Back on Broadway | M. Butterfly

David Henry Hwang weaves a marvelous tale in M. Butterfly - based on a true story of a French diplomat whose politically ill-advised affair with an androgynous performer in the Chinese opera takes him places he never imagined. Imprisoning them both in the end.

Deftly exploring Western stereotyping of Asians, M. Butterfly won the 1988 Tony Award for best play and ran for an astonishing 777 performances. This revival stars Clive Owen and Jin Ha under the direction of Julie Taymor.

The action of the play is built on a series of opposites - western and eastern, man and woman, life and art, experience and innocence, love and lust.

Hwang’s script is intent on showing how easily these dualities attract and repel, centering and blurring together. Focused bluntly on the body of Song, who dominates Gallimard even while seeming to submit to him.

Taymor's sets and staging manage to be both bare and busy - yet another study in sameness and difference. Opening each scene, eight panels rotate in and out - forming offices, homes, the stage of a Beijing opera house, a stark solitary cell.

At times offering too much detail and other times too little. Where two people create a secret intimate world for themselves that work only for them being puppets to others. This original and unusual fantasy world blows up in a public scandal for which they are both vilified and condemned. A truly tragic tale of epic proportions.

In telling its unique tale, M Butterfly is a theatrical feast that exploits numerous entertaining devices. Using all aspects of theater - dance, opera, live music - that sweeps its audience along with its visceral power. Entertained by its theatricality and given much to think and discourse on.

It is a human story centering on love. An outstanding drama of loss and betrayal. Taking us on a wild roller coaster ride in this erotic relationship. The play pulls you along its many twists and turns. Leaving us to wonder til the last where it will end up. It is a full and rich experience.