By Jenn Fang
Northwest Asian Weekly
The New York Daily News reported Dec. 3 that Tony Award-winning playwright and Yale alum David Henry Hwang was recovering in his Brooklyn-area home after being the victim of a random assault.
Hwang was apparently walking near his home when he was attacked from behind by an unknown assailant who slashed his neck. After the attack, Hwang noticed he was bleeding and walked to a hospital.
“Thanks to the excellent work of the doctors at Brooklyn Hospital and Mount Sinai, I’m now home and expected to make a full recovery,” Hwang told the Daily News.
Hwang is an esteemed librettist and author of several notable plays that focus on aspects of Asian and Asian American identity such as M. Butterfly, FOB, Chinglish, and Yellow Face. He also helmed an acclaimed revival of Flower Drum Song, featuring an all-Asian American cast. Hwang has mostly been involved with the East-West Players to prepare a new production of his popular play, Chinglish.
Broadway World recently reported:
“When it comes to the pace of change, one year in China equals four years in the outside world. It’s been four years since ‘Chinglish’ played on Broadway, and the U.S.-China relationship has evolved at a breakneck pace, including puncturing the myth of Chinese economic vulnerability in 2015.”
Hwang said. “I wanted to revise the ending of my play to reflect this new complexity, and am grateful that the success of East West Players’ production has given me an opportunity to premiere these changes. Our two nations now seem joined at the economic hip, but we travel together into an uncertain future.”
“Our production of ‘Chinglish’ was very special in that we attracted both English speaking and Mandarin speaking audiences,” says Tim Dang, Producing Artistic Director. “It is rare that any changes are made after a play has received a Broadway run and has been published. However, for these 10 performances, audiences will experience an exclusive world premiere ending.”
On Dec. 4, Hwang posted the following message of gratitude to his Twitter for the support he has received from the community:
“Thanks for your outpouring of support! Doing fine – no pain, just a little tired – after Sun’s random attack and expect a full recovery.” (end)
Jenn Fang can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.