Tony award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang just returned from Hong Kong, where the West Coast production of his hit Broadway play Chinglish, starring Michelle Krusiec and Alex Moggridge, played to soldout houses at the Hong Kong Arts Festival.
Ruy Iskandar, David Henry Hwang and Yuekun Wu. Photo by Lia Chang
In May, he’ll head back to Asia, when Signature Theatre’s critically acclaimed revival of Hwang’s play THE DANCE AND THE RAILROAD, directed by May Adrales, will have a limited run at The Inaugural Wuzhen Theatre Festival in Wuzhen, China, May 9-12, 2013. The entire production, which features Ruy Iskandar as Ma and Yuekun Wu as Lone, ends its extended run at The Pershing Square Signature Center on March 24, 2013 and will make the transfer. This marks the first time that a play by David Henry Hwang has been performed in mainland China.
The Wuzhen Theatre Festival will be China’s window to the world’s recent theatre. It will also be an incubator for new creative works by young artists on timely subjects. With a generous award system, it will heighten the profile of theatre and take its place as Asia’s premiere theatre festival. The festival will last for ten days and shows will be performed in both brand new theatres and refurbished ancient stages, ready to meet theatre fans from all over the globe. THE DANCE AND THE RAILROAD will be performed in the newly restored Ancient Courtyard Theatre.
In response to the announcement, David Henry Hwang said: “Though my plays have been performed in many Asian countries, The Dance and the Railroad will be my first work to be produced in Mainland China, and I am very grateful to the Wuzhen Festival and Signature Theatre for their dedication and hard work in making this possible. Wuzhen sits just outside Shanghai, where my late Father was born and raised. I think my Dad would be very happy to know that the work of his Chinese American son will be coming home at last.”
On a California mountaintop in 1867 near the Transcontinental Railroad, two Chinese workers struggle through poverty and hunger to reconnect with the traditions of their homeland. THE DANCE AND THE RAILROAD follows the twice-extended GOLDEN CHILD as the second production in the Residency One: David Henry Hwang Series.
The design team includes Mimi Lien (Scenic Design), Jennifer Moeller (Costume Design), Jiyoun Chang (Lighting Design), Broken Chord (Sound Design), Huang Ruo (Music), Qian Yi (Chinese Opera Consultant), Leah J. Loukas (Wig Design) and Grace Zandarski (Vocal Coach). Casting by Telsey + Company, William Cantler CSA. The production stage manager for the New York production is Cole P. Bonenberger. The production stage manager for the Wuzhen production will be Michael Rico Cohen.
THE DANCE AND THE RAILROAD will continue to play through Sunday, March 24 in The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues).
To purchase tickets for all Signature Productions, call the Signature Theatre Box Office (212-244-7529) or visit signaturetheatre.org.
David Henry Hwang Articles:
Photos: David Henry Hwang’s The Dance and The Railroad Opening Night at Signature Theatre
Signature Theatre extends David Henry Hwang’s The Dance and The Railroad starring Ruy Iskandar and Yuekun Wu through March 24, 2013
Ruy Iskandar and Yuekun Wu Set for Signature Theatre’s Production of David Henry Hwang’s The Dance and The Railroad, February 5 – March 17, 2013
Michelle Krusiec and Alex Moggridge Star in David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish at South Coast Repertory, January 25 – February 24, 2013
Photos: Partying with the Cast of David Henry Hwang’s Golden Child; Extended Run Ends December 16, 2012
Signature Theatre’s Production of Golden Child by David Henry Hwang has been extended through December 16, 2012
Greg Watanabe, Julyana Soelistyo and Jennifer Lim Lead the Cast of Signature Theatre’s Production of David Henry Hwang’s Golden Child, October 23-December 2, 2012
Berkeley Rep’s Production Photos of David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish, Starring Michelle Krusiec and Alex Moggridge, Extends through October 21, 2012
Photos: David Henry Hwang, Oskar Eustis, BD Wong, Brian d’Arcy James, Francis Jue, Jennifer Lim and Leigh Silverman at WNYC’s The Greene Space
Click here for other articles on David Henry Hwang.
Other articles by Lia Chang:
AALDEF Honors Congressman John Lewis, Jose Antonio Vargas, and Simone Wu with 2013 Justice in Action Awards
Hold These Truths Opening Night at Honolulu Theatre for Youth’s Tenney Theatre with Daniel Dae Kim, Joel de la Fuente and Jeanne Sakata
Ron Domingo, Francis Jue and Jon Norman Schneider Join the Cast of the World Premiere of Paper Dolls at the Tricycle Theatre, February 28 – April 13, 2013
Harlem Nights with Lorey Hayes, Actress, Director and Award-Winning Playwright of Power Play and Massinissa
Signature Theatre’s World Premiere of Sam Shepard’s Heartless Starring Lois Smith, Gary Cole, Jenny Bacon, Betty Gilpin, and Julianne Nicholson Extends through September 30, 2012
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.
Lia Chang
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