The world premiere David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori’s new “play with a musical” Soft Power began performances at The Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles May 3. The show, directed by Leigh Silverman and choreographed by Sam Pinkleton, rewinds America's recent political history and plays it back through a future Chinese lens. The limited engagement, which continues through June 10, will be followed by a run at San Francisco's Curran June 20–July 8.
Flip through photos of the show below:
Soft Power, starring Conrad Ricamora (The King and I, How to Get Away with Murder), Francis Jue (M. Butterfly), and more, rewinds recent political history and plays it back, a century later, through the Chinese lens of a future, East-meets-West musical. In the musical, a Chinese executive visiting America falls in love with a good-hearted U.S. leader as the power balance between their two countries shifts following the 2016 election.
The production will feature sets by David Zinn, costumes design by Anita Yavich, lighting design by Mark Barton, sound design by Kai Harada, orchestrations by Danny Troob, dance arrangements by John Clancy, music supervision by Chris Fenwick, music direction by David O, hair and wig design by Tom Watson, make-up design by Angelina Avallone, and casting by Heidi Griffiths, CSA and Kate Murray, CSA.
Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis serves as dramaturg.