David Henry Hwang
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
One of the most prolific and respected playwrights of his generation, David Henry Hwang was born in Los Angeles, California in 1957. He would earn a Bachelor's degree in English from Stanford and was halfway through Yale School of Drama's MFA program when his attention was drawn elsewhere-namely New York, where one of his plays was actually being produced. The work was "FOB," and its 1980 off-Broadway premiere met with major acclaim. He would follow this quickly with equally well received productions of his two plays "The Dance and the Railroad" and "Family Devotions" the following year, thus completing what Hwang would call his Trilogy of Chinese America. Hwang's Chinese heritage would remain a strong focus in much of his work however, quite noticeably in perhaps his hugest success, 1988's "M. Butterfly," which reworked Puccini's opera "Madama Butterfly" into a drama that dealt with perceptions of Asia's culture and psyche. The play would be Hwang's Broadway debut, and he later adapted it into a screenplay himself, which was directed by David Cronenberg in 1993. Hwang found continued success with plays like "Face Value" and "Golden Child," later wowing audiences and critics alike when in 2002, he reimagined the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Flower Drum Song," long castigated for its outdated depictions of Asian peoples, and made the play more realistic and relevant to modern audiences. Though he would remain a mainstay in the theater world, particularly with the Broadway run of his play "Chinglish" in 2011, Hwang would branch more into film and TV during the 2010s, most notably co-producing and writing a number of episodes of the series "The Affair" (AMC, 2014-).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Writer (Special)
Special Thanks (Special)
Writer (TV Mini-Series)
Producer (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1980
First play produced, "FOB"
1988
First play produced on Broadway, "M. Butterfly"; won Tony Award
1993
Wrote original screenplay, "Golden Gate"
1993
Debut as screenwriter and executive producer, "M. Butterfly"
1994
Play "Face Value", a farce about mistaken identity, closed before its scheduled Broadway opening
1996
Returned to NY theater with "Golden Child", produced Off-Broadway
1998
A revised version of "Golden Child" opened on Broadway; play was based in part on his mother's mother; received Tony nomination as Best Play
2000
Contributed to the book of the musical "Aida" with a score by Elton John and Tim Rice
2001
Penned the script for "The Monkey King", an NBC two=part miniseries
2002
Adapted A.S. Byatt's novel "Possession" into a screenplay that was eventually directed by Neil LaBute.
2002
Reworked the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Flower Drum Song," long castigated for its outdated depictions of Asian peoples, and made the play more realistic and relevant to modern audiences.
2007
Acclaimed play "Yellow Face" premiered in Los Angeles and later enjoyed an extended run off-Broadway.
2007
Co-wrote the English libretto for an operatic adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland," which premiered at the Bavarian State Opera.
2011
Premiered his play "Chinglish" on Broadway.
2014
Co-produced the series "The Affair" and wrote a small number of episodes.
2016
Co-wrote the opera "Dream of the Red Chamber" with Bright Sheng, which premiered at the San Francisco Opera.
Family
Companions
