Soft Power /  by David Hwang

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Soft Power

By David Henry Hwang & Jeanine Tesori

What begins as a comedy set in 2016, suddenly jumps into the future, where the scene we just witnessed has been mythologized as the basis of a beloved Chinese musical. A Chinese executive finds himself falling in love with a good-hearted American leader, as the power balance between their two nations shifts, and a new world order arrives. Soft Power imagines what the world -- and the musical -- might become once China gains international cultural dominance, or “soft power.” A Center Theatre Group/Public Theater co-commission, and the first collaboration between Hwang and Tony Award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home), Soft Power premiered in May 2018 at Los Angeles' Ahmanson Theatre, before traveling to the Curran Theatre in San Francisco. It won six 2019 LA Ovation Awards, including Best Production of a Musical.

Soft Power made its New York premiere at The Public Theater, September 24 - November 10, 2019. Among other recognition, it received four Outer Critics Circle Honors, eleven Drama Desk Nominations, and was a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Drama.

Read more at The Public Theater

Disney’s Tarzan /  by David Hwang

The Cast of TARZAN®_ photo by Joan Marcus. ©DISNEY 2006.

The Cast of TARZAN®_ photo by Joan Marcus. ©DISNEY 2006.

Music and lyrics by Phil Collins
Book by David Henry Hwang

Adapted from Disney's epic animated musical adventure and Edgar Rice Burrough's Tarzan of the Apes, Hwang wrote the book for this world renowned musical which was scored by rock legend, Phil Collins. Telling the classic story of a boy washed up on the shores of West Africa, and raised by jungle animals, the musical explores the love story between Jane and Tarzan, and the ways in which his animal upbringing clash with his human instincts.

Tarzan opened on Broadway in 2006, and ran over a year before going on to numerous regional and international productions.

The German production ran from 2008-2018 and was voted most popular long-running musical three times. A revival opened in 2023 and is currently running at the Stage Palladium Theater Stuttgart. For more on this production or to purchase tickets..

Purchase Tarzan (book),  (music)

Flower Drum Song /  by David Hwang

Lea Salonga (center with bag) and company members of Flower Drum Song at the Mark Taper Forum. Photo by Craig Schwartz

Lea Salonga (center with bag) and company members of Flower Drum Song at the Mark Taper Forum. Photo by Craig Schwartz

(revival)
Music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
Book by David Henry Hwang

This “revisical" of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic featured a completely new book by Hwang, while retaining the much beloved score. This updated version attempted to remain more true to the spirit of the novel by C.Y. Lee on which the show was based.

When it premiered at the Mark Taper forum in Los Angeles in 2001, it became the first show at the Taper to extend its scheduled run. The show then moved to Broadway, and in 2002 it was nominated for three Tony awards, including Best Book for a Musical.

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Aida /  by David Hwang

Heather Headley and the original Broadway cast of Elton John & Tim Rice's AIDA_ photo by Joan Marcus. ©DISNEY 2000.

Heather Headley and the original Broadway cast of Elton John & Tim Rice's AIDA_ photo by Joan Marcus. ©DISNEY 2000.

Music by Elton John, Lyrics by Tim Rice
Book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls and David Henry Hwang

Aida is based on Giuseppe Verdi's Italian-language opera of the same name, and was written with Linda Woolverton and Robert Falls.

At the Nile’s edge, the enslaved Nubian princess, Aida becomes romantically entangled with the Egyptian captain, Radames, who is betrothed to the Pharaoh’s daughter, Amneris. As their forbidden love grows deeper, Aida is forced to find balance between her heart’s yearning for Radames, and her responsibility to lead her people.

After opening at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in 2000, Aida ran on Broadway for four years, and was nominated for numerous awards including a Drama Desk Award, a Grammy award and five Tonys. It has gone to numerous national and international tours.

A revised version, directed by Schele Williams with a new book by Hwang, opened in 2023 at the Circustheater in the Netherlands. For more on Aida at the Circustheater.

Purchase Aida