M. Butterfly: Difference between revisions

{{shortShort description|Play1988 play by David Henry Hwang}}

The play opened on Broadway at the [[Eugene O'Neill Theatre]] on March 20, 1988, and closed after 777 performances on January 27, 1990.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=4497|title=M. Butterfly |author=The Broadway League|work=ibdb.com|access-date=30 July 2015}}</ref> It was produced by [[Stuart Ostrow]] and directed by [[John Dexter]]; it starred [[John Lithgow]] as Gallimard and [[BD Wong]] as Song Liling. [[David Dukes]], [[Anthony Hopkins]], [[Tony Randall]], and [[John Rubinstein]] played Gallimard at various times during the original run.<ref>{{cite news|url=https:// www.nytimes.com/1988/03/21/theater/review-theater-m-butterfly-a-story-of-a-strange-love-conflict-and-betrayal.html|title=Review/Theater; 'M. Butterfly,' a Story Of a Strange Love, Conflict and Betrayal|last=Rich|first=Frank|date=21 March 1988|work=The New York Times|access-date=25 Jan 2020}}</ref> Alec Mapa was also B.D. Wong's understudy and was eventually cast to replace B. D. Wong for the role of Song Liling in the Broadway production of play.

InIt actis tworevealed itin isact revealed2 that Song had been acting as a spy for the Chinese government, and she is actually a man who has disguised himself as a woman to seduce Gallimard and extract information from him. They stay together for 20 years until the truth is revealed, and Gallimard is convicted of treason and imprisoned. Unable to face the fact that his "perfect woman" is a man, he retreats deep within himself and his memories. The action of the play is depicted as his disordered, distorted recollection of the events surrounding their affair.

===Changes for the 2017 Broadway Revivalrevival===

M. Butterfly returned to Broadway in 2017. For thisthe [[Julie Taymor]]-directed revival in 2017, Hwang revisited the text to incorporate further information that had emerged about the Boursicot case, and address intersectional identities.<ref name="howlround">{{cite web |last1=Gushue |first1=Jen |title=M. Butterfly from 1988 to 2017 |url=https://howlround.com/m-butterfly-1988-2017 |website=HowlRound |date=28 November 2017 |access-date=13 January 2020}}</ref> Taymor and Hwang wanted their new approach to consider “present public discussion and awareness of nonbinary genders, the growth of China as a superpower, and details about the true story. . . which were not available to Hwang when he wrote the first version.”<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Orenstein |first1=C. |title=M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang (review) |journal=Asian Theatre Journal |date=2018 |volume=35 |issue=2 |page=490-495 |doi=10.1353/atj.2018.0044 |s2cid=165339503 |url=https://doi.org/10.1353/atj.2018.0044}}</ref> [[Clive Owen]] and [[Jin Ha]] played the leads.

*The showplay is changed to a two-act structure.{{cn|date=September 2023}}

*Act 1 ends with Song telling Gallimard that she is pregnant (this moment originally occurred during Act 2).{{cn|date=September 2023}}

*Further information on how Song Liling managed to mislead Gallimard even while they were intimate.{{cn|date=September 2023}}

The 2019 production at [[South Coast Repertory]] used the 2017 revival as its source material. Directed by [[Desdemona Chiang]], Lucas Verbrugghe and Jake Manabat performed as leads. One reviewer said the story “has taken on new resonance in an era shaped by the MeToo movement, China’s geopolitical might and a more widespread understanding of [[gender identity]] issues.”<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hodgins |first1=P. |title='M. butterfly' flies a little differently 30 years after its creation |url=https://voiceofoc.org/2019/05/m-butterfly-flies-a-little-differently-30-years-after-its-creation/ |website=Voice of OC |date=20 May 2019 |publisher=Voice of OC |access-date=July 8, 2021}}</ref> Regarding the long-debated questions of Song and Gallimard’s intimate relations, another reviewer said “Song’s defiant explanation to an over-curious French judge struck me as Hwang wanting to put an end to the prying once and for all.”<ref>{{cite web |last1=McNulty |first1=C. |title=Review: David Henry Hwang's 'M. butterfly' takes flight in a more gender-fluid era |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-m-butterfly-review-20190520-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=20 May 2019 |access-date=May 20, 2019}}</ref>

Hwang talked to several people with nonconforming gender identities to get better insight into the character of Song, but he ultimately stressed that the character is not transgender. “He recognized how Song might be differently received by a modern audience more savvy about the wide spectrum of gender identity.” <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/louispeitzman/this-30-year-old-play-about-gender-and-asian-identity-is|title=This 30-Year-Old Play About Gender And Asian Identity Is More Relevant Than Ever|website=BuzzFeed News|date=10 November 2017 |language=en|access-date=2019-12-11}}</ref>

Christian Lewis, when writing about the 2017 revival, wrote in the [[Huffington postPost]] that “this"this production does not explore any foray into non-binary or transgender identities, which is perhaps its one major flaw.” "<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/m-butterfly-surprisingly-relevant_b_59f28708e4b05f0ade1b5625|title="M. Butterfly" Surprisingly Relevant|last1=Lewis|first1=Christian|last2=Author|first2=ContributorTheater critic Queer activist|date=2017-10-26|website=HuffPost|language=en|access-date=2019-12-11|last3=publisher.}}</ref>

{{Portal|Theatre|1980s|United States|LGBTLGBTQ}}

* {{IMDb title|107468qid=Q1513195}}

[[Category:LGBT-relatedPlays playsabout race and ethnicity]]