Experiences on Broadway on STARS IN THE HOUSE / June 9, 2020 by David Hwang

Stars in The House continued this afternoon (2pm) with Brenda Braxton and Raymond J. Lee This episode was in support of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

Raymond talked about raising a five-year-old daughter and the state of the world. "We want to take our daughter to a protest so she learns. We've been slowly talking to her about it, especially being a biracial girl, I want to make sure she's equipped for the world."

Raymond chimed in, "With SOFT POWER, David Henry Hwang was our writer but everybody else was white so we would have pow wows or we would be in a circle and they would check in with us and say 'are we going the right way? Are we being sensitive? Is this what a Chinese person would do?' They really sat there and listened to us and learned from us and then applied it to the show."

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.

The 2020 Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Drama / May 5, 2020 by David Hwang

NEW YORK CITY: The Pulitzer committee has announced the recipients of the 2020 Pulitzer Prizes. The Pulitzer Prize for drama, with a $15,000 cash prize, was awarded to Michael R. Jackson for A Strange Loop. This year’s finalists were Will Arbery for Heroes of the Fourth Turning and David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori for Soft Power. Jackson’s is just one of 10 musicals to take home the Drama Pulitzer.

The Pulitzer Prize was established in 1917 by Joseph Pulitzer and recognizes achievements in journalism, literature, drama, and music composition. The award is administered by Columbia University.

The 2020 Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Drama / May 5, 2020 by David Hwang

A Strange Loop by Michael R. Jackson Wins 2020 Pulitzer for Drama

Heroes of the Fourth Turning and Soft Power were named finalists.

Michael R. Jackson's musical A Strange Loop has won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The musical ran in the summer of 2019 at Playwrights Horizons.

A Strange Loop explores the thoughts of Usher, a black, queer writer working a job he hates while writing his original musical: a piece about a black, queer writer, working a job he hates while writing his original musical. Jackson's blistering, momentous new musical (and his professional debut) follows a young artist at war with a host of demons — not least of which are the punishing thoughts in his own head — in an attempt to capture and understand his own strange loop. It was presented by Playwrights Horizons alongside Page 73 Productions.

Joining A Strange Loop on the Pulitzer Prize for Drama lineup are finalists Heroes of the Fourth Turning, by Will Arbury, and the musical Soft Power, written by David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori. Heroes also premiered at Playwrights Horizons, with Soft Power having its New York premiere at the Public Theater.

The 2020 Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Drama / May 5, 2020 by David Hwang

Soft Power, by David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori

A multi-layered and mischievous musical that deconstructs a beloved, original American art form to examine the promise and the limits of representation in both the theatrical and political senses of the word.

‘Soft Power’ leads Drama Desk nominations / April 24, 2020 by David Hwang

Mandy Hackett, Sam Pinkleton, David Henry Hwang, Leigh Silverman and Oskar Eustis attend the 'Soft Power' opening night. (Photo by Jim Spellman/Getty Images)

“Soft Power,” an Off-Broadway musical by David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori, received the highest number of Drama Desk nominations Tuesday.

The musical, which was directed by Leigh Silverman and played the Public Theater in September 2019, received 11 nominations, followed by “The Wrong Man” with nine nominations and “Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven” with eight. The nominations took into consideration Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway shows that opened before March 11.

The nominations were announced on Stars in the House Tuesday afternoon. The winners will be announced on May 31.

Soft Power will play at the Curran in 2018 / January 29, 2018 by David Hwang

A new play by David Henry Hwang, will run as part of the Curran’s 2018 lineup. Featuring music by Jeanine Tesori, Mr. Hwang’s “Soft Power” examines Chinese-American relations in the present and future. Leigh Silverman will direct the production, which is scheduled to run from June 20 to July 8 after a premiere in Los Angeles at the Center Theater Group in May.

11 Asian-American Shows to Watch For in the 2017-18 Season / November 13, 2017 by David Hwang

David Henry Hwang will be collaborating with Jeanine Tesori on Soft Power, to receive its world premiere in Los Angeles next year.(© Joseph Marzullo / Tristan Fuge) — David Henry Hwang will be collaborating with Jeanine Tesori on *Soft Power*, to receive its world premiere in Los Angeles next year.
(© Joseph Marzullo / Tristan Fuge)

"With Asian-American theater off to a fairly strong start in 2017, we put together a list of the productions (from New York to Los Angeles and places in between) to look for throughout the rest of the 2017-18 season."

Read the full story at Theatermania.com