This political message is stated quite clearly in one of the initial scenes of “M. This revival is above all confrontational: it will not stand by innocently while other theaters perpetuate racist stereotypes and produce orientalist works of art. Taymor’s interpretation of the piece is experimental, fragmented, painful, yearning, and terrifying. It never was, and it never will be this production is certainly no exception. Butterfly” is not for the tourist or the opera snob. The same cannot be said of the play’s unwanted (yet more popular) sibling, “Miss Saigon” or it’s famous (yet evil) mother, “Madama Butterfly,” both of which are constantly and consistently surrounded by scandals of yellowface, tokenism, racialized music, a lack of native language lyrics, and problematic casting.īut “M.
Butterfly” is so politically powerful is its commitment to authentic Asian-ness. One of the major reasons that this production of “M. In our current political climate, to see a play that so consciously attacks racism and the problematic ways the West views the East is so satisfying it is proof that it is still good in the world.
Although the play is incredibly dark and even disturbing, the best word to describe this production is refreshing. The newly-improved revival of this ingenious play at the Cort Theater, directed by the legendary Julie Taymor, opened October 26. Butterfly.” But while the opera and the musical are deeply steeped in orientalism-the white savior and submissive Asian woman-David Henry Hwang’s play is the exact opposite. We can start with Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” and end up with “Miss Saigon” and “M. One of the best things that theater gives us is reinterpretations.
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