David Henry Hwang

THE STORY: Bored with his routine posting in Beijing, and awkward with women, Rene Gallimard, a French diplomat, is easy prey for the subtle, delicate charms of Song Liling, a Chinese opera star who personifies Gallimard's fantasy vision of submiss

M. Butterfly

Yellow Face

a play

Chinglish

Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and soon to be back on Broadway in a revival directed by the Lion King's Julie Taymor, starring Clive Owen "A brilliant play of ideas… a visionary work that bridges the history and culture of two worlds."—Frank Rich, New York Times Based on a true story that stunned the world, and inspired by Giacomo Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly, M. Butterfly was an immediate sensation when it premiered in 1988. It 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. How could he have known that his true love was, in fact, a spy for the Chinese government—and a man disguised as a woman? The diplomat relives the twenty-year affair from the temptation to the seduction, from its consummation to the scandal that ultimately consumed them both. M. Butterfly is one of the most compelling, explosive, and slyly humorous dramas ever to light the Broadway stage, a work of unrivaled brilliance, illuminating the conflict between men and women, the differences between East and West, racial stereotypes—and the shadows we cast around our most cherished illusions. The original cast included John Lithgow as Gallimard and BD Wong as Song Liling. During the show's 777-performance run, David Dukes, Anthony Hopkins, Tony Randall, and John Rubinstein were also cast as Gallimard. Hwang adapted the play for a 1993 film directed by David Cronenberg, starring Jeremy Irons and John Lone. TEXT OF THE BROADWAY REVIVAL

Broadway Revival Edition

FOB and The House of Sleeping Beauties

THE STORY: The scene is an isolated house in the woods where a beautiful young woman lives alone. When a young samurai appears she offers him food and shelter, and when he decides to stay on they eventually become lovers. But while fascinated by his benefactress, the samurai cannot shake a superstitious mistrust of her; for all her delicacy and beauty she is also able to perform wonders of cookery, horticulture and even the martial arts (much to his wounded pride). In the end it develops that the woman is suspected of being a witch and the samurai has come to seek glory by killing her. This he ultimately cannot, or will not, do, but neither can be accept her superiority, and so he leaves-a fateful decision which, as it turns out, is made at terrible cost to both of them.

The Sound of a Voice

THE STORY: CHINGLISH is a hilarious comedy about the challenges of doing business in a country whose language--and underlying cultural assumptions--can be worlds apart from those of the West. The play tells the adventures of Daniel, an American busin

"When 'M. Butterfly' premiered in 1988, its remarkable story of international espionage and personal betrayal solidified its status as a modern classic. Based on the real-life affair between a French diplomat and a mysterious Chinese opera singer, it blurred the boundaries between male and female, East and West. For the 2017 Broadway Revival Version, Hwang has incorporated new material inspired by details of the relationship that have emerged since the play first seduced audiences. This intoxicating reimagining of 'M. Butterfly' examines the nature of love and the devastating cost of deceit." -- From the publisher.

THE STORIES: THE DANCE AND THE RAILROAD. While his fellow workers are striking for higher pay, Lone, once an actor in China, exercises and practices alone on a mountaintop the ritual gestures used in Chinese opera. Ma, a slightly younger man, who w

Two Plays

The Dance and the Railroad ; And, Family Devotions

A major collection by the preeminent Asian-American playwright.

The Selected Plays

Trying to Find Chinatown

Based on a true story that stunned the world, M. Butterfly opens in the cramped prison cell where diplomat Rene Gallimard is being held captive by the French government-and by his own illusions. In the darkness of his cell he recalls a time when desire seemed to give him wings. A time when Song Liling, the beautiful Chinese diva, touched him with a love as vivid, as seductive-and as elusive-as a butterfly. How could he have known, then, that his ideal woman was, in fact, a spy for the Chinese government-and a man disguised as a woman? In a series of flashbacks, the diplomat relives the twenty-year affair from the temptation to the seduction, from its consummation to the scandal that ultimately consumed them both. But in the end, there remains only one truth: Whether or not Gallimard's passion was a flight of fancy, it sparked the most vigorous emotions of his life. Only in real life could love become so unreal. And only in such a dramatic tour de force do we learn how a fantasy can become a man's mistress-as well as his jailer. M. Butterfly is one of the most compelling, explosive, and slyly humorous dramas ever to light the Broadway stage, a work of unrivaled brilliance, illuminating the conflict between men and women, the differences between East and West, racial stereotypes-and the shadows we cast around our most cherished illusions.

Creating his most personal and emotional work to date, David Henry Hwang draws on the true stories told to him by his grandmother of his great-grandfather's break with Confucian tradition by his conversion to Christianity, and the eventual unbinding of his daughter's feet. Golden Child explores the impact of these decisions on each of his great-grandfather's three wives, and succeeding generations.

Golden Child

Kung Fu

Alexina Louie

World Premiere Concert Performance

The Scarlet Princess

THE STORY: In the winter of 1918, progressive Chinese landowner Eng Tieng-Bin's interest in Westernization and Christianity sets off a power struggle among his three wives, which will determine the future of his daughter, Ahn, Tieng-Bin's favorite,

The Selected Plays of David Henry Hwang

New Broadway drama by the author of the critically-acclaimed M. Butterfly.

David Henry Hwang

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