a waiver allowing Broadway’s big show to go on (the picket line would have required that writers not work if an unsanctioned show were aired). That means shows like Kimberly Akimbo, Sweeney Todd, Some Like It Hot, and all the other nomineesslated to perform will still get their big night June 11. So the only question left, as Rachel Bloom well knows, is can we watch?did the Tonys get back on?

Along with agreeing to make those changes, the main reason the Tonys are back on is because the playwrights (many of whom are in the WGA), advocated for the Tonys within their writing communities, according to the Times. Well-known playwrights like Tony Kushner, Jeremy O. Harris, David Henry Hwang, Lynn Nottage, and Martyna Majok, among many others, all advocated, getting the union to let the Tonys air without picketing owing to the impact the awards have on the theater community. Maybe now the Tonys will deign to give an award for playwriting.

Dylan J. Locke: From the state capital to L.A. fame / May 21, 2023 by David Hwang

When your father’s the state governor, then a member of Obama’s cabinet, then the ambassador to China—and when your mother’s a Miss Asian America, then a television reporter—you could be forgiven for thinking your family isn’t quite like anybody else’s.

But Dylan J. Locke, second child and only son of Gary and Mona Locke, says the ordinariness of family life, and family love, stick with him the most.

“My earliest memories growing up are almost entirely of family,” reflected the stage and screen actor, who’s opening in David Henry Hwang’s play “The Dance and the Railroad” in Pasadena on May 19.

“It seems like every Asian actor in L.A. has their roots tracing back to EWP at one point or another. So I’d say the biggest difference between Seattle and L.A. is the size of the L.A. market. And of course, the prevalence of the film industry!”

“The Dance and the Railroad” is David Henry Hwang’s second play, originally produced in New York City. Locke describes it as “Revolving around two Chinese immigrant railroad workers during the 1890s. It deals with the poignant subjects of loss, survival, camaraderie, and perseverance in the face of insurmountable odds.

“I play Ma, the bright-eyed newcomer to America. He’s a naive counterpart to the railroad veteran Lone, played by the incredibly talented Hao Feng.”

Weekend Picks: AAPI Generations Conference / May 21, 2023 by David Hwang

AAPI Conference

This week, Hwang will be here in Minneapolis for the AAPI Generations Conference, hosted by Theater Mu. He’ll be part of a panel with actor Amy Hill, playwright Philip Kan Gotanda, and Mu’s co-founder Rick Shiomi, moderated by Josephine Lee.

Alan Menken Gives Update on Live-Action ‘Hunchback of Notre Dame’ Movie / May 21, 2023 by David Hwang

Composer Alan Menken recently spoke with ComicBook.com and offered an update on the live-action remake of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

He stated, “It’s a tough one, because the Hunchback movie, Hunchback story involves a lot of real, real issues that are important issues and should be explored to be discussed. And there has to be an agreement about how we deal with those issues. You know, do we do a Hunchback without ‘Hellfire?’ I don’t think so … So it sits in this limbo right now.”

May brings fresh perspectives to San Francisco stages / May 10, 2023 by David Hwang

Chinglish

This comedy of cultural and linguistic conflicts by award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang (“M. Butterfly” and others) opened on Broadway in 2011; Berkeley Rep staged the West Coast premiere in 2012. The play was updated in 2015 to represent changing U.S. relations with China, as San Francisco Playhouse notes in the advance publicity for its upcoming production.

Chinglish itself is, of course, that familiar and often hilarious broken English that shows up most often in various instruction manuals of products imported from China with awkward direct translations from the Chinese language. In Hwang’s play, an American businessman (played here by Michael Barrett Austin) arrives in China hoping to work out a good deal for his company, but confounding differences — everything from customs to language — interfere. Hwang has said that he thought of writing the play when he toured an arts center in China — impressive except for the absurdly translated signs in English.

San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post St., SF. May 4-June 10. Tickets: $15-$100. (415) 677-9596,

sfplayhouse.org

See Production Photos of Golijov's Fountain of Tears (Ainadamar) at Detroit Opera / April 22, 2023 by David Hwang

A new production of Osvaldo Golijov's opera Fountain of Tears (Ainadamar), with a libretto by David Henry Hwang, opened April 8 at Detroit Opera. The production, directed by Deborah Colker, is a co-production of Detroit Opera, Opera Ventures, Scottish Opera, Welsh National Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera, and is expected to come to the Met in the 2024-25 season.

See more at Playbill

‘Ainadamar’ Turns Lorca Into Death-Haunted Opera / April 10, 2023 by David Hwang

Osvaldo Golijov’s poetic 2003 work is being presented in a new production at Detroit Opera that will travel to the Met.

Spain is “a country of death, a country open to death,” the poet Federico García Lorca wrote.

Those words come from his classic lecture on “duende,” the spirit he saw as presiding over Spanish culture — the dark, earthy, imperfect, wild, morbid quality of its greatest art, music and bullfighting. When an ancient woman with barely a wisp of voice left takes the stage of a dimly lit country cabaret, cracks her way through a line of song and still gives you chills, duende is in the room.

And duende should be in the room, too, for “Ainadamar,” Osvaldo Golijov’s death-haunted opera about Lorca, which opened at the newly ambitious Detroit Opera on Saturday evening in a production headed for the Metropolitan Opera in the 2024-25 season.

A poetic meditation that keeps erupting in sensual, riotous flamenco rhythms, the 80-minute piece — which premiered in 2003 and was substantially revised two years later — crosses time with seductively blurry ease in David Henry Hwang’s libretto, translated by Golijov into Spanish.

ASSASSINS, TROUBLE IN MIND & More Set for Lyric Stage 2023/24 Season / April 10, 2023 by David Hwang

Lyric Stage has announced its 2023/24 season!

YELLOW FACE

By David Henry Hwang
June 2-23, 2024

An Asian-American playwright and activist gets tangled in a complicated and humorous web of lies as he struggles to win back his integrity.

Truth and fiction blur in David Henry Hwang's satiric memoir about DHH, a playwright plunged into a whirlpool of missteps and unintentional hypocrisy after a vocal protest against the casting of Jonathan Pryce as a Eurasian hustler in the Broadway production of Miss Saigon. What he condemns as "yellowface" soon comes back to haunt him when he later misidentifies a Caucasian actor for mixed-race and casts him in his own Broadway-bound comedy. His personal integrity is compromised as he proceeds to conceal his blunder aiding the narrative of this "born-again Asian." Ultimately a forceful argument for representation, this provocative and comical sideways glance at race and assimilation asks "who has the ownership of a culture?"

Disney's TARZAN to be Presented at Lyric Stage in May / April 10, 2023 by David Hwang

Lyric Stage will present Disney's TARZAN May 18-21, 2023 at the historic Majestic Theatre. Directed by Brandon Mason and adapted from the 1999 Walt Disney Animation Studios film of the same name, TARZAN follows the journey from 'boy to man' of an infant who is raised by gorillas in the jungles of West Africa. As Tarzan develops feelings for a young woman who suddenly appears in his jungle, he discovers that his animal upbringing clashes with his human instincts, causing him to struggle with not only his love for Jane but how to protect his family.

Disney's TARZAN features heart-pumping music & lyrics by rock legend Phil Collins performed by a live orchestra. With a book by Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang, this family-friendly musical features all of the beloved songs from the 1999 TARZAN movie, including the Academy Award-winning "You'll Be in My Heart," plus an additional nine songs all written by Phil Collins for the Broadway musical. With a title and music recognized all over the world, TARZAN is sure to be a hit with the entire family.

Josh Gad Teases A Finished Script For Disney’s Live-Action ‘Hunchback of Notre Dame’ Film / March 30, 2023 by David Hwang

Monday evening, award-winning actor Josh Gad took to Instagram to post his approval of a fan-made poster for Disney’s previously announced live-action Hunchback of Notre Dame film.

While Gad hasn’t publicly commented on the project since 2021, the brief caption he wrote alongside the post not only expressed approval of the fan art, but offered a surprisingly major update on the status of the project too.

When the film was first announced to be in development in 2019, it was revealed that Tony-winning M. Butterfly playwright David Henry Hwang had been hired by Disney to write the film. Once again, we just want to clarify that this is the first time since then the script’s completion has been acknowledged.

Regardless of what stage this project is in, we are just happy to see is still alive – even if it is in the form of a promising script at this point.

Ainadamar at the Opéra de Montréal: power and efficiency / March 30, 2023 by David Hwang

Pier-Olivier Pinard In Ainadamar, Golijov and his librettist, David Henry Hwang, transcend historical facts (the rise of fascism in Spain and the death of García Lorca) to show through the central figure Lorca's favorite actress, Margarita Xirgu, that art and culture are immortal if they manage to be transmitted.

With Ainadamar, by the Argentinian Osvaldo Golijov, at the Théâtre Maisonneuve, the Opéra de Montréal puts to its credit a powerful and effective performance of one of the eminent lyrical works of the 21st century.

It's no wonder that Ainadamar, opera of 2003, revised in the wake (2005), returns to the front of the stage. The work is as strong as it is symbolic in various ways.

Granada's “Fountain of Tears” (Ainadamar) is at the heart of many intertwined destinies. Culturally, Granada is in history a crossroads of Christian, Jewish and Muslim civilizations. In the 20th century, Federico García Lorca was executed there in 1936 by fascist militiamen. It is then a voice that we want to silence for many reasons, in particular what he writes and represents, as the vociferous militiaman Ramon Ruiz Alonso, perfectly personified by Alfredo Tejada. The violent imprecations of the militiaman are written in a musical style reminiscent of the Arab-Muslim soil of Andalusia.

World Theatre Day 2023: Know its history and significance, share these wishes, quotes and messages / March 30, 2023 by David Hwang

"Theatre is a living breathing art form. There's no way you can capture it on film. It's ephemeral. That's part of its power and its magic." - David Henry Hwang

World Theatre Day 2023: Every year on March 27, people celebrate World Theatre Day to highlight the importance of theatre to both individuals and society. Initiated by the International Theatre Institute (ITI) in 1961, the day is now observed in more than 100 nations across the globe.

The ITI is a UNESCO-affiliated organisation that supports global cultural exchange and the growth of theatre arts. The organisation was established in 1948, and its goal is to use theatre to advance peace and develop global understanding.

The purpose of World Theatre Day is to emphasise the value of theatre in both the personal and societal growth of people. Theatre offers a venue for creativity, self-expression, and cross-cultural interaction, and it has the ability to inform, amuse, and inspire audiences.

David Henry Hwang's CHINGLISH to be Presented at San Francisco Playhouse in May / March 30, 2023 by David Hwang

Chinglish will perform May 4 - June 10, 2023

San Francisco Playhouse will present the comedy Chinglish by Tony Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly, Yellow Face, Soft Power). In this fast-paced modern comedy, culture and customs collide as a naïve American sign manufacturer travels to China in search of a lucrative contract. As he discovers the complexities of the venture, he learns that some things aren't so easily translated. Directed by in-demand Bay Area director Jeffrey Lo, Chinglish will perform May 4 - June 10, 2023 (opening night: May 10) at San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post Street. For tickets ($15-$100) and more information, the public may visit sfplayhouse.org or call the box office at 415-677-9596.

Chinglish premiered at The Goodman Theatre, where it was hailed as "One of the funniest plays in memory" (Chicago Sun-Times) and enjoyed an extended run. It then moved onto New York City, where it was called "Fresh, energetic, and unlike anything else on Broadway" (Associated Press) and "A lethal comedy about business, sex and the failure to communicate that bristles with intelligence" (Bloomberg). In response to changing US relationships with China, the script was updated in 2015.

ENOUGH! Seeks Short Anti-Gun Violence Plays From Teens / February 28, 2023 by David Hwang

*Roundabout Youth Ensemble performing at the ENOUGH 2022 Nationwide Reading at Lincoln Center. (Photo by Sachyn Mital)*

Lauren Gunderson, David Henry Hwang, and others will serve as judges for the playwriting contest.

NEW YORK CITY: The teen playwriting contest ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence is now soliciting submissions for their annual contest, which will be judged by a prestigious panel including playwrights Lauren Gunderson, David Henry Hwang, Idris Goodwin, Samuel D. Hunter, Antoinette Nwandu, Octavio Solis, and Lloyd Suh.

“The recent mass shooting deaths of AAPI victims in California proves once again that no community in America is safe from gun violence,” said Hwang, a returning judge, in a statement. “Whatever their motivations, the shooters would have been unable to take so many lives without easy access to guns. That’s why it’s more important than ever to hear from young people across this nation who will speak their minds and say ‘enough.'”