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M. Butterfly: Broadway Revival Edition
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About M. Butterfly: Broadway Revival Edition
Product Description 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 Review "A brilliant play of ideas … a visionary work that bridges the history and culture of two worlds."— Frank Rich, New York Times "Audaciously imaginative … big in conception and theme, David Henry Hwang joins the first string of American playwrights."—Variety "Just when you've seen every possible coupling, M. Butterfly presents one of the most provocative and touching of all."—USA Today "Hwang has something to say and an original, audacious way of saying it. A rarity on Broadway."—Edwin Wilson, Wall Street Journal About the Author David Henry Hwang is an acclaimed playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He won the 1988 Tony Award for M. Butterfly. He sits on the boards of the Dramatists Guild, Young Playwrights Inc., and the Museum Of Chinese in the Americas (MOCA). He has been named a Fellow of United States Artists and a Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellow. He currently writes for and produces Showtime's The Affair, and is on the Playwriting Faculty of the Columbia University School of the Arts Theatre Program. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. ACT ONE SCENE 1 Gallimard's prison cell. Paris. 1986. Lights fade up to reveal RENE GALLIMARD, 40s. Gallimard: Butterfly, Butterfly . . . He speaks to us. I am confined to this cell day and night. And yet, I've found prison to be something of a refuge. This is no doubt due to the fact that I'm not an ordinary prisoner. You see, I'm a celebrity. (Pause) I never dreamed this day would arrive. I've never been considered witty or clever. In fact, as a young boy, in an informal poll among my grammar school classmates, I was voted "least likely to be invited to a party." It's a title I managed to hold on to for many years. Despite some stiff competition. (Pause) But now, how the tables turn! Look at me: the life of every social function in Paris. Paris? Why be modest? My fame has spread to London, Tokyo, New York. Listen to them! In the world's smartest parties. I'm the one who lifts their spirits! With a flourish, Gallimard directs our attention to another part of the stage. SCENE 2 A party. 1986. Well-dressed MEN and WOMEN make conversation. Gallimard observes them from his cell. Woman 1: And what of Gallimard? Man 1: Ga
