| My review of M. BUTTERFLY: Clive Owen stars in revival of 1988 Tony-winning play opening tonight | |
| Posted by: jesse21 12:59 pm EDT 10/26/17 | |
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| - M. Butterfly in its first Broadway revival retains its theatricality. You'd have to be asleep not to be absorbed by this tale of sex and espionage that opens tonight at the Cort Theatre. This is the story about an attaché in the French Foreign Service who romances a Chinese opera star for over two decades, presumably having no idea that “she” is really a “he" and, to boot, is also a spy. Believe it because this true life occurrence is indeed stranger than fiction. Yet, now almost thirty years after David Henry Hwang’s hit play (777 performances) titillated (or even shocked) Broadway, we live in a world where the audience is more likely to understand the fluidity of sexual attractions and not be so surprised. But that story is only the vehicle by which Mr. Hwang (last on Broadway with Chinglish) explores his two major themes: men versus women and East versus West. His dialogue and juxtaposition of Chinese opera scenes remains more-or-less compelling. Rene Gallimard (Clive Owen), the main character, breaks the fourth wall to narrate his story from a prison cell. Turns out he passed classified material from the French embassy in Beijing to Song Liling (Jin Ha), his opera singer lover who was also a spy for the Chinese government which, of course, really juices up the plot. Gallimard has a lifelong fixation with Puccini’s Madame Butterfly that burdens his concept of his own manhood which he feels can only be fulfilled through an idealized submissive woman. Simultaneously his and his cohorts actions in diplomacy are meant to marginalize the East. There is even a side issue where Gallimard suggests to his superiors in the early sixties that the Americans ought to intervene in Vietnam. The world is different today, especially China from the way that country is depicted in the play. So, on one hand, M. Butterfly plays out like a period artifact while, on the other hand, it pre-dates the contemporary concept of intersectionality. Merriam-Webster, adding the word only last April, defines it: “It's used to refer to the complex and cumulative way that the effects of different forms of discrimination (such as racism, sexism, and classism) combine, overlap, and yes, intersect—especially in the experiences of marginalized people or groups.” In a New York Times interview, the playwright, who has somewhat revised his original script, pins his hopes for the revival’s success on his prescience in dramatizing what has come to be called intersectionality. And with Mr. Trump’s version of nationalism, he views his play as being particularly pertinent today. As Gallimard, Clive Owen, last seen here in the 2015 revival of Old Times, comes off as somewhat naive and mostly very likable. As typical with British actors, his line readings are beautifully enunciated. I wish I had found something more visceral in his pursuit of the opera singer but that may be an effect of the writing style. Jin Ha, making his Broadway debut as Song Liling, is highly skilled in portraying a female. (Actually the best line in the show refers to why men continue to play women in Chinese opera: ''only a man knows how a woman is supposed to act.'') His great scene though is near the end where, now out of drag, he testifies in the courtroom at Gallimard’s espionage trial. Back in 1988, John Lithgow was nominated for a Tony Award and B.D. Wong won a featured Tony for their portrayals. While the leads in this revival are generally fine, I don’t foresee award nominations come next May. The three main supporting performances in a cast of eleven are not very good. Murray Bartlett overdoes it as Gallimard’s lifelong buddy. Celeste Den is one-note shrill as the Communist Comrade whom Song Liling reports to as a spy. And Enid Graham is bland as Gallimard’s long-suffering wife in a marriage that is strictly convenient. The prospect of this revival had to be catnip for director Julie Taymor (The Lion King), allowing for opportunities to invoke both Western and Eastern theatrical traditions, both of which she’s expert in. In addition, she has the opportunity within the play to stage a Chinese opera (with Jin Ha’s Song Liling as the lead) and a Cultural Revolution ballet (with help from choreographer Ma Cong) The new music (in addition to recorded Puccini) is composed by Ms. Taymor’s long-time partner, Elliot Goldenthal, and is played live by percussionist and accordionist Jianpeng Feng, seated in one of the boxes. Set designer Paul Steinberg has devised a grouping of panels, some with colorful designs, that can rotate 360º. They are most appropriately a combination of Eastern and Western styles of scenery. The design is hardly elaborate but it does allow for rapid transitions of the many scenes. Constance Hoffman’s costumes for the opera/ballet scenes are nothing you haven't seen before but she has an good eye for combining vibrant shades of contrasting colors . While Ms. Taymor moves the play smoothly along, I wish she could have ignited more passion. But then M. Butterfly itself seems more cerebral than emotional and at times too schematic in proclaiming its themes. In any case, the play, which originally won a Tony as best play of 1988 and put Asian artists on the Broadway map, is an interesting evening that makes a case for revival. Better this than another production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ - Jesse SIDEBAR: M. BUTTERFLY opens Thursday, October 26, 2017, at the Cort Theatre, 138 West 48th Street, New York City. Running time: 2 hours, 22 minutes, including a 20-minute intermission. Act One: 73 minutes. Act Two: 48 minutes. Open-ended engagement. Tickets currently on sale through February 25, 2018. Link to website. - |
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