Lia Chang Photos: David Henry Hwang, John C. Whitehead, Mayor Michael Bloomberg at Asia Society Awards Dinner in New York

The Asia Society held its 2011 Asia Society Awards Dinner in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York on Wednesday, January 11, 2012.

Asia Society Cultural Achievement Award winner David Henry Hwang, Diana Taylor and Mayor Michael Bloomberg. (Lia Chang)

Kathryn Layng and her husband Asia Society Cultural Achievement Award winner David Henry Hwang. (Lia Chang)

Comedian and actor, Dan Nainan emceed the festivities, which included a special performance by members of the Silk Road Ensemble.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Ray Kelly, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department, were among the 400 who came out to honor and to celebrate the 90th birthday of former Deputy Secretary of State John C. Whitehead, who was presented with an Asia Society Award.

Tony Award-winning and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist playwright and librettist David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly), whose hilarious and sexy new comedy CHINGLISH is currently on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre (220 West 48th Street) in New York was presented with the 2011 Cultural Achievement Award.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the leading pro-democracy opposition leader in Myanmar, received the 2011 Asia Society Global Vision Award, and a videotape of her acceptance speech was played during the dinner.

Asia Society Cultural Achievement Award winner David Henry Hwang, journalist Kati Marton, widow of former Asia Society Chairman Richard Holbrooke, and Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John C. Whitehead. (Lia Chang)

Seated, from left: Cynthia Whitehead, Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John C. Whitehead. Standing, from left: Asia Society President Vishakha Desai, Asia Society Cultural Achievement Award winner David Henry Hwang and Former Asia Society President Bob Oxnam. (Lia Chang)

Asia Society President Vishakha Desai and Asia Society Cultural Achievement Award winner David Henry Hwang. (Lia Chang)

Seated, from left: Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John C. Whitehead and Ray Kelly, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department. Standing, from left: Cynthia Whitehead, David Earls, Samantha Earls, Asia Society Co-Chair Ronnie Chan, Asia Society President Vishakha Desai and Asia Society Co-Chair Henrietta Fore. (Lia Chang)

Asia Society Trustee Lulu Wang, founder of Tupelo Capital Management, presented the 2011 Cultural Achievement Award to Chinglish playwright and librettist David Henry Hwang.

Asia Society Cultural Achievement Award winner David Henry Hwang and Asia Society Trustee Lulu Wang, founder of Tupelo Capital Management. (Lia Chang)

David Henry Hwang’s plays include M. Butterfly (1988 Tony Award, 1989 Pulitzer Prize Finalist), Golden Child (1998 Tony Award nomination, 1997 OBIE Award), Yellow Face (2008 OBIE Award, 2008 Pulitzer Prize Finalist), FOB (1981 OBIE Award), The Dance and the Railroad (1982 Drama Desk Award nomination), Family Devotions (1982 Drama Desk Award nomination), Bondage.

Video excerpts from David Henry Hwang's Chinglish. (Lia Chang)

His latest Broadway offering Chinglish, was recently named by TIME Magazine, Bloomberg Radio, NY1 and WNYC as one of the Top 10 Broadway shows of the year. He wrote the libretti for the Broadway musicals Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida (co-author), Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song (revival, 2002 Tony Award nomination) and Disney’s Tarzan. In opera, his libretti include four works with composer Philip Glass: The Voyage (Metropolitan Opera), 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, Sound and Beauty (seen in Chicago at the Court Theatre), and Icarus at the Edge of Time; as well as Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar (two 2007 Grammy Awards), Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland (Opernwelt 2007 “World Premiere of the Year”) and Howard Shore’sThe Fly. Hwang penned the feature films M. Butterfly, Golden Gate and Possession (co-author), and co-wrote the song “Solo” with Prince. Hwang sits on the Council of the Dramatists Guild, and served by appointment of President Clinton on the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. More information about Chinglish
Click here to view his speech.

Asia Society Cultural Achievement Award winner David Henry Hwang (center) is flanked by (L-R) his wife Kathryn Layng, Joanna C. Lee, Rachel Cooper, Director of Cultural Programs and Performing Arts, Ken Smith and Yoshie Ito, Assistant Director, Business Programs, Asia Society. (Lia Chang)

Hwang was joined by his wife actress Kathryn Layng; and his Chinglish crew: Museworks. Ltd.’s Joanna C. Lee and Ken Smith, his cultural advisors; his director Leigh Silverman, and his costume designer Anita Yavich.

Chinglish director Leigh Silverman, Kathryn Layng, Asia Society Cultural Achievement Award winner David Henry Hwang, Chinglish costume designer Anita Yavich. (Lia Chang)

Kathryn Layng with her husband Asia Society Cultural Achievement Award winner David Henry Hwang, Asia Society Trustee Harold Newman and Yoshie Ito, Assistant Director, Business Programs, Asia Society. (Lia Chang)

Asia Society Cultural Achievement Award winner David Henry Hwang (L) and Mayor Michael Bloomberg. (Lia Chang)

Kathryn Layng with her husband Asia Society Cultural Achievement Award winner David Henry Hwang, Lisina M. Hoch, Asia Society Honorary Life Trustee and Steven Hoch, Co-Founder of Highmount Capital. (Lia Chang)

Kate Levin, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Asia Society Trustee Lulu Wang, founder of Tupelo Capital Management, Asia Society Cultural Achievement Award winner David Henry Hwang and Former Asia Society President Bob Oxnam. (Lia Chang)

Asia Society Co-Chair Ronnie Chan and Asia Society Cultural Achievement Award winner David Henry Hwang. (Lia Chang)

Chinese Opera star Qian Yi, Asia Society Cultural Achievement Award winner David Henry Hwang and Hafez Nazeri, Iranian composer. (Lia Chang)

Asia Society Cultural Achievement Award winner David Henry Hwang (L) and Nicholas Platt, former president of the Asia Society. (Lia Chang)

Asia Society Cultural Achievement Award winner David Henry Hwang, Ralph Samuelson, and Andrea Samuelson. (Lia Chang)

Asia Society Cultural Achievement Award winner David Henry Hwang and Ida Liu. (Lia Chang)

Asia Society Trustee J. Michael Evans, Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs, presented the 2011 Global Vision Award to former Deputy Secretary of State John C. Whitehead.

Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John C. Whitehead and Asia Society Trustee J. Michael Evans, Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs. (Lia Chang)

Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John C. Whitehead celebrates his 90th birthday this year. (Lia Chang)

Born in Evanston, Illinois, John C. Whitehead graduated from Haverford College in 1943 and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After receiving his M.B.A. degree from Harvard in 1947 he began at Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he became Partner in 1956 and Senior Partner in 1976. In 1985 President Reagan appointed Mr. Whitehead Deputy Secretary of State, a position he held from July 1985 until January 1989. Click here to view his speech.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John C. Whitehead. (Lia Chang)

He is the former Chairman of such diverse organizations as the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Harvard Board of Overseers, the International Rescue Committee, the United Nations Association, Haverford College, Asia Society and the Hungarian-American Enterprise Fund. He is Chairman of the Boy Scouts of America/GNY.

Cynthia Whitehead, Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John C. Whitehead and Harold Newman. (Lia Chang)

In late 2001 Mr. Whitehead was appointed as Chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp, the organization responsible for the rebuilding and revitalization of Lower Manhattan, and served in that position until May 2006. He is also the Founding Chairman of the National September 11th Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center.

Paul B. Kazarian, Chairman & CEO of Japonica Partners, John C. Whitehead and Asia Society Chairman Emeritus Maurice R. Greenberg. Asia Society Co-Chair Ronnie Chan. (Lia Chang)

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
Global Vision Award

Burmese democracy icon Aung Sang Suu Kyi accepts her Asia Society Global Vision Award. (Lia Chang)

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is the leading pro-democracy opposition leader in Myanmar and the daughter of Aung San, a martyred national hero, and Khin Kyi, a late Burmese diplomat. She has spent most of the past two decades under detention after her party, the National League for Democracy, won a victory in the 1990 elections but was denied power by the ruling military junta. In the midst of her struggle, she has endured the loss of her husband, Michael Aris, and continued separation from her two sons. She was eventually released from house arrest on November 13, 2010 following the election of a new government, and a year later announced she would rejoin the political system.

Silk Road Ensemble members Sandeep Das (L) and Shane Shanahan. (Lia Chang)

Aung San Suu Kyi’s reemergence into politics has ushered in a new state of dialogue between Myanmar and the international community, highlighted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit in early December 2011, the first visit from a foreign secretary to the country in over 50 years. She formally registered her National League for Democracy as a political party in December 2011. The government of Myanmar approved the National League for Democracy’s registration on January 5, 2012, and the party is ready to begin campaigning for the by-elections to be held on April 1 of this year.

Silk Road Ensemble members Sandeep Das (L) and Shane Shanahan. (Lia Chang)

In 1991, Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Price for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights.
Click here to view her videotaped message.
Click here for highlights of the dinner.

Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. (Lia Chang)

Asia Society is the leading educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders and institutions of Asia and the United States in a global context. Across the fields of arts, business, culture, education and policy, the Society provides insight , generates ideas, and promotes collaboration to address present challenges and create a shared future.

Founded in 1956, Asia Society is a nonpartisan, nonprofit education institution headquartered in New York with offices in Hong Kong, Houston, Los Angeles, Manila, Melbourne, Mumbai, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, and Washington D.C.

Related Articles:
Asia Society Honors Chinglish Playwright David Henry Hwang and Former Deputy Secretary of State John C. Whitehead at the Waldorf Astoria on January 11, 2012
CHINGLISH Celebrates 100th Performance on 1/5/12 – Meet David Henry Hwang & the Cast After Post-Show Talkback
Photos: Maya Lin, BD Wong, David Henry Hwang, Yeohlee, Oscar L. Tang and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg at MOCA Legacy Awards Gala
Click here for more articles on David Henry Hwang.
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Subscribe to Backstage Pass with Lia Chang

Lia Chang and David Henry Hwang. (Rachel Cooper)

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.



All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2011 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com.

Lia Chang: Asia Society Honors Chinglish Playwright David Henry Hwang and Former Deputy Secretary of State John C. Whitehead at the Waldorf Astoria on January 11, 2012

On Wednesday, January 11, 2012, Tony Award-winning and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist playwright David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly), whose hilarious and sexy new comedy CHINGLISH is currently on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre (220 West 48th Street) in New York, will receive the 2011 Cultural Achievement Award at the Asia Society New York Awards Dinner, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, 301 Park Avenue in New York.

Chinglish playwright David Henry Hwang (center) is flanked by (l-r) his cultural advisurs Joanna C. Lee and Ken Smith, actors Johnny Wu, Christine Lin, Gary Wilmes, Angela Lin, Stephen Pucci, Jennifer Lim and Larry Lei Zhang after the 100th performance of Chinglish on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre in New York on January 5, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

The 2011 Global Vision Award will be presented to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the leading pro-democracy opposition leader in Myanmar. The evening is also a celebration of the 90th birthday of John C. Whitehead, Former Deputy Secretary of State, who will be presented with the Global Vision Award. Comedian and actor, Dan Nainan will emcee the festivities, which will feature a special performance by members of the Silk Road Ensemble.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
Global Vision Award
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is the leading pro-democracy opposition leader in Myanmar and the daughter of Aung San, a martyred national hero, and Khin Kyi, a late Burmese diplomat. She has spent most of the past two decades under detention after her party, the National League for Democracy, won a victory in the 1990 elections but was denied power by the ruling military junta. In the midst of her struggle, she has endured the loss of her husband, Michael Aris, and continued separation from her two sons. She was eventually released from house arrest on November 13, 2010 following the election of a new government, and a year later announced she would rejoin the political system.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s reemergence into politics has ushered in a new state of dialogue between Myanmar and the international community, highlighted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit in early December 2011, the first visit from a foreign secretary to the country in over 50 years. She formally registered her National League for Democracy as a political party in December 2011. The government of Myanmar approved the National League for Democracy’s registration on January 5, 2012, and the party is ready to begin campaigning for the by-elections to be held on April 1 of this year.

In 1991, Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Price for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights.

David Henry Hwang Photo by Lia Chang

David Henry Hwang
2011 Cultural Achievement Award
David Henry Hwang’s plays include M. Butterfly (1988 Tony Award, 1989 Pulitzer Prize Finalist), Golden Child (1998 Tony Award nomination, 1997 OBIE Award), Yellow Face (2008 OBIE Award, 2008 Pulitzer Prize Finalist), FOB (1981 OBIE Award), The Dance and the Railroad (1982 Drama Desk Award nomination), Family Devotions (1982 Drama Desk Award nomination), Bondage. His latest Broadway offering Chinglish, was recently named by TIME Magazine, Bloomberg Radio, NY1 and WNYC as one of the Top 10 Broadway shows of the year. He wrote the libretti for the Broadway musicals Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida (co-author), Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song (revival, 2002 Tony Award nomination) and Disney’s Tarzan. In opera, his libretti include four works with composer Philip Glass: The Voyage (Metropolitan Opera), 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, Sound and Beauty (seen in Chicago at the Court Theatre), and Icarus at the Edge of Time; as well as Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar (two 2007 Grammy Awards), Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland (Opernwelt 2007 “World Premiere of the Year”) and Howard Shore’sThe Fly. Hwang penned the feature films M. Butterfly, Golden Gate and Possession (co-author), and co-wrote the song “Solo” with Prince. Hwang sits on the Council of the Dramatists Guild, and served by appointment of President Clinton on the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
More information about Chinglish

John C. Whitehead
Former Deputy Secretary of State
Born in Evanston, Illinois, John C. Whitehead graduated from Haverford College in 1943 and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After receiving his M.B.A. degree from Harvard in 1947 he began at Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he became Partner in 1956 and Senior Partner in 1976. In 1985 President Reagan appointed Mr. Whitehead Deputy Secretary of State, a position he held from July 1985 until January 1989.

He is the former Chairman of such diverse organizations as the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Harvard Board of Overseers, the International Rescue Committee, the United Nations Association, Haverford College, Asia Society and the Hungarian-American Enterprise Fund. He is Chairman of the Boy Scouts of America/GNY.

In late 2001 Mr. Whitehead was appointed as Chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp, the organization responsible for the rebuilding and revitalization of Lower Manhattan, and served in that position until May 2006. He is also the Founding Chairman of the National September 11th Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Waldorf Astoria Hotel
301 Park Avenue
New York City
Reception: 6:30 pm
Dinner: 7:30 pm
Dress: Asian National Dress or Black Tie

CHINGLISH Celebrates 100th Performance on 1/5/12 – Meet David Henry Hwang & the Cast After Post-Show Talkback
Photos: Maya Lin, BD Wong, David Henry Hwang, Yeohlee, Oscar L. Tang and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg at MOCA Legacy Awards Gala
Click here for more articles on David Henry Hwang.

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Photo Call: BD Wong and the Cast of Heading East at the Asia Society
Cindy Cheung Debuts SPEAK UP CONNIE…Her Solo Show at Stage Left Studio, January 17-25, 2012
Mu Daiko 15th Anniversary Concert and Minnesota Tour, February 9-19, 2012
Aaron Lazar, Kate Baldwin, P.J. Griffith, Raul Aranas Set for the Dallas Theater Center/Public Theater Co-Production of Giant at the Wyly Theatre, January 18 – February 19, 2012
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Photos: David Henry Hwang, Jennifer Lim, Leigh Silverman, Samuel L. Jackson, Kenny Leon, David Ives, Douglas Carter Beane and More at The Drama Desk & Fordham University Theatre Program’s “Anatomy of a Breakout” Panel
DOGS LIE, Starring Samrat Chakrabarti, Frank Boyd and Ewa Da Cruz, Nabs ”Best Film (USA)” and ”Feature Film Audience Award” at 2011 ITN Distribution Film and New Media Festival
Up Close and Personal with Darren Pettie, Star of The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore
Photos and Video: Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas- In the Makeup Chair with Thom Sesma
Photos: “How To Succeed” stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rose Hemingway and John Larroquette at Lord & Taylor for Windows Unveiling
Multimedia: Promises, Promises’ Stars Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes at Lord & Taylor Fifth Ave
Broadwayworld.com Photo Flash: Library of Congress’ IN REHEARSAL Exhibit
Photos: David Duchovny, John Earl Jelks, Amanda Peet, Tracee Chimo at Opening Night Party of Neil LaBute’s Break of Noon
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Subscribe to Backstage Pass with Lia Chang

Lia Chang Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multimedia journalist.

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2011 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com.

Lia Chang Photos: Backstage with the Cast of Chinglish and David Henry Hwang at the Longacre Theatre

Playwright David Henry Hwang in front of the Longacre Theatre in New York, where his new comedy Chinglish is currently in previews. Photo by Lia Chang

Tony Award-winning and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly) is clad in a cozy salt and pepper turtleneck and black jeans when I meet up with him backstage at the Longacre Theatre after the Saturday matinee of CHINGLISH, his sexy, stylish and hilarious new play, currently in previews and set to open on October 27th.

Chinglish leading lady Jennifer Lim chats with playwright David Henry Hwang in her dressing room at the Longacre Theatre in New York on October 22, 2011. Photo by Lia Chang

The show comes to Broadway following its critically acclaimed world premiere production at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago this summer, which ran from June 18th through July 31st.

Ken Smith, playwright David Henry Hwang, Stephen Pucci and Joanna C. Lee Photo by Lia Chang

My backstage pass included photographing the cast in their dressing rooms, courtesy of cultural advisors Joanna C. Lee and Ken Smith.

The poster for David Henry Hwang's Chinglish Photo by Lia Chang

Jennifer Lim, Angela Lin, Christine Lin, Stephen Pucci, Johnny Wu and Larry Lei Zhang who appeared in the production at the Goodman, are joined by Gary Wilmes, star of the recent acclaimed Gatz. OBIE Award winner Leigh Silverman, who directed Lisa Kron’s Well on Broadway and won a 2011 OBIE for directing both Go Back To Where You Are and In The Wake, directs the Broadway production.

David Henry Hwang's Chinglish at the Longacre Theatre in New York. Photo by Lia Chang

Hwang’s new comedy CHINGLISH is about the challenges of doing business in a culture whose language—and ways of communicating—are worlds apart from our own. An American businessman arrives in a bustling Chinese province looking to score a lucrative contact for his family’s sign-making firm. He soon finds that the complexities of such a venture far outstrip the expected differences in language, customs and manners – and calls into questions even the most basic assumptions of human conduct.

Playwright David Henry Hwang in the Longacre Theatre in New York. Photo by Lia Chang

“The U.S. and China are at a critical moment in history—each nation is deeply interested in, but knows very little about, the other,” said playwright David Henry Hwang. “CHINGLISH was born from the many visits I’ve made to China over the past five or six years to witness the exciting changes there. During one visit, I toured a new arts center where everything was first-rate—except for the ridiculously translated English signs. It was at that moment that I thought of writing this play.”

Playwright David Henry Hwang and Chinglish cultural advisor Ken Smith light the incense for the altar which is set up in the theater alley on the way to the stage door. Photo by Lia Chang

The design team includes: Set Designer David Korins (Lombardi, Passing Strange), Costume Designer Anita Yavich (Anna in the Tropics) and Lighting Designer Brian MacDevitt (The Book of Mormon, Fences, Goodman: Long Day’s Journey into Night), Sound Designer Darron L. West (Time Stands Still), and Jeff Sugg (33 Variations) and Shawn Duan (Impressionism) as Co-Projection Designers.

Playwright David Henry Hwang places incense in the altar for good fortune. Photo by Lia Chang

The Broadway production is produced by Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Jay & Cindy Gutterman/Cathy Chernoff, Heni Koenigsberg/Lily Fan, Dasha Epstein, Ronald Frankel, Barry & Carole Kaye, Hunter Arnold, Filerman Bensinger, Ken Davenport, Van Dean, Joe & Matt Deitch, Herbert Goldsmith, Jam Theatricals, Mary Lu Roffe, Olympus Theatricals, Playful Productions, David & Barbara Stoller.

Longacre Theatre
220 West 48th Street
New York
Tickets are available for purchase on Telecharge.com or 212-239-6200.

Gary Wilmes Photo by Lia Chang

Bios
GARY WILMES (Daniel Cavanaugh) Theatre roots began in Chicago where he worked with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. His first play was Neil Simon’s Laughter on the 23rd Floor for Fox Theatricals. Most recently, he played Tom Buchanan in ERS’s production of GATZ to acclaimed critical reviews at The Public Theater. The production received a 2011 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Alternative Theatrical Experience, and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and a Drama League Award. In the summer of 2010, Gary co-starred in the Steppenwolf’s Tony Award winning play, August: Osage County at the Sydney Theatre Company in Australia along with the original Broadway cast. In 2006, Gary won the Obie Award for his performance in Red Light Winter, a three character Adam Rapp play produced by Scott Rudin. His film credits include: Michael Winterbottom’s, A Mighty Heart with Angelie Jolie, Salt, with Jolie, I Hate Valentines Day, opposite Nia Vardalos, Birds of America, opposite Hilary Swank and will soon be seen in Sam Neave’s Almost in Love opposite Alan Cumming. On television, Gary just completed 10 episodes of “Jon Benjamin Has A Van” for Comedy Central and was a regular on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” He has guest starred on “Private Practice,” “Mercy,” “Nurse Jackie,” “Delocated,” “Numb3rs,” “Law & Order: CI.,” and soon “Blue Bloods.”

Jennifer Lim Photo by Lia Chang

JENNIFER LIM (Xi Yan) starred in the premiere of Chinglish at Goodman Theatre. Jennifer was born and grew up in Hong Kong but now resides, works and dreams out of NYC. After graduating with a BA in Drama from Bristol University in the U.K., she attended the Yale School of Drama for her MFA in Acting. Her New York credits include the world premiere of Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven (by Obie Award winner Young Jean Lee) at HERE Arts Center, Ching Chong Chinaman at Pan Asian Rep, Vengeance Can Wait at P.S.122 and YokastaS Redux (directed by Richard Schechner) at La MaMa, E.T.C. Regionally, she has appeared in Medea/Macbeth/Cinderella and Iphigenia at Aulis at Yale Rep and A Christmas Carol at Actors Theatre of Louisville. International theater credits include This Isn’t Romance at Soho Theatre in London; the European tour of Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven; The Medea at Adana State Theatre Festival, Turkey and Hamlet at Shanghai Experimental Theatre Festival and Grotowski International Theatre Festival, Wroclaw, Poland. Her film credits include The Savages, 27 Dresses and The Boy Who Cried Bitch: The Adolescent Years, and on television she has appeared in “The Good Wife,” “Blue Bloods,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Law & Order: CI,” “Royal Pains” and “Dirty Sexy Money.” Jennifer is also a member of Gia Forakis & Co. www.jenniferlimonline.com.

Angela Lin Photo by Lia Chang

ANGELA LIN (Miss Qian/Prosecutor Li) Lin has appeared on Broadway in Coram Boy (Drama League Award for Best Ensemble) and Top Girls. Off Broadway, she appeared in Jordan Harrison’s Futura with the Obie Award-winning National Asian American Theatre Company, Ching Chong Chinaman at Pan Asian Repertory Theatre and Sake With the Haiku Geisha at Gotham Stage Company. Regionally, she appeared in the East Coast premiere of Donald Margulies’ Shipwrecked at Long Wharf Theatre, the world premiere of Lloyd Suh’s American Hwangap at Magic Theatre and Twelfth Night at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Ms. Lin’s film credits include Falling Awake, Miracle Dogs, Green Plastic Sandals and Within the Ivory Tower, and on television she has appeared in “The Good Wife” (CBS), “One Life to Live” (ABC), “The Jury” (FOX) and “As the World Turns” (CBS). Ms. Lin is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University. www.angelalin.com

Angela Lin and Christine Lin Photo by Lia Chang

CHRISTINE LIN (Zhao) Goodman: understudied the role of Bea in Ghostwritten. Her recent Chicago credits include Soul Samurai at InFusion Theatre, Iphigenia Crash Land Falls on the Neon Shell That Was Once Her Heart (a rave fable) at Halcyon Theatre, Bubble Tea Party! with Stir-Friday Night! and Days of Late with SiNNERMAN Ensemble. Ms. Lin is a company member of Halcyon Theatre and an ensemble member of Asian American sketch comedy group Stir-Friday Night! She studied at Steppenwolf Classes West’s ensemble intensive program and holds a BS degree in electrical and biomedical engineering from Duke University www.christine2lin.com.

Johnny Wu and Stephen Pucci Photo by Lia Chang

STEPHEN PUCCI (Peter Timms) His credits in the United Kingdom and Europe include Manor at the Tristan Bates Theatre/ Soho Studio Theatre, the British Animation Awards-nominated Glover at the National Film Theatre, Absent at the Royal Opera House, Your Nation Loves You at the Lyric Hammersmith Studio Theatre and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Cochrane Theatre and at the Festival Shakespeare du Quercy. Mr. Pucci has trained at The Central School of Speech and Drama in London and with international theater companies and schools from across the world, including Complicite, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and the Moscow Art Theatre in Russia. He studied at the University of Leeds in England and at Tianjin Normal University in China and holds a BA in modern Chinese studies (Mandarin Chinese).

JOHNNY WU (Bing/Judge Xu Geming) last appeared in Naomi Iizuka’s Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West at Berkeley Repertory Theatre with Les Waters directing. He was also seen in Peter and the Starcatchers at La Jolla Playhouse, directed by Roger Rees and Alex Timbers. Mr. Wu recently earned his MFA in acting from the University of California, San Diego, where he appeared as Guildenstern in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Jason in Medea and B1/B2/ Michael in A Number. Film credits include Limitless with Bradley Cooper, Certainty and Tie a Yellow Ribbon, and on television he has appeared in “24” (FOX) and “Cold Case” (CBS).

Larry Lei Zhang Photo by Lia Chang

LARRY LEI ZHANG (Minister Cai Guoliang) Mr. Zhang’s regional credits include Don Juan Meets XiMenQing at the San Francisco Chinese Culture Center, Blue & Black at the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts and Long Day’s Journey into Night at Tao House in Danville, California. Internationally, he has appeared in Yin and Yang at Shanghai Lyceum Theatre, Mei Lan Fang at Shanghai Majestic Theatre, and Mourning and Emperor Romulus at Shanghai Theatre Academy. He has appeared on screen in Eyes of Birch, Still, Golden Sand River and Over this Land, and on television in “Made in China,” “Legend of Bruce Lee,” “Tribe of Knowledge Youth” and “Ms. P.R.” He is a graduate of Shanghai Theatre Academy.

Playwright David Henry Hwang Photo by Lia Chang

DAVID HENRY HWANG (Playwright) Hwang’s plays include M. Butterfly (1988 Tony Award, 1989 Pulitzer Prize Finalist), Golden Child (1998 Tony Award nomination, 1997 OBIE Award), Yellow Face (2008 OBIE Award, 2008 Pulitzer Prize Finalist), FOB (1981 OBIE Award), The Dance and the Railroad (1982 Drama Desk Award nomination), Family Devotions (1982 Drama Desk Award nomination) and Bondage. He wrote the libretti for the Broadway musicals Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida (co-author), Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song (revival, 2002 Tony Award nomination) and Disney’s Tarzan. In opera, his libretti include four works with composer Philip Glass: The Voyage (Metropolitan Opera), 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, Sound and Beauty (seen in Chicago at the Court Theatre), and Icarus at the Edge of Time; as well as Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar (two 2007 Grammy Awards), Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland (Opernwelt 2007 “World Premiere of the Year”) and Howard Shore’s The Fly. Hwang penned the feature films M. Butterfly, Golden Gate and Possession (co-author), and co-wrote the song “Solo” with Prince. He sits on the Council of the Dramatists Guild, and served by appointment of President Clinton on the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.

Chinglish director Leigh Silverman © Lia Chang

LEIGH SILVERMAN (Director) Previous Broadway: Lisa Kron’s Well. Recent world premieres: In The Wake (Center Theatre Group/Berkeley Repertory Theatre and The Public Theater; OBIE Award, Lortel Nomination); Go Back To Where You Are (Playwrights Horizons: OBIE Award); From Up Here (MTC; Drama Desk Nomination); Coraline (MCC/True Love); Beebo Brinker Chronicles (Hourglass Group/ 37 Arts); Creature (New Georges/P73); Hunting and Gathering (Primary Stages); Well (The Public Theater, The Huntington Theatre and ACT); The Retributionists (Playwrights Horizons); Blue Door (Playwrights Horizons and Seattle Repertory Theatre); Oedipus At Palm Springs (NYTW); Jump/Cut (Woolly Mammoth Theatre/Theater J and Women’s Project); also Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (Second Stage Theatre). West End: Wit (Vaudeville Theatre). This marks Leigh’s second premiere production of a work by David Henry Hwang having previously directed Yellow Face at the Center Theater Group and The Public Theater.

Tickets are available for purchase on Telecharge.com or 212-239-6200. For more information, visit chinglishbroadway.com.

Playwright David Henry Hwang and Lia Chang in the Chinglish Green Room at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway on October 22, 2011. Photo by Joanna C. Lee

Articles on David Henry Hwang
The ‘Chinglish’ Broadway Journal: Week 6 (Oct. 25, 2011)
Broadwaysbestshows.com: Learning to Speak Chinglish w/ David Henry Hwang (#14)
David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish Begins Previews at the Longacre Theatre on 10/11
David Henry Hwang to Receive 2012 William Inge Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award
H I R O S H I M A in Benefit Concert for Japan on September 21 at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York
Goodman Theatre World Premiere of David Henry Hwang’s Broadway Bound “Chinglish” Scores 5 Jeff Award Nods
OCA Awards Gala Photos: David Henry Hwang, Tamlyn Tomita, BD Wong, Dr. Bobby Fong & Tammy Duckworth
Broadwayworld.com Photo Flash: Library of Congress’ IN REHEARSAL Exhibit
Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at Library of Congress Features Photos of Thom Sesma’s Makeup Transformation as Scar in Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas, Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s Heading East Starring BD Wong, David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish, and Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri’s Bakwas Bumbug! on View Through August 2
broadwayworld.com: Chinglish in Rehearsal
Photos: Playwright David Henry Hwang in rehearsal at the Goodman Theatre for World Premiere of Chinglish
David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish is Broadway Bound this Fall; Goodman Theatre Photo Feature
Judges for 2010-2011 Village Voice Obie Awards include Feingold, Soloski, Als, Hwang, Yionoulis and Propst; Ceremony on 5/16
Yellow Face Reading & Book Signing w/ David Henry Hwang, Kathryn Layng, Francis Jue, w/ guest Edward Albee David Henry Hwang, Francis Jue, Kathryn Layng and Edward Albee: YELLOW FACE Reading Book Signing at The Drama Book Shop on 12/10
Multimedia: George Takei, Nancy Kwan, Lisa Lu and Tsai Chin attend Hollywood Chinese: The Arthur Dong Collection Exhibition Opening Night
The Chinese American Museum partners with Academy award nominated filmmaker Arthur Dong on a groundbreaking exhibition about Hollywood’s forgotten past
David Henry Hwang’s YELLOW FACE Starring Francis Jue, Pub Bandu and Thomas Azar at Theatreworks through 9/20
In Arthur Dong’s Hollywood Chinese, Chinese Tinseltown Tales told by Asian Silver Screen Icons
David Henry Hwang, Kathryn Layng and BD Wong at the Asian American Writers Workshop Literary Awards
Nothing is Sacred in David Henry Hwang’s Comedy of Mistaken Racial Identity
Francis Jue, At Home on the Stage

David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish Begins Previews at the Longacre Theatre on 10/11

David Henry Hwang Photo by Lia Chang

CHINGLISH, the new comedy by Tony Award-winning and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly), begins previews at the Longacre Theatre (220 West 48th Street) on Tuesday, October 11th and will officially open on Thursday, October 27th. The show comes to Broadway following its critically acclaimed world premiere production at Goodman Theatre in Chicago this summer, which ran from June 18th through July 31st.

Jennifer Lim, Angela Lin, Christine Lin, Stephen Pucci, Johnny Wu and Larry Lei Zhang who appeared in the production at the Goodman, will be joined by Gary Wilmes, star of the recent acclaimed Gatz. OBIE Award winner Leigh Silverman, who directed Lisa Kron’s Well on Broadway and won a 2011 OBIE for directing both Go Back To Where You Are and In The Wake, will return to direct the Broadway production.

Hwang’s new comedy CHINGLISH is about the challenges of doing business in a culture whose language—and ways of communicating—are worlds apart from our own. An American businessman arrives in a bustling Chinese province looking to score a lucrative contact for his family’s sign-making firm. He soon finds that the complexities of such a venture far outstrip the expected differences in language, customs and manners – and calls into questions even the most basic assumptions of human conduct.

Tickets are available for purchase on Telecharge.com or 212-239-6200.

“The U.S. and China are at a critical moment in history—each nation is deeply interested in, but knows very little about, the other,” said playwright David Henry Hwang. “CHINGLISH was born from the many visits I’ve made to China over the past five or six years to witness the exciting changes there. During one visit, I toured a new arts center where everything was first-rate—except for the ridiculously translated English signs. It was at that moment that I thought of writing this play.”

The design team includes: Set Designer David Korins (Lombardi, Passing Strange), Costume Designer Anita Yavich (Anna in the Tropics) and Lighting Designer Brian MacDevitt (The Book of Mormon, Fences, Goodman: Long Day’s Journey into Night), Sound Designer Darron L. West (Time Stands Still), and Jeff Sugg (33 Variations) and Shawn Duan (Impressionism) as Co-Projection Designers.

The Broadway production is produced by Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Jay & Cindy Gutterman/Cathy Chernoff, Heni Koenigsberg/Lily Fan, Dasha Epstein, Ronald Frankel, Barry & Carole Kaye, Hunter Arnold, Filerman Bensinger, Ken Davenport, Van Dean, Joe & Matt Deitch, Herbert Goldsmith, Jam Theatricals, Mary Lu Roffe, Olympus Theatricals, Playful Productions, David & Barbara Stoller.

Bios
GARY WILMES (Daniel Cavanaugh) Theatre roots began in Chicago where he worked with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. His first play was Neil Simon’s Laughter on the 23rd Floor for Fox Theatricals. Most recently, he played Tom Buchanan in ERS’s production of GATZ to acclaimed critical reviews at The Public Theater. The production received a 2011 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Alternative Theatrical Experience, and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and a Drama League Award. In the summer of 2010, Gary co-starred in the Steppenwolf’s Tony Award winning play, August: Osage County at the Sydney Theatre Company in Australia along with the original Broadway cast. In 2006, Gary won the Obie Award for his performance in Red Light Winter, a three character Adam Rapp play produced by Scott Rudin. His film credits include: Michael Winterbottom’s, A Mighty Heart with Angelie Jolie, Salt, with Jolie, I Hate Valentines Day, opposite Nia Vardalos, Birds of America, opposite Hilary Swank and will soon be seen in Sam Neave’s Almost in Love opposite Alan Cumming. On television, Gary just completed 10 episodes of “Jon Benjamin Has A Van” for Comedy Central and was a regular on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” He has guest starred on “Private Practice,” “Mercy,” “Nurse Jackie,” “Delocated,” “Numb3rs,” “Law & Order: CI.,” and soon “Blue Bloods.”

JENNIFER LIM (Xi Yan) starred in the premiere of Chinglish at Goodman Theatre. Jennifer was born and grew up in Hong Kong but now resides, works and dreams out of NYC. After graduating with a BA in Drama from Bristol University in the U.K., she attended the Yale School of Drama for her MFA in Acting. Her New York credits include the world premiere of Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven (by Obie Award winner Young Jean Lee) at HERE Arts Center, Ching Chong Chinaman at Pan Asian Rep, Vengeance Can Wait at P.S.122 and YokastaS Redux (directed by Richard Schechner) at La MaMa, E.T.C. Regionally, she has appeared in Medea/Macbeth/Cinderella and Iphigenia at Aulis at Yale Rep and A Christmas Carol at Actors Theatre of Louisville. International theater credits include This Isn’t Romance at Soho Theatre in London; the European tour of Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven; The Medea at Adana State Theatre Festival, Turkey and Hamlet at Shanghai Experimental Theatre Festival and Grotowski International Theatre Festival, Wroclaw, Poland. Her film credits include The Savages, 27 Dresses and The Boy Who Cried Bitch: The Adolescent Years, and on television she has appeared in “The Good Wife,” “Blue Bloods,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Law & Order: CI,” “Royal Pains” and “Dirty Sexy Money.” Jennifer is also a member of Gia Forakis & Co. www.jenniferlimonline.com.

ANGELA LIN (Miss Qian/Prosecutor Li) Lin has appeared on Broadway in Coram Boy (Drama League Award for Best Ensemble) and Top Girls. Off Broadway, she appeared in Jordan Harrison’s Futura with the Obie Award-winning National Asian American Theatre Company, Ching Chong Chinaman at Pan Asian Repertory Theatre and Sake With the Haiku Geisha at Gotham Stage Company. Regionally, she appeared in the East Coast premiere of Donald Margulies’ Shipwrecked at Long Wharf Theatre, the world premiere of Lloyd Suh’s American Hwangap at Magic Theatre and Twelfth Night at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Ms. Lin’s film credits include Falling Awake, Miracle Dogs, Green Plastic Sandals and Within the Ivory Tower, and on television she has appeared in “The Good Wife” (CBS), “One Life to Live” (ABC), “The Jury” (FOX) and “As the World Turns” (CBS). Ms. Lin is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University. www.angelalin.com

CHRISTINE LIN (Zhao) Goodman: understudied the role of Bea in Ghostwritten. Her recent Chicago credits include Soul Samurai at InFusion Theatre, Iphigenia Crash Land Falls on the Neon Shell That Was Once Her Heart (a rave fable) at Halcyon Theatre, Bubble Tea Party! with Stir-Friday Night! and Days of Late with SiNNERMAN Ensemble. Ms. Lin is a company member of Halcyon Theatre and an ensemble member of Asian American sketch comedy group Stir-Friday Night! She studied at Steppenwolf Classes West’s ensemble intensive program and holds a BS degree in electrical and biomedical engineering from Duke University www.christine2lin.com.

STEPHEN PUCCI (Peter Timms) His credits in the United Kingdom and Europe include Manor at the Tristan Bates Theatre/ Soho Studio Theatre, the British Animation Awards-nominated Glover at the National Film Theatre, Absent at the Royal Opera House, Your Nation Loves You at the Lyric Hammersmith Studio Theatre and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Cochrane Theatre and at the Festival Shakespeare du Quercy. Mr. Pucci has trained at The Central School of Speech and Drama in London and with international theater companies and schools from across the world, including Complicite, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and the Moscow Art Theatre in Russia. He studied at the University of Leeds in England and at Tianjin Normal University in China and holds a BA in modern Chinese studies (Mandarin Chinese).

JOHNNY WU (Bing/Judge Xu Geming) last appeared in Naomi Iizuka’s Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West at Berkeley Repertory Theatre with Les Waters directing. He was also seen in Peter and the Starcatchers at La Jolla Playhouse, directed by Roger Rees and Alex Timbers. Mr. Wu recently earned his MFA in acting from the University of California, San Diego, where he appeared as Guildenstern in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Jason in Medea and B1/B2/ Michael in A Number. Film credits include Limitless with Bradley Cooper, Certainty and Tie a Yellow Ribbon, and on television he has appeared in “24” (FOX) and “Cold Case” (CBS).

LARRY ZHANG (Minister Cai Guoliang) Mr. Zhang’s regional credits include Don Juan Meets XiMenQing at the San Francisco Chinese Culture Center, Blue & Black at the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts and Long Day’s Journey into Night at Tao House in Danville, California. Internationally, he has appeared in Yin and Yang at Shanghai Lyceum Theatre, Mei Lan Fang at Shanghai Majestic Theatre, and Mourning and Emperor Romulus at Shanghai Theatre Academy. He has appeared on screen in Eyes of Birch, Still, Golden Sand River and Over this Land, and on television in “Made in China,” “Legend of Bruce Lee,” “Tribe of Knowledge Youth” and “Ms. P.R.” He is a graduate of Shanghai Theatre Academy.

DAVID HENRY HWANG (Playwright) Hwang’s plays include M. Butterfly (1988 Tony Award, 1989 Pulitzer Prize Finalist), Golden Child (1998 Tony Award nomination, 1997 OBIE Award), Yellow Face (2008 OBIE Award, 2008 Pulitzer Prize Finalist), FOB (1981 OBIE Award), The Dance and the Railroad (1982 Drama Desk Award nomination), Family Devotions (1982 Drama Desk Award nomination) and Bondage. He wrote the libretti for the Broadway musicals Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida (co-author), Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song (revival, 2002 Tony Award nomination) and Disney’s Tarzan. In opera, his libretti include four works with composer Philip Glass: The Voyage (Metropolitan Opera), 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, Sound and Beauty (seen in Chicago at the Court Theatre), and Icarus at the Edge of Time; as well as Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar (two 2007 Grammy Awards), Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland (Opernwelt 2007 “World Premiere of the Year”) and Howard Shore’s The Fly. Hwang penned the feature films M. Butterfly, Golden Gate and Possession (co-author), and co-wrote the song “Solo” with Prince. He sits on the Council of the Dramatists Guild, and served by appointment of President Clinton on the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.

LEIGH SILVERMAN (Director) Previous Broadway: Lisa Kron’s Well. Recent world premieres: In The Wake (Center Theatre Group/Berkeley Repertory Theatre and The Public Theater; OBIE Award, Lortel Nomination); Go Back To Where You Are (Playwrights Horizons: OBIE Award); From Up Here (MTC; Drama Desk Nomination); Coraline (MCC/True Love); Beebo Brinker Chronicles (Hourglass Group/ 37 Arts); Creature (New Georges/P73); Hunting and Gathering (Primary Stages); Well (The Public Theater, The Huntington Theatre and ACT); The Retributionists (Playwrights Horizons); Blue Door (Playwrights Horizons and Seattle Repertory Theatre); Oedipus At Palm Springs (NYTW); Jump/Cut (Woolly Mammoth Theatre/Theater J and Women’s Project); also Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (Second Stage Theatre). West End: Wit (Vaudeville Theatre). This marks Leigh’s second premiere production of a work by David Henry Hwang having previously directed Yellow Face at the Center Theater Group and The Public Theater.

Tickets are available for purchase on Telecharge.com or 212-239-6200. For more information, visit chinglishbroadway.com.

Articles on David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwang to Receive 2012 William Inge Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award
H I R O S H I M A in Benefit Concert for Japan on September 21 at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York
Goodman Theatre World Premiere of David Henry Hwang’s Broadway Bound “Chinglish” Scores 5 Jeff Award Nods
OCA Awards Gala Photos: David Henry Hwang, Tamlyn Tomita, BD Wong, Dr. Bobby Fong & Tammy Duckworth
Broadwayworld.com Photo Flash: Library of Congress’ IN REHEARSAL Exhibit
Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at Library of Congress Features Photos of Thom Sesma’s Makeup Transformation as Scar in Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas, Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s Heading East Starring BD Wong, David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish, and Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri’s Bakwas Bumbug! on View Through August 2
broadwayworld.com: Chinglish in Rehearsal
Photos: Playwright David Henry Hwang in rehearsal at the Goodman Theatre for World Premiere of Chinglish
David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish is Broadway Bound this Fall; Goodman Theatre Photo Feature
Judges for 2010-2011 Village Voice Obie Awards include Feingold, Soloski, Als, Hwang, Yionoulis and Propst; Ceremony on 5/16
Yellow Face Reading & Book Signing w/ David Henry Hwang, Kathryn Layng, Francis Jue, w/ guest Edward Albee David Henry Hwang, Francis Jue, Kathryn Layng and Edward Albee: YELLOW FACE Reading Book Signing at The Drama Book Shop on 12/10
Multimedia: George Takei, Nancy Kwan, Lisa Lu and Tsai Chin attend Hollywood Chinese: The Arthur Dong Collection Exhibition Opening Night
The Chinese American Museum partners with Academy award nominated filmmaker Arthur Dong on a groundbreaking exhibition about Hollywood’s forgotten past
David Henry Hwang’s YELLOW FACE Starring Francis Jue, Pub Bandu and Thomas Azar at Theatreworks through 9/20
In Arthur Dong’s Hollywood Chinese, Chinese Tinseltown Tales told by Asian Silver Screen Icons
David Henry Hwang, Kathryn Layng and BD Wong at the Asian American Writers Workshop Literary Awards
Nothing is Sacred in David Henry Hwang’s Comedy of Mistaken Racial Identity
Francis Jue, At Home on the Stage
Flower Drum Song: An American Story

David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish is Broadway Bound this Fall; Goodman Theatre Photo Feature

Xu Yan (Jennifer Lim) meets with Daniel (James Waterston) to further discuss his business proposal. credit: Eric Y. Exit

Chinglish, the critically acclaimed new comedy by Tony Award-winning and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly), will make its Broadway premiere in the Fall of 2011 at a Shubert Theatre to be announced, following its world premiere production at Goodman Theatre in Chicago this summer. Casting for the Broadway show will be announced soon.

“This is a very funny, very timely play,” said producer Jerry Frankel. “Jeffrey Richards and I are thrilled to bring David Henry Hwang back to Broadway.”

Peter (Stephen Pucci) offers himself as a business consultant to help Daniel (James Waterston) pitch his signage company in China. credit: Eric Y. Exit

Chinglish is about the unpredictable complications that ensue when an American businessman, despite his self-possessed cultural ignorance, seeks to expand his market by forging a relationship with government officials in a major Chinese city. Although he has hired an Australian entrepreneur who has lived in China to assist him, he soon finds that the complexities of such a venture far outstrip the expected differences in language, customs and manners – and calls into questions even the most basic assumptions of human conduct.

Zhao (Christine Lin) translates between (l to r) Judge Xu Geming (Johnny Wu), Prosecutor Li (Angela Lin), Daniel (James Waterston) and Xu Yan (Jennifer Lim). credit: Eric Y. Exit

“The U.S. and China are at a critical moment in history—each nation is deeply interested in, but knows very little about, the other,” said playwright David Henry Hwang. “Chinglish was born from the many visits I’ve made to China over the past five or six years to witness the exciting changes there. During one visit, I toured a new arts center where everything was first-rate—except for the ridiculously translated English signs. It was at that moment that I thought of writing this play.”

Leigh Silverman, who directed Lisa Kron’s Well on Broadway and who just won a 2011 OBIE Award for directing both Go Back To Where You Are and In The Wake, will return to direct the Broadway production.

Peter (Stephen Pucci) confronts Xu Yan (Jennifer Lim) and Daniel (James Waterston). credit: Eric Y. Exit

Chinglish is currently running at Goodman Theatre where it began performances on June 18th, officially opened on June 27th and will run through July 24th. The cast includes James Waterston as Daniel, a Midwestern American businessman desperately looking to score a lucrative contact for his family’s sign-making firm who travels to the provincial capital of Guiyang, only to learn how much he doesn’t understand; Stephen Pucci as Peter, his Australian-born consultant who may be a fraud, Jennifer Lim as Xu Yan, the beautiful, seemingly supportive government official who talks the talk, Larry Zhang as Cai Guoliang, the Minister of Culture in Guiyang; Angela Lin as Miss Qian, a translator, and Prosecutor Li, a government official that Daniel is trying to convince to give him the contracts to make the translated signs for Guiyang, a city in China; Christine Lin as the Minister’s translator, Mrs. Zhao; and Johnny Wu as Judge Xu Geming and Bing.

The design team for Chinglish includes Set Designer David Korins (Broadway: Lombardi, Passing Strange), Costume Designer Anita Yavich (Broadway: Anna in the Tropics), Lighting Designer Brian MacDevitt (Goodman: Long Day’s Journey into Night).

The Broadway production will be produced by Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Roy Gottlieb, Barry & Carole Kaye and David and Barbara Stoller in association with Goodman Theatre.

Chinglish has been developed in association with The Public Theater.

David Henry Hwang Photo by Lia Chang

DAVID HENRY HWANG’S plays include M. Butterfly (1988 Tony Award, 1989 Pulitzer Prize Finalist), Golden Child (1998 Tony Award nomination, 1997 OBIE Award), Yellow Face (2008 OBIE Award, 2008 Pulitzer Prize Finalist), FOB (1981 OBIE Award), The Dance and the Railroad (1982 Drama Desk Award nomination), Family Devotions (1982 Drama Desk Award nomination) and Bondage. He wrote the libretti for the Broadway musicals Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida (co-author), Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song (revival, 2002 Tony Award nomination) and Disney’s Tarzan. In opera, his libretti include four works with composer Philip Glass: The Voyage (Metropolitan Opera), 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, Sound and Beauty (seen in Chicago at the Court Theatre), and Icarus at the Edge of Time; as well as Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar (two 2007 Grammy Awards), Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland (Opernwelt 2007 “World Premiere of the Year”) and Howard Shore’s The Fly. Hwang penned the feature films “M. Butterfly,” “Golden Gate” and “Possession” (co-author), and co-wrote the song “Solo” with Prince. He sits on the Council of the Dramatists Guild, and served by appointment of President Clinton on the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.

Chinglish director Leigh Silverman © Lia Chang

LEIGH SILVERMAN Previous Broadway: Lisa Kron’s Well. Recent world premieres: In The Wake (Center Theatre Group/Berkeley Repertory Theatre and The Public Theatre; OBIE Award, Lortel Nomination); Go Back To Where You Are (Playwrights Horizons:
OBIE Award); From Up Here (MTC; Drama Desk Nomination); Coraline (MCC/True Love); Beebo Brinker Chronicles (Hourglass Group/ 37 Arts); Creature (New Georges/P73); Hunting and Gathering (Primary Stages); Well (The Public Theater, The Huntington Theatre and ACT); The Retributionists (Playwrights Horizons); Blue Door (Playwrights Horizons and Seattle Repertory Theatre); Oedipus At Palm Springs (NYTW); Jump/Cut (Woolly Mammoth Theatre/Theater J and Women’s Project); also Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (Second Stage Theatre). West End: Wit (Vaudeville Theatre). This marks Leigh’s second premiere production of a work by David Henry Hwang having previously directed Yellow Face at the Center Theater Group and The Public Theater.

Chinglish
Goodman Theatre
170 North Dearborn
Tickets are tickets are $25 – $73 (prices are subject to change) and can be purchased at GoodmanTheatre.org, at the box office (170 N. Dearborn) or by phone: 312.443.3800.

David Henry Hwang Articles:
Photos: Playwright David Henry Hwang in rehearsal at the Goodman Theatre for World Premiere of Chinglish
Judges for 2010-2011 Village Voice Obie Awards include Feingold, Soloski, Als, Hwang, Yionoulis and Propst; Ceremony on 5/16
Yellow Face Reading & Book Signing w/ David Henry Hwang, Kathryn Layng, Francis Jue, w/ guest Edward Albee David Henry Hwang, Francis Jue, Kathryn Layng and Edward Albee: YELLOW FACE Reading Book Signing at The Drama Book Shop on 12/10
Multimedia: George Takei, Nancy Kwan, Lisa Lu and Tsai Chin attend Hollywood Chinese: The Arthur Dong Collection Exhibition Opening Night
The Chinese American Museum partners with Academy award nominated filmmaker Arthur Dong on a groundbreaking exhibition about Hollywood’s forgotten past
David Henry Hwang’s YELLOW FACE Starring Francis Jue, Pub Bandu and Thomas Azar at Theatreworks through 9/20
In Arthur Dong’s Hollywood Chinese, Chinese Tinseltown Tales told by Asian Silver Screen Icons
David Henry Hwang, Kathryn Layng and BD Wong at the Asian American Writers Workshop Literary Awards
Nothing is Sacred in David Henry Hwang’s Comedy of Mistaken Racial Identity
Francis Jue, At Home on the Stage
Flower Drum Song: An American Story

Other articles by Lia Chang
Photos: “How To Succeed” stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rose Hemingway & John Larroquette at Lord & Taylor Fifth Ave
My portrait of “New York actor Thom Sesma’s Makeup Transformation into Scar in The Lion King” on view in HHC’s New York City: IN FOCUS, Vol. 2- 7/14
Photos: Christmas in June w/ Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri’s “Bakwas Bumbug” at The Wild Project in NY
Photos: Phylicia Rashad, Michael McElroy, Marva Hicks in Broadway Inspirational Voices “Wondrous Grace” Concert in NY
Photos:Alexander McQueen:Savage Beauty Extends at Met through 8/7, Met Mondays w/ McQueen begin 6/6
Photos: Willie Reale, Frances McDormand, Lewis Black, Bela Fleck, Renee Goldsberry, Duncan Sheik, Lisa Benavides, Abigail Washburn, Tim Blake Nelson at The 52nd Street Project Benefit
Meshach Taylor talks Wigger on Wendy Williams Show
Photos of AEA’s Asian Heritage Celebration, featuring the Leviathan Lab Asian American Women Writers Workshop
Photos: Samrat Chakrabarti, Soham Mehta and Shiva Shankar Bajpai at the New York Indian Film Festival
Photos: David Duchovny, John Earl Jelks, Amanda Peet, Tracee Chimo opening night of Neil LaBute’s The Break of Noon
Multimedia: Exclusive photos and video of Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas -In the Makeup Chair with Thom Sesma
Multimedia: Promises, Promises’ Stars Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes at Lord & Taylor Fifth Ave
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multimedia journalist.

As a photographer and videographer, Lia collaborates with artists, organizations and companies in establishing their documentary photo archive and social media presence. She has been documenting her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism since making her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden. Lia currently plays Nurse Lia on “One Life to Live”. She has appeared in Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and “New York Undercover”.

Selections of Lia’s archive of Asian Pacific Americans in the arts, fashion, journalism, politics and space are in the newly created LIA CHANG THEATER PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO in the ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTION housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian American Pacific Islander Collection.

Lia’s portraits and performance photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, Gourmet, German Elle, Women’s Wear Daily, The Paris Review, TV Guide, Daily Variety, Interior Design, American Theatre, Broadwayworld.com, Life & Style, OUT, New York Magazine, InStyle, Timeout.com, Villagevoice.com, Playbill.com, Theatermania.com, thelmagazine.com, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post. A former syndicated arts and entertainment columnist for KYODO News, Lia is the New York Bureau Chief for AsianConnections.com. She writes about culture, style and Asian American issues for a variety of publications and this Backstage Pass with Lia Chang blog.