David Henry Hwang Would Like to See Hillary Clinton at SOFT POWER

The world premiere of "Soft Power" by David Henry Hwang (play and lyrics) and Jeanine Tesori opened May 16 at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles.

According to Variety, Hwang wants Hillary Clinton to see the show. Soft Power makes clear references to the Hillary Clinton/Donald Trump election, although the president is never mentioned by name. He said the omission was deliberate.

"I wanted to portray an incident in the past where there was an encounter between a Chinese national and an American leader, but then 50 years later it had become mythologized into a Chinese musical," Hwang said.

The show has plans to come to New York, which is when Hwang is hoping Clinton will stop by.

"We, through an intermediary informed her [Hillary Clinton], just out of respect because we didn't want her to find out about it from reading about it in the paper. We are hopeful that she will come see it in New York."

Read more on Variety.

This play with a musical, produced by Center Theatre Group, directed by Leigh Silverman and choreographed by Sam Pinkleton, is currently in previews and continues through June 10, 2018. Following its run at the Ahmanson, "Soft Power" will play San Francisco's Curran from June 20 through July 8, 2018.

The cast includes, in alphabetical order, Billy Bustamante, Kara Guy, Jon Hoche, Kendyl Ito, Francis Jue, Austin Ku, Raymond J. Lee, Alyse Alan Louis, Jaygee Macapugay, Daniel May, Paul HeeSang Miller, Kristen Faith Oei, Maria-Christina Oliveras, Geena Quintos, Conrad Ricamora, Trevor Salter and Emily Stillings.

The creative team includes scenic design by David Zinn, costume design by Anita Yavich, lighting design by Mark Barton, sound design by Kai Harada, orchestrations by Danny Troob, dance arrangements by John Clancy, music supervision by Chris Fenwick, music direction by David O, hair and wig design by Tom Watson, make-up design by Angelina Avallone and casting by Heidi Griffiths, CSA and Kate Murray, CSA. The dramaturg is Oskar Eustis. The production stage manager is David Lurie-Perret.

A contemporary comedy explodes into a musical fantasia in the first collaboration between two of America's great theatre artists: Tony Award winners David Henry Hwang("M. Butterfly") and Jeanine Tesori ("Fun Home"). "Soft Power" rewinds our recent political history and plays it back, a century later, through the Chinese lens of a future, beloved East-meets-West musical. In the musical, a Chinese executive who is visiting America finds himself falling in love with a good-hearted U.S. leader - Hillary Clinton - as the power balance between their two countries shifts following the 2016 election.