Fil-Ams involved in award-winning theater shows / May 29, 2020 by David Hwang

NEW YORK — Filipino American set designer Clint Ramos has won this year’s Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Scenic Design for his work on the play “Grand Horizons.”

Outer Critics Circle (OCC) is an organization of writers covering the New York theater industry for out-of-town news and media outlets.

OCC president David Gordon said, “The Outer Critics Circle has thought long and hard about a way to honor the nearly 200 productions that opened [2019 to 2020], while also respecting those shows that were canceled, postponed, or forced to close shortly after opening.

Filipino American theater makers were involved in productions that won in different categories.

One of the two winners of Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical is David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori’s “Soft Power,” staged at The Public Theater.

2020 Outer Critics Circle Award Honorees / May 13, 2020 by David Hwang

The OCC celebrated up to five honorees in each of its 26 categories this year due to the COVID-19 crisis

Watch the full announcement above. As previously announced, in lieu of selecting traditional nominees with one winner from each category, the 2020 Outer Critics Circle Awards celebrate up to five honorees in each of its 26 categories. The adjustment is to make room for a greater celebration in light of the public health crisis.

Soft Power, with a book and Lyrics by David Henry Hwang, and music and additional lyrics by Jeanine Tesori.

Theaters are closed but the music plays on in Ghostlight Records’ original cast albums / May 13, 2020 by David Hwang

Though audiences aren’t able to enjoy live on-stage performances during the ongoing coronavirus shutdown, Ghostlight Records offers cast recordings from a selection of popular musicals for digital download. Among the latest releases from the 2019-20 season are three award-nominated Off-Broadway favorites, featuring powerhouse performances of the original music and lyrics by the shows’ renowned stars.

Soft Power – A hot-button collaboration between Tony Award winners David Henry Hwang (book and lyrics) and Jeanine Tesori (music and additional lyrics), Soft Power examines American democracy from the perspective of China in a riotous and relevant new musical-within-a-play that had its New York premiere at The Public Theater last fall. Francis Jue, Conrad Ricamora, and Alyse Alan Louis lead the spirited cast through hard-hitting numbers filled with sharp-witted parodies and heartfelt honesty that will leave you laughing and thinking.