CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, November 14, 2012

David Henry Hwang, the Man Who Can Make Bruce Lee Talk

NYTimes.com: A quarter-century after “M. Butterfly” won him the Tony Award, Hwang, a first-generation Chinese-American, still bends under the lifelong weight of expectations from his high-achieving immigrant family. He will come to sparkling life on a panel or at a lectern; he will give a pithy quote about multiculturalism to the media. But the real Hwang, the one with the wicked sense of humor, the soaring emotionalism of an opera diva and the pounding anger of a neglected child, is glimpsed almost exclusively onstage. So today, it is Bruce Lee who gets all the best lines, the ones Hwang would never even consider saving for himself.

2 comments:

Sonia said...

This is so exciting, I have never been an uberfan of a particular playwright, or even that well versed in playwright's and their work. Of course I have heard of M. Butterfly, but I've never seen it. However, if I hadn't known of Hwang's prowess before, '...predecessors are Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, Sam Shepard and August Wilson' sure would do it.

Some of the other shows that they chose to be the Signature Season, seem truly powerful. All the information about his father is really informative. Everything that he went through with his dad, has really helped shape who he is. And even though things never really seemed rosy with his dad, you can tell he still loves him deeply. It does make me curious about the relationship that he has with his own children.

Also, this new show "Kung Fu" seems wonderful. Who doesn't love Bruce Lee? He is and forever will be an icon.

AAKennard said...

I have heard of M. Butterfly and that is pretty much the extent of it. This article was truly inspiring to me. As Sonia said as well being put in the same boat as Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, Sam Shepard, and August Wilson is incredibly impressive. I have just been blown away by the amount of success this gentleman has had.

His personal story is inspiring of coming through a lot of hard times and finding ones own path. He fought through and has seemed to become a very successful man.

I am with Sonia and very interested in the story of Bruce Lee. My interest is been currently peaked by a movie I just watched called IP Man who was the Kung Fu master of Bruce Lee.