Ethan Heard will direct Jeanine Tesori and David Henry Hwang's musical fantasia at the Arlington, Virginia, venue.
Rehearsals are underway for Signature Theatre's upcoming production of the D.C.-area premiere of Soft Power, the musical fantasia from Tony winners Jeanine Tesori (Kimberly Akimbo, Fun Home) and David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly, Yellow Face).
The newly revised production, directed by Signature Associate Artistic Director Ethan Heard, will play the MAX Theatre August 6–September 15.
The cast is set to feature Steven Eng as DHH, Daniel May (Flower Drum Song) as Xue Xing, and Yoo (Hadestown) as Hillary Clinton with Eymard Cabling (Miss Saigon national tour) as Randy Ray and others, Andrew Cristi (A Christmas Story) as Chief Justice and others, Jonny Lee Jr. as Bobby Bob and others, Quynh-My Luu as Waiter and others, Christopher Mueller as VEEP and others, Ashley D. Nguyen as Jīng and others, Wereley as Betsy Ross and others, Nicholas Yenson as Holden Caulfield and others, and Sumié Yotsukura as Flight Attendant and others. Olivia Clavel-Davis, Brian Dauglash, Emily Song Tyler, and Joey Urgino are swings.
With music by Tesori and a book and lyrics by Hwang, the musical is set after the 2016 election, when a Chinese American playwright, attacked by an unknown assailant, hallucinates a Golden Age musical comedy about a Chinese theatre producer and Hillary Clinton falling in love. The political satire asks: Does American Democracy still work? And is it worth believing in?