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Hwang re-examines American dream in new pop musical

Updated: 2011-04-01 11:27

By Kelly Chung Dawson (China Daily)

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 Hwang re-examines American dream in new pop musical

Christopher Yee performing as Victor Wu, the lead character in Great Wall. JohnMazlishPhoto.com

NEW YORK - Despite the lack of Asian American musicals, renowned playwright David Henry Hwang, who has devoted much of his career to writing about Chinese and Asian American experiences in the United States, is betting on the success of his new musical about a Chinese American singer in Great Wall.

Inspired by a concept album written by composer Kevin So after his own father's death, Great Wall is the story of Victor Wu. The American son of Chinese immigrants, Victor forsakes Harvard University with his eyes on New York.

A bare-bones concert version of the musical was staged this week at Joe's Pub in lower Manhattan.

"This is a Chinese American story, but it's also an American story from a Chinese American perspective," So said in an interview with China Daily. "It's about the American dream, but what defines the American dream?"

Over the next year he will be looking for backers to produce the musical, which is still in the early stages of development. Director Kevin Merritt is also working on the musical.

Hwang, who narrated the performance and has served as a story consultant and unofficial co-writer, signed on in 2007 after an earlier version of Great Wall was performed at New York's Fringe Festival.

"I fell in love with the music," he said. "There hasn't really been a straight-ahead Asian American popular musical since Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song in 1958, and I thought if I could help push this along I should."

Hwang created his own rewritten version of Flower Drum Song in 2002, and is known for his award-winning play M. Butterfly. He also worked on Aida. The essential conflicts and themes of Great Wall will appeal to wider audiences, he said.

"It has Asian American characters, but is Fiddler on the Roof just a Jewish film? No, it's about Jewish culture, but it's universal. I think that this has that same potential, in that it's about Chinese Americans but is so universal."

Merritt met So through a mutual friend and was immediately drawn into Victor's story, he told China Daily.

"I found it fascinating that (So) was an Asian American from Boston, and I was a Caucasian American from Berkeley, yet we had so many similarities," he said. "I started thinking about growing up as an American kid, and what ties us together is the media, and the influence of the media on our lives."

The American dream is often spoken about in such broad strokes, but is so specific to each individual, he said. Victor's dream is to be a rock star. His father's dream is to build a restaurant; his mother dreams of retirement.

"I think these questions are particularly fascinating for immigrants, because they often have a different idea of what the American dream is," he said. "And it's even more fascinating to see how those dreams can differ within a family that has both immigrants and American-born children."

Peppered with comic moments, Great Wall takes on American pop culture with enthusiasm. In Average Asian American the main character names Stevie Wonder as a minority with success in music, and is told, "They're the entertainment minority, we're the computer minority. ... You won't see my face on the television screen, unless I have a bowl cut, glasses and I'm standing by a laundry machine."

So played piano, occasionally joining on vocals as performers Christopher Yee, Jodi Long and Francis Jue delivered surprisingly emotional performances. A live band accompanied the singers.

Late in the performance, Hwang surprised the audience with a jazz violin performance. He hasn't played in more than 10 years, he said, but Great Wall was a perfect opportunity to perform again.

"I connected with it," he said. "Being someone with immigrant parents and who decided to be an artist and was a musician for a while, I recognized the dilemmas of the story."

So and Merritt were thrilled when Hwang asked to join the production, they said.

"I went to see (Hwang's play) Yellow Face at Public Theater, and I loved it," So said. "I was blown away. It was brilliantly written. I thought, 'This guy is going to bring an element to our show that's exactly what we need.' His credits are extremely deserved. I feel incredibly grateful to just be associated with him."

Producer Greg Schaffert said of Hwang, "He's smart, he knows how to write, and he can pinpoint what needs to be done, in the most humble way. He's a true collaborator".

"I think that this could be the great Asian American musical," said Hwang, who is currently working on a play called Chinglish. "It speaks to me, and you can only go on what you feel."

China Daily

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