To this very frequent theatre-goer, the most exciting and gratifying development on New York stages since 2010 has been the growing number of productions that, before hitting it big on Broadway, graced the stages of the city's non-profit Off-Broadway companies.
David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori's smartly done SOFT POWER (The Public Theater) comments on the well-intentioned ignorance of those who see themselves as allies to inclusiveness with its satirical reversal of Rodgers and Hammerstein's THE KING AND I. In this version, a Chinese businessman travels to New York and winds up advising Hillary Clinton in her bid for the presidency. Just like in THE KING AND I, they clash on social issues while struggling with attraction for each other, only this time it's the Asian who is seen as the wise teacher, bringing civilized thought to a vulgar, overtly militarized America where violence, religious fundamentalism, racism and homophobia are the norms.