CHINGLISH to be Released by TCG Books in June

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) today announced the publication of Chinglish, a new comedy by two-time Pulitzer finalist David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly, Yellow Face).

Chinglish received its world premiere at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre in 2011 before transferring to Broadway later that year. Declared the “Best American Play of 2011” by Time magazine, Chinglish will be adapted for an upcoming film by director-producer Justin Lin with a screenplay by Hwang.

Springing from the author’s personal experiences in China over the past five years, Chinglish follows a Midwestern American businessman desperately seeking to score a lucrative contact for his family’s firm as he travels to China only to discover how much he doesn't understand. Named for the unique and often comical third language that evolves from attempts to translate Chinese signs into English, Chinglish explores the challenges of doing business in a culture whose language – and ways of communicating – are worlds apart from our own.

To celebrate the launch of Chinglish, TCG and the Jerome L. Greene Performance Space presented “An Evening with David Henry Hwang” on Monday, May 7 at 7pm. The sold-out event featured Mr. Hwang in conversation with Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director of The Public Theater, and readings with Brian d’Arcy James, Francis Jue, Jennifer Lim and BD Wong. A video of this event and others in TCG’s 50th Anniversary series, “TCG Playwrights in Conversation,” can be viewed here: http://www.tcg.org/fifty/playwrights_streaming.cfm.

David Henry Hwang’s plays include M. Butterfly (1988 Tony Award; 1989 Pulitzer Prize finalist), Golden Child (1996 Obie Award; 1998 Tony nomination), Yellow Face (2008 Obie Award; 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalist) and FOB (1981 Obie Award). His Broadway musicals include the books for Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida (co-author), Flower Drum Song (2002 revival; 2003 Tony nomination) and Disney’s Tarzan. According to Opera News, he is America’s most produced living opera librettist, who has written four works with composer Philip Glass, as well as Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar (two 2007 Grammy Awards), Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland and Bright Sheng’s The Silver River. He penned the feature films M. Butterfly, Golden Gate and Possession (co-writer), and co-wrote the song “Solo” with pop star Prince.

Chinglish
By David Henry Hwang
Paperback 128 pages
$14.95 978-1-55936-410-2
June 2012

Also by David Henry Hwang, available from TCG Books:

Flower Drum Song
$12.95 978-1-55936-222-1

Golden Child
$13.95 978-1-55936-158-3

Trying to Find Chinatown
$16.95 978-1-55936-172-9

Yellow Face
$13.95 978-1-55936-340-2

TCG books are exclusively distributed to the book trade by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution. Orders: 800-283-3572. SAN number: 63170X. Individuals may call 212-609-5900 or visit our online bookstore at www.tcg.org. For postage and handling, please add $6.50 for the first book and $1.00 for each additional copy.