Julie Taymor and David Henry Hwang to Chat LION KING, M. BUTTERFLY on THEATER TALK

Director Julie Taymor and playwright David Henry Hwang are guests on the next THEATER TALK.

First up, Taymor joins Susan Haskins and guest co-host Donna Hanover of CUNY TV's Arts in the City to discuss the 20th anniversary of the live production of her theatrical adaptation of Disney's The Lion King, now at the Minskoff Theatre.

Next, the trio is joined by Hwang to discuss his collaboration with Taymor on the revival of his 1988 Tony-winning play, M. Butterfly at the Cort Theatre.

The program also includes a performance on THEATER TALK's set of the song "Endless Night" by The Lion King actor Jelani Remy, the Broadway production's current "Simba."

Adapted from the 1994 animated film, Taymor's stage version of The Lion King has played in 63 cities all over the world. Taymor's reputation as a brilliantly eclectic theater artist had led to her being hired by Disney Theatrical as the director of this stage production, now the most lucrative property in the history of modern entertainment. Taymor has brought her skills to the rethinking of M. Butterfly. She and Hwang discuss their reasons for significantly altering the play, even though it was already an award-winning, frequently produced drama.

Based on a true story, M. Butterfly is about a French diplomat who fell in love with a Chinese opera performer. The diplomat claimed to have believed for over 20 years that this person was a woman, but in reality his lover was a man and a Communist spy.

Now, in light of more recent information on the case and changes in general perception of gender fluidity, the pair has substantially revised the work, adding more events from the complex real-life situation and a stronger juxtaposition between traditional Chinese culture and Maoist "Cultural Revolution" in mid-20th-century China. Taymor praises Hwang in the interview for his "amazingly brave" willingness to re-investigate the play and its themes to enhance the impact and surprise in the new production.

Following is the broadcast/cable schedule for this episode in the New York area:

CUNY TV

Monday, November 20 (2017) at 8:00 PM
Saturday, November 25 at 8:30 PM
Sunday, November 26 at 7:00 AM
Monday, November 27 at 7:30 AM, 1:30 PM

PBS/Thirteen

Friday, November 24 at 1:30 AM (Saturday morning)
Sunday, November 26 at 11:30 AM

WLIW/21

Monday, November 27 at 5:30 PM

NYC LIFE/25

Thursday, November 30 at 11:00 PM
Monday, December 4 at 3:30 AM

THEATER TALK - winner of the 2017 Emmy Award for Best Interview/Discussion Show in the NYC area - is jointly produced by the not-for-profits Theater Talk Productions and CUNY TV. The program is taped in the Himan Brown TV and Radio Studios at The City University of New York (CUNY) TV in Manhattan, and is distributed to 100+ participating public television stations nationwide. THEATER TALK is made possible in part by The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and The Friends of Theater Talk.

*CUNY TV, the City University of New York television station, is broadcast in the NYC metropolitan area on digital Ch. 25.3 and cablecast in the city's five boroughs on Ch. 75 (Spectrum & Optimum/Brooklyn), Ch. 77 (RCN), and Ch. 30 (Verizon FiOS). THEATER TALK episodes are available online anytime at www.cuny.tv and www.theatertalk.org and via iTunes.

Pictured: Julie Taymor, David Henry Hwang, Donna Hanover and Susan Haskins on Theater Talk (Photo © Laura Fuchs courtesy Theater Talk Prods. and CUNY TV)