Soft Power, the gloriously messy but idea-packed new musical from two of our most vital and prolific theater artists, David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori, is anything but soft. The title refers to countries gaining world dominance through cultural influence rather than military hardware and muscle flexing. Hwang’s hilariously satiric and complex book also addresses the 2016 election, ethnic stereotyping, romantic comedies, musical theater conventions, hate crimes, and China’s relationship with the US. Yeah, it’s a lot to take in, but the creators and their inventive director Leigh Silverman, address all of these issues and more in a fast-paced, funny yet deep concoction which, unlike most musicals, actually makes you think while it entertains you.
The inspiration comes from an actual horrific event that occurred to Hwang. On the morning after Donald Trump’s presidential triumph, the playwright was stabbed in the neck by an unknown assailant. (The case still has not been solved.) In the musical’s alternate universe, an Asian-American playwright referred to as DHH is recruited by Xue Xang, a Shanghai-based producer, to write a splashy musical based on a popular Chinese rom-com. The author and entrepreneur clash over American and Chinese attitudes towards romance and marriage. During the course of their collaboration, they attend a fundraising performance of The King and I for presidential candidate and presumptive winner Hillary Clinton. The unexpected results of the election lead DHH and Xang to question their future in America. Then Hwang is stabbed, and the rest of the show is a musical-within-in-a-musical combining elements of the film-based script DHH was working on, references to The King and I, a liaison between Clinton and Xang, and pointed, uncomfortable observations on our political system and cultural stereotypes.
In the most unconventional, bracing choice, Asian performers flip the script and, with one exception (that of the actress playing Hillary), play all the white roles. This parodies the convention of white actors playing Asian roles and introduces various cliches about America, turning the tables on New York audiences as they see how we are viewed from abroad. The Golden Gate Bridge is in New York, all US citizens are armed to the teeth, and McDonald’s is the height of dining sophistication. Hwang’s book hilariously blends these tropes with his deadly serious barbs on how we elect our officials.
Tesori’s versatile score mixes Broadway sounds from both the Sondheim and Rodgers and Hammerstein eras, as well as rap, hip-hop, country-western, Asian, and the blues.
Conrad Ricamora makes for a virile, attractive leading man as Xue, while Alyse Alan Louis creates an intensely human Hillary Clinton who is both political cartoon and idealistic woman. As DHH, Francis Jue skillfully leads us through this hall of mirrors while there are spiky supporting turns from Jon Hoche, Austin Ku, Raymond J. Lee, Kendyk Ito, and the rest of the versatile ensemble. Set designer Clint Ramos has created a wacky caricature world and Anita Yavich’s costumes are as humorous as the relevant, dangerously funny script and score.
