Regional NewsCenter Theatre Group Partners with East West Players on New David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori MusicalThe world premiere of Soft Power will be presented at the Ahmanson in Los Angeles May 3–June 10, 2018.
By
Betsy Kaplan
July 26, 2017
David Henry Hwang
Joseph Marzullo/WENN
Center Theatre Group will partner with East West Players on the previously announced world premiere of Soft Power, written by Tony winners David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori. The production is scheduled to run from May 3 through June 10, 2018 at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles.
Jeanine Tesori
Rodolfo Martinez
Through the partnership, East West Players will add the new work as part of its 2017-2018 season and will collaborate with Center Theatre Group on four Community Conversations leading up to Soft Power’s premiere as part of the Ahmanson Theatre’s upcoming season.
What begins as a contemporary play “jumps 100 years into the future and explodes into a Chinese musical about present-day America,” according to press notes. “A beloved East-meets-West musical, China’s 21st-century rise and a Presidential candidate’s fundraiser collide to make mayhem—and some beautiful music. This show is inspired by the West's often ridiculously inauthentic portrayals of Asia, and China’s quest for world cultural influence, also known as ’Soft Power.'”
Hwang's Tony-winning M. Butterfly will return to Broadway this fall at the Cort Theatre; performances begin October 7.
