Signature Theatre Displays Its ‘Soft Power’ in New Production -

By Faith Moran

What happens when your dreams are so close to being realized but then, in an instant, come crashing down? Do you still dare yourself to place hope in the very thing that shattered them?

In the new musical Soft Power, the three main characters, Xue Xing, David Henry Hwang, and Hillary Clinton, grapple with these very questions in 2016 New York City. Xing, a Chinese producer, travels to America to work with playwright Hwang (the character is based off of the actual playwright of the same name) to try to “bring a Chinese musical to Broadway”. Xing believed that China’s rich culture and heritage would benefit the West immensely and, in a small way, reinstate a sense of duty and honor. Hwang, who is Chinese- American himself, struggled to see eye to eye with Xing and what he had a clear vision for, as Hwang felt that America didn’t necessarily need what China had to offer. Still, he begins to write the musical as the backdrop of the NYC setting itself slowly becomes more turbulent.

In no time at all, Hwang and Xing find themselves in what seems to be the heart of Hilary Clinton’s presidential campaign (complete with tap, swing, jazz, and sparkly costumes). Xing immediately falls in love with the presidential candidate and what she stands for, doing his best to support her campaign. As we all know, the 2016 election did not end up favoring Hillary Clinton and as the Trump Administration takes office, things for Hillary turn dismal, as things for Xing and Hwang actually turn dangerous. We see hate crimes against those of Chinese descent running rampant as Xing’s office is ransacked and vandalized.Hwang is later, unprovokedly, stabbed in the neck. He, miraculously, survives and ends up writing his musical about the experience of Chinese-Americans, especially in times when hatred is so prevalent. David Henry Hwang, the actual playwright of Soft Power, was also the victim of a hate crime as he too was stabbed on the streets of New York City. Soft Power was, in a way, his response.

After a run in various Off-Broadway theatres throughout the country, including in Los Angeles and New York City, a production of Soft Power performed recently finished its run at Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia. It ran from August 6- September 15 and featured several CUA graduates such as Christopher Mueller, Ashley D. Nguyen, and Chani Wereley, holding named roles within the cast.

Soft Power is successful as a narrative about the slipping integrity of the American identity and how Americans have treated those it deems foreign from that identity. The show was able to talk about this in a way as it was able to tactfully point out some of the things within our system of government that don’t always make the most sense. It did this in a way that toed the line between educational and laughable, featuring songs such as “Election Night” in which things like the election process were depicted in an almost satirical and certainly musical way as the election ballot box was depicted as a magical cauldron conjuring up the next president behind closed doors.

Still, it wasn’t all a highly politicized soliloquy. Rather, it pointed out very real issues and provided hope for the future. In the end, all three of the main characters, who had been wronged in some way or another by the country they had put their faith in, all chose to remain and to still have hope in the future and in the promise of what America could be. As the ensemble flooded the stage in the final song, they sang out the real message of hope the play is all about: “Still I dream that our people can be wise enough, just enough, worthy of trust enough… to lift us up.”