Soft Power (musical)
| Soft Power | |
|---|---|
| Music | Jeanine Tesori |
| Lyrics | David Henry Hwang Jeanine Tesori (additional lyrics) |
| Book | David Henry Hwang |
| Premiere | May 3, 2018: Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles |
| Productions | 2018 Los Angeles 2018 San Francisco 2019 Off-Broadway 2024 Arlington, VA |
Soft Power is a musical (also referred to by its authors as a "play with a musical"[1]) with book and lyrics by David Henry Hwang[2] and music and additional lyrics by Jeanine Tesori.
Soft Power was intended as a "reverse The King And I". Instead of exoticizing an Asian country, Soft Power exoticizes America by looking at it from a hypothetical future Chinese musical. It also serves as a quasi-sequel to Hwang's 2007 play Yellow Face. Like that play, the semi-autobiographical work centers around a stand-in for the author named DHH interacting with fictional characters.[3] The play was partially inspired by a 2015 stabbing of Hwang by a stranger on the streets of New York City.[4]
Performances
[edit]It began performances at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in May 3, 2018[5] and at San Francisco's Curran Theatre in June.[6] The musical began performances off-Broadway at The Public Theater on September 14, 2019, directed by Leigh Silverman, and closed on November 17, 2019.[7] The show was nominated for 11 awards at the 2020 Drama Desk Awards, the most of any show that year, but didn't win any.[8][9] Following a workshop in New York City and revisions, a shortened version, with only one act, began performances at Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, on August 7, 2024.[10]
Summary
[edit]In 2015, playwright DHH (a stand-in for the author), meets with Chinese film executive Xue Xing about adapting a Chinese film into an American-style romantic comedy musical aimed at Chinese audiences. They attend a performance of The King and I that is a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign alongside Xing's American girlfriend Zoe, where Xing briefly meets Clinton.
DHH's efforts to adapt the film, the title of which roughly translates to "Stick With Your Mistake", are complicated by what he sees as different values between American and Chinese culture: he takes umbrage with the ending where the hero returns to an unhappy marriage instead of following his heart, and feels that with the upcoming 2016 election and belief that Hilary Clinton will become President, he needs to write a musical where dreams are fulfilled and freedom flourishes. His view on the matter changes when Clinton loses the election to "the other candidate", and Xue Xing suggests suspending the project in the aftermath.
Shortly after, DHH is stabbed in the neck in an apparent hate crime. On the surgery table, he has a hallucinatory vision of a musical retelling of Xue Xing's trip to America, where he meets and falls in love with Hilary Clinton, as written by a Chinese author 50 years in the future. The musical imagines a future where America has lost its soft power, and many of the details about America are "as hilariously inexact as most Western stories set in Asia".[11] For example, Xing travels to the "Hollywood Airport" and Hillary performs a number while revealing a Wonder Woman outfit in a glitzy McDonald's. Most of the "white" roles are played by Asian actors in whiteface and incorrect accents,[1] a reversal of the movie version of The King and I. The musical also examines the nature of democracy, cultural identity, appropriation and racism.[12]
Cast and characters
[edit]| Character | Off-Broadway (2019)[13] |
|---|---|
| Xuē Xíng | Conrad Ricamora |
| DHH | Francis Jue |
| Zoe / Hillary Clinton | Alyse Alan Louis |
| Jīng / Prof. Lǐ Bìyù / Ensemble | Kendyl Ito |
| Bobby Bob / Jū Míng | Austin Ku |
| Randy Ray / Veep / Yáo Tuō / Ensemble | Raymond J. Lee |
| Betsy / Lóng Lín Kūn / Ensemble | Jaygee Macapugay |
| Chief Justice / Tony Monero / Hālǐ Aòhālā / Senator / Ensemble | Jon Hoche |
| Airport Greeter / Ensemble | Geena Quintos |
Musical numbers
[edit]|
Act 1
|
Act 2
|
Critical response
[edit]Sam Hurwitt of The Mercury News called it "marvelously clever", also saying that Alyse Alan Louis as Hillary Clinton "tears the roof off the place",[6] and Frank Rizzo of Variety said it was "subversive as well as funny, touching and thoroughly entertaining".[14] In more mixed reviews, Jackson McHenry of Vulture said that it tended to be fascinating and messy, with the musical within the play being "occasionally too clever by half",[15] and Jesse Green of The New York Times said that it was "something of a miracle but also something of a muddle", and "it's the kind of show that deserves, and unfortunately needs, to be seen at least twice."[1]
Awards and nominations
[edit]Soft Power won six of Los Angeles' 2019 Ovation Awards, including Best Production of a Musical (Large Theater).[16]
The Public Theater production of Soft Power was nominated for five Lucille Lortel Awards, including Outstanding Musical.
The musical was named 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama finalist; the committee described the show as "A multi-layered and mischievous musical that deconstructs a beloved, original American art form to examine the promise and the limits of representation in both the theatrical and political senses of the word."[17]
Original Off-Broadway production
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Lucille Lortel Awards[18] | Outstanding Musical | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Choreographer | Sam Pinkleton | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical | Francis Jue | Nominated | ||
| Conrad Ricamora | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Scenic Design | Clint Ramos | Nominated | ||
| Drama Desk Awards[19] | Outstanding Musical | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Francis Jue | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Conrad Ricamora | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Alyse Alan Louis | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Director of a Musical | Leigh Silverman | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Music | Jeanine Tesori | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Book of a Musical | David Henry Hwang | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Orchestrations | Danny Troob, John Clancy, and Larry Hochman | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical | Clint Ramos | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical | Anita Yavich | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical | Kai Harada | Nominated | ||
| Drama League Awards[20] | Outstanding Production of a Musical | Nominated | ||
| Pulitzer Prize for Drama | David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori | Finalist | ||
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical | Honoree | ||
| Outstanding Book of a Musical | David Henry Hwang | Honoree | ||
| Outstanding New Score | Jeanine Tesori and David Henry Hwang | Honoree | ||
| Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Francis Jue | Honoree | ||
| 2021 | Grammy Awards[21] | Best Musical Theater Album | Nominated | |
Recording
[edit]The original cast recording was released on April 17, 2020 through Ghostlight Records.[22] The album peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Cast Albums chart.[23]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Green, Jesse (2019-10-15). "Review: In the Musical 'Soft Power,' China Whistles the Tune (Published 2019)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
- ^ Soft Power review: A form-busting examination of the American Dream|EW.com
- ^ Fung, Lisa (2018-05-03). "A big bet on 'Soft Power': How David Henry Hwang's latest play takes on China, Trump and more". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
- ^ Woods, Amanda (2015-12-04). "Broadway playwright stabbed in the neck during random attack". New York Post. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ Gans, Andrew (2017-02-23). "David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori's Soft Power Will Premiere at the Ahmanson". Playbill. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ a b Hurwitt, Sam (2019-10-15). "Theater Review: Flipping the Classic Musical Script in Soft Power". Vulture. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
- ^ Lefkowitz, Andy (2019-09-06). "Jeanine Tesori & David Henry Hwang's New Musical Soft Power Gets Extension at Public Theater". broadway.com. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
- ^ "Nominees". Drama Desk Awards. Archived from the original on 2020-10-14. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
- ^ Miller, Deb (2020-06-14). "See who won the 65th Annual Drama Desk Awards". DC Metro Theater Arts. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
- ^ Morgan, Richard (2024-08-06). "How to update your play about American democracy for 2024". Washington Post. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ McNulty, Charles (2018-05-17). "Review: 'Soft Power' at the Ahmanson: Big, bold, overly complicated and spectacularly unique". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
- ^ 'Soft Power': David Henry Hwang Musical for Democracy - Rolling Stone
- ^ Clement, Olivia (2019-09-11). "Soft Power Extends Off-Broadway Run Again at The Public Theater". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
- ^ Rizzo, Frank (2019-10-15). "Off Broadway Review: 'Soft Power'". Variety. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
- ^ McHenry, Jackson (2019-10-15). "Theater Review: Flipping the Classic Musical Script in Soft Power". Vulture. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
- ^ McPhee, Ryan (2019-01-29). "Soft Power Leads Los Angeles' 2019 Ovation Awards". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
- ^ "Finalist: Soft Power, by David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori".
- ^ Clement, Olivia (2020-04-14). "Playwrights Horizons Leads 2020 Lucille Lortel Award Nominations With Strange Loop and Heroes of the Fourth Turning". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
- ^ "PBreaking: 2020 Drama Desk Awards Nominations- The Full List!". Broadway World. April 21, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
- ^ BWW News Desk. "Breaking News: Drama League Announces 2020 Nominations". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
- ^ William, Chris (24 November 2020). "Grammy Awards Nominations 2021: The Complete List". Variety. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
- ^ "Soft Power (Original Cast Recording) [Explicit]". Amazon Music. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
- ^ "Chart Search". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2020.