The Pasadena Playhouse has announced that it will cancel its planned production of M. Butterfly, which was originally scheduled to run October 24-November 20.

Playhouse executives initially sought to move M. Butterfly to a later date in 2017; however, a forthcoming Broadway revival directed by Julie Taymor prohibited the theatre from obtaining performance rights for the later date.

The production has not officially been announced for Broadway, though an Equity casting notice stated that Taymor's revival will arrive in February 2017.

Due to the restrictions, the playhouse has canceled M. Butterfly and is currently working to stage another production in its place sometime next year.

“The Pasadena Playhouse is committed to bringing the best theatrical experience to its stages for our audiences. While we are disappointed that we could not present M. Butterfly, we are working to find another production to add to our 2016-2017 Season,” artistic director Sheldon Epps and executive/artistic director Danny Feldman said in a joint statement.

Hwang’s 1988 Tony-winning play is based on a real-life account of a French diplomat in communist China who carried on an affair for many years with a Chinese “woman” opera singer who turned out to be a man—and a spy. How the diplomat was fooled—and how he fooled himself—is the essence of the story.