M. Butterfly: With an Afterword by the Playwright - Softcover

Hwang, David Henry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0452272599 ISBN 13: 9780452272590

Publisher: Plume, 1993

Synopsis

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 ORIGINAL BROADWAY PRODUCTION

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

John Lithgow and B. D. Wong recreate their original roles from the Tony Award-winning production of M. Butterfly. Inspired by an actual espionage scandal, a French diplomat discovers the startling truth about his Chinese mistress.

An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance starring John Lithgow and B.D. Wong alongside Margaret Cho, David Dukes, Joanna Frank, Arye Gross and Kathryn Layng.

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.

About this edition

• Publisher: Plume
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0452272599
• ISBN 13: 9780452272590
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 100