M. Butterfly - wikipedia M. Butterfly For the film, see M. Butterfly ( film ). M. Butterfly Written by David Henry Hwang Characters Rene Gallimard Song Liling Marc Helga M. Toulon Comrade Chin Renee and others Date premiered February 10, 1988 Place premiered National Theatre, Washington, D.C. Original language English Subject East / West cultural stereotypes Genre Drama Setting A Paris prison, 1988 ; recollections of Beijing and Paris M. Butterfly is a play by David Henry Hwang loosely based on the relationship between French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and Shi Pei Pu, a Peking opera singer. The play premiered on Broadway in 1988 and won the 1988 Tony Award for Best Play. Contents 1 Productions 2 Plot 3 Film adaptation 4 Awards and nominations 4.1 Original Broadway production 5 References 6 External links Productions M. Butterfly premiered at the National Theatre, Washington, D.C., on February 10, 1988. The play opened on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on March 20, 1988, closing after 777 performances on January 27, 1990. It was produced by Stuart Ostrow and directed by John Dexter and 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. A highly unusual staging featuring Puccini 's music and the Kazakh countertenor Erik Kurmangaliev in the title role was undertaken by Roman Viktyuk in Russia in 1990. The play was a 1989 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It is published by Plume and in an acting edition by Dramatists Play Service. An audio recording of the play was produced by L.A. Theatre Works, with Lithgow and Wong reprising their Broadway roles along with Margaret Cho. A Broadway revival opened on October 26, 2017, at the Cort Theatre, with previews beginning on October 7. Starring Clive Owen, the production was directed by Julie Taymor. David Henry Hwang made changes to the original text for the revival, mostly centering around the issue of intersectional identities, but also for clarifications. Plot The first act introduces the main character, Rene Gallimard, who is a civil servant attached to the French embassy in China. He falls in love with a beautiful Chinese opera diva, Song Liling, who is actually a man masquerading as a woman. In traditional Beijing opera, females were banned from the stage ; all female roles ( dan ) were played by males. The first act ends with Gallimard returning to France in shame and living alone after his wife, Helga, finds out about his affair with Song and leaves him. Act two begins with Song coming to France and resuming the affair with Gallimard. 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 actually a man, that has been posing as a woman for 20 years to be able to spy, 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. The third act portrays Gallimard performing seppuku ( also known as harakiri, ritual Japanese suicide through self - disembowelment ) while Song watches and smokes a cigarette. Film adaptation Main article : M. Butterfly ( film ) Hwang adapted the play for a 1993 film directed by David Cronenberg with Jeremy Irons and John Lone in the leading roles. Awards and nominations Source : PlaybillVault Original Broadway production Year Award ceremony Nominee Result Tony Award Best Play David Henry Hwang Won Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play John Lithgow Nominated Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play B.D. Wong Won Best Direction of a Play John Dexter Won Best Scenic Design Eiko Ishioka Nominated Best Costume Design Nominated Best Lighting Design Andy Phillips Nominated Drama Desk Award Outstanding New Play David Henry Hwang Won Outstanding Actor in a Play John Lithgow Nominated Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play B.D. Wong Won Outstanding Director of a Play John Dexter Won Outstanding Set Design Eiko Ishioka Nominated Outstanding Costume Design Nominated Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding New Broadway Play Won Outstanding Debut Performance B.D. Wong Won John Gassner Award David Henry Hwang Won New York Drama Critics ' Circle Best Play David Henry Hwang Nominated Theatre World Award B.D. Wong Won Clarence Derwent Awards Most Promising Male Performer B.D. Wong Won References Jump up ^ Hwang, David Henry. `` Foreword '', ' M. Butterfly ' : With an Afterword by the Playwright, Penguin, 1993, ISBN 1101077034 Jump up ^ The Broadway League. `` M. Butterfly - IBDB : The official source for Broadway Information IBDB : The official source for Broadway Information ''. ibdb.com. Retrieved 30 July 2015. Jump up ^ Rich, Frank ( 21 March 1988 ). `` Review / Theater ; ' M. Butterfly, ' a Story Of a Strange Love, Conflict and Betrayal ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 15 March 2011. Jump up ^ `` Erik Kurmangaliev ( Counter-tenor ) - Short Biography ''. bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 30 July 2015. Jump up ^ `` Finalists 1989 '' pulitzer.org, accessed October 11, 2015 Jump up ^ `` Dramatists Play Service, Inc ''. dramatists.com. Retrieved 30 July 2015. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) latw.org Jump up ^ http://www.playbill.com/article/broadway-m-butterfly-revival-announces-its-star Jump up ^ Lefkowitz, Andy ( 2017 - 06 - 19 ). `` Clive Owen - Led Revival of David Henry Hwang 's M. Butterfly Finds Its Broadway Home ''. Broadway.com. Retrieved 2017 - 06 - 19. Jump up ^ Collins - Hughes, Laura ( 2017 - 10 - 17 ). `` New Flight for a New ' Butterfly ' ''. The New York Times. ISSN 0362 - 4331. Retrieved 2017 - 12 - 05. Jump up ^ sagg928 ( 1 October 1993 ). `` M. Butterfly ( 1993 ) ''. IMDb. Retrieved 30 July 2015. Jump up ^ `` 'M. Butterfly ' Production Broadway '' playbillvault.com, accessed October 11, 2015 External links Theatre portal 1980s portal United States portal LGBT portal M. Butterfly at the Internet Broadway Database M. Butterfly on IMDb Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play ( 1975 -- 2000 ) Same Time, Next Year / Equus ( 1975 ) Streamers ( 1976 ) A Texas Trilogy / Otherwise Engaged ( 1977 ) Da ( 1978 ) The Elephant Man ( 1979 ) Children of a Lesser God ( 1980 ) Amadeus ( 1981 ) `` Master Harold ''... and the Boys ( 1982 ) Torch Song Trilogy ( 1983 ) The Real Thing ( 1984 ) As Is ( 1985 ) A Lie of the Mind ( 1986 ) Fences ( 1987 ) M. Butterfly ( 1988 ) The Heidi Chronicles ( 1989 ) The Piano Lesson ( 1990 ) Lost in Yonkers ( 1991 ) Marvin 's Room ( 1992 ) Angels in America : Millennium Approaches ( 1993 ) Angels in America : Perestroika ( 1994 ) Love ! Valour ! Compassion ! ( 1995 ) Master Class ( 1996 ) How I Learned to Drive ( 1997 ) The Beauty Queen of Leenane ( 1998 ) Wit ( 1999 ) Copenhagen ( 2000 ) Complete list ( 1955 -- 1974 ) ( 1975 -- 2000 ) ( 2001 -- 2025 ) Tony Award for Best Play ( 1976 -- 2000 ) Travesties ( 1976 ) The Shadow Box ( 1977 ) Da ( 1978 ) The Elephant Man ( 1979 ) Children of a Lesser God ( 1980 ) Amadeus ( 1981 ) The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby ( 1982 ) Torch Song Trilogy ( 1983 ) The Real Thing ( 1984 ) Biloxi Blues ( 1985 ) I 'm Not Rappaport ( 1986 ) Fences ( 1987 ) M. Butterfly ( 1988 ) The Heidi Chronicles ( 1989 ) The Grapes of Wrath ( 1990 ) Lost in Yonkers ( 1991 ) Dancing at Lughnasa ( 1992 ) Angels in America : Millennium Approaches ( 1993 ) Angels in America : Perestroika ( 1994 ) Love ! Valour ! Compassion ! ( 1995 ) Master Class ( 1996 ) The Last Night of Ballyhoo ( 1997 ) ' Art ' ( 1998 ) Side Man ( 1999 ) Copenhagen ( 2000 ) Complete list ( 1948 -- 1975 ) ( 1976 -- 2000 ) ( 2001 -- 2025 ) Works by David Henry Hwang Full - length plays FOB ( 1980 ) Family Devotions ( 1981 ) Rich Relations ( 1986 ) M. Butterfly ( 1988 ) Face Value ( 1993 ) Golden Child ( 1996 ) Peer Gynt ( 1998, with Stephan Muller ; from Ibsen ) Tibet Through the Red Box ( 2004, from Sis ) Yellow Face ( 2007 ) Chinglish ( 2011 ) Short plays The Dance and the Railroad ( 1981 ) The House of Sleeping Beauties ( 1983, from Kawabata ) The Sound of a Voice ( 1983 ) As the Crow Flies ( 1986 ) Bondage ( 1992 ) Trying to Find Chinatown ( 1996 ) Bang Kok ( 1996 ) Merchandising ( 1999 ) Jade Flowerpots and Bound Feet ( 2001 ) The Great Helmsman ( 2007 ) A Very DNA Reunion ( 2010 ) Film / television Blind Alleys ( 1985, with Kimball ) M. Butterfly ( 1993 ) Golden Gate ( 1994 ) The Lost Empire ( 2001 ) Possession ( 2002, with Jones and LaBute, from Byatt ) Music theatre 1000 Airplanes on the Roof ( 1988, with Glass and Sirlin ) The Voyage ( 1992, with Glass ) The Silver River ( 1997, with Sheng ) Aida ( 2000, with Woolverton & Falls, John and Rice, from Verdi ) Flower Drum Song ( 2001, with Rodgers and Hammerstein, from Fields, Hammerstein, and Lee ) Ainadamar ( 2003, with Golijov ) The Sound of a Voice ( 2003, with Glass ) Tarzan ( 2006, with Collins, from Burroughs ) Alice in Wonderland ( 2007, with Chin, from Carroll ) The Fly ( 2008, with Shore ) Giacomo Puccini 's Madama Butterfly Films Madame Butterfly ( 1915 ) Harakiri ( 1919 film ) Le ménage moderne de Madame Butterfly ( 1920 ) The Toll of the Sea ( 1922 ) Madame Butterfly ( 1932 ) M. Butterfly ( 1993 ) Source `` Madame Butterfly '' ( 1898 short story ) Madame Butterfly ( 1900 play ) Madame Chrysanthème ( 1887 novel ) Stage M. Butterfly ( 1988 play ) Miss Saigon ( 1989 musical ) Music Madama Butterfly discography Related Madame Chrysanthème ( 1901 opera ) El pecado de Oyuki ( 1975 comic ) El pecado de Oyuki ( 1988 telenovela ) Pinkerton ( 1996 album ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=M._Butterfly&oldid=814991164 '' Categories : 1988 plays Broadway plays Plays by David Henry Hwang Drama Desk Award - winning plays LGBT - related plays Tony Award - winning plays Plays set in China Cross-dressing in literature Hidden categories : All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from May 2017 Articles with permanently dead external links Talk Contents About Wikipedia 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano 日本 語 Português 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 12 December 2017, at 02 : 38. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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Question: who played the leading man role in m. butterfly's 1988 broadway production
Answer: John Lithgow