M Butterfly (Premiere 2017)

M Butterfly is a play written by Chinese American playwright David Henry Hwang. When it debuted on Broadway in 1988, it was an instant hit and won the Tony Award for Best Play – a significant achievement as it was the first time a Chinese American had won this award.

M Butterfly is based on a true story and follows the complicated love story of deceit, exploitation and conflict between a cross-dressing Peking Opera actress, Liling Song, and a French diplomat, Galima. The play is an in-depth exploration of the conflicts between different intersectional identities of gender, race, and culture in East and West.

In 2017, Huang collaborated with Julie Taymor, the director of the famous classic musical The Lion King, to produce a Broadway revival of M Butterfly. To highlight the Chinese elements in this play, the producers invited CTW to be the consultant for Peking Opera. Kuang-Yu Fong trained the actor to perform the roles of the Dan characters, and Stephen Kaplin produced the Peking Opera masks and props. CTW team was also responsible for promoting the play in the Asian market.

Production Credits

Writer: David Henry Hwang

Director: Julie Taymor

Performers: Clive Owen, Jin Ha, etc.

Beijing Opera Acting Training: Kuang-Yu Fong

Peking Opera Masks and Props: Stephen Kaplin