SOFT POWER at the Public

[InTheBathroom1]

Just heard from a reliable source that Soft Power by David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori will be heading to the Public this fall!

[JBroadway]

Exciting! But not surprising, given they have been public about Oskar Eustis' role in helping to develop the show. If what you heard is true, I look forward to seeing it on the season announcement (hopefully along with the new Sondheim show).

I know many thought Soft Power was awful, and I'll be the first to admit that it had serious issues, but I still think it's absolutely brilliant. 

[LesWickedly]

I was one of the people who thought it was awful. Great cast, great writers attached but a bad product came out of them. I really didn’t even see potential. Interested to see what New York audiences think.

[GiantsInTheSky2]

A friend of mine that’s in the cast told me of the Public engagement before the out of town even opened, the only question was when.

I REALLY hope they’ve done some serious work on it. Great talent up there with weak (or just weird?) material.

[MarkBearSF]

I loved Soft Power and saw it twice at the Curran. The score was so wonderful, and some songs were so beautiful, both as a R&H echo and on their on, and the multi-faceted perspective was something that theatre does well (but is the main challenge for a profitable run). I think I will forever picture Hillary with the Ice Cream.

I eagerly await news of its latest development at The Public.

As for a commercial run, I DO think you need to remove one of the framing devices, probably the real playwright telling the story (and keep the future TV panel), And how to explicitly reference the King & I?  A puzzlement.

[BIG BALONEY]

Saw Soft Power twice in Los Angeles because I was there 12 nights and looking for some theatre. It was a dry spell and that's why I went both times. I found the musical clicked the second time for me. It needed work but the Public's Newman theatre is a perfect place. Wish all involved the best.

[LizzieCurry]

Bartlett Sher and David Henry Hwang are speaking at Asia Society tonight — maybe something will be mentioned there.

https://asiasociety.org/new-york/events/king-and-i-meets-soft-power

(I saw Soft Power in SF, and am firmly in the "fun, but needed a lot of help" camp.)

[Alessio2]

Hope they have majorly reworked this, as it was a complete mess at Ahmanson.

[GeorgeandDot]

I heard this was messy brilliance. Hopefully, they're able to pull it together into something coherent.

[chrishuyen]

GeorgeandDot said: "I heard this was messy brilliance. Hopefully, they're able to pull it together into something coherent."

That honestly sounds like the best way to describe it.  I saw it at the Ahmanson and it definitely needed some work but it was so out there that I would still be willing to see it in that form many more times just for the sheer wtf moments it generated.

Though I do wonder how much it changed between the LA and SF productions, not sure if anyone can speak to that.

[emo_geek]

I'm in the "I hated it" camp. I sincerely thought it was one of the worst things I've seen. HOWEVER- I am fascinated (and respect) how split people are on this. Even in this thread it's 50/50.

[zainmax]

LizzieCurry said: "Bartlett Sher and David Henry Hwang are speaking at Asia Society tonight — maybe something will be mentioned there.

https://asiasociety.org/new-york/events/king-and-i-meets-soft-power

(I saw Soft Power in SF, and am firmly in the "fun, but needed a lot of help" camp.)"

Anything come up?

[LizzieCurry]

The program handed out said Soft Power will open in New York in 2019. DHH himself was a little vaguer about it verbally.

[zainmax]

LizzieCurry said: "The program handed out said Soft Power will open in New York in 2019. DHH himself was a little vaguer about it verbally."

Thanks for the info! NY could mean the Public.

[Kitsune]

GeorgeandDot said: "I heard this was messy brilliance. Hopefully, they're able to pull it together into something coherent."

Messy brilliance was as great way to describe. I'm in the "I loved it" camp, although I could see the places where it needed work.

I happened to go the same night that Anthony Kennedy announced he was stepping down from the Supreme Court, and the subsequent political reaction. I think the ending scene would have gotten to me anyway, but it felt particularly poignant that night.

[JoseLee_]

I actually loved Soft Power. I also got to see it twice in LA. The score, set design, choreography, acting and singing was great. Yes the book needed some work but i still thought it was brilliant. It's nothing like ive ever seen before. I hope they keep the same cast, especially the actress who played Hillary Clinton. She stole the show for me. I need a cast recording to belt out "democracy".

[LizzieCurry]

I'm about 90% sure I spotted her in the audience last night, for what it's worth!

[bwaylinds]

I saw it in LA this past June and really enjoyed it, a lot more than I thought I would. I was hoping it would come in this season but I hope it comes in during the 2019-20 season in the spring maybe. The book has problems but I know the production at the Public will hopefully make improvments.

[Larry6417]

I too saw SOFT POWER in Los Angeles.

I will not review it here, but the creatives must have something great "up their sleeves" to get this show to work.

 

[missthemountains]

This show will flop very hard unless it is completely reworked. It was a trainwreck in LA. There were some good ideas in there, but it is also the weakest of Jeanine Tesori's scores. I saw it in May and I can't remember a single word of the score. There was just too much going on. In the same show you had DHW incorporating his real-life stabbing, Hillary Clinton being an actual character binge eating ice cream because she lost and then the finale everyone singing about how beautiful democracy was. I honestly felt it just didn't work, and can't see a version where it will, as much as I wanted it to. 

[JBroadway]

Even though I liked the show, I will admit, I thought that the incorporation of his stabbing stabbing was among the poorer choices he made. It seemed like it was a combination of DHH not knowing when to stop putting his own experiences into the work (a common pitfall for people who write plays about themselves), and him not trusting the audience to make the leap into this non-realistic world. The musical doesn’t need to exist in a fever dream within the world of the show. It can just exist, and the audience can suspend their disbelief because it’s theatre, and it’s deliberately non-realistic in style.

[LizzieCurry]

http://www.playbill.com/job/soft-power-nyc-ecc-male-and-female-singers-050819/0000016a-5002-d251-a5ee-558a35d00000

[Valentina3]

Does anyone have the promo code for this? Trying to catch this in October.

[Melissa25]

The Public extended this to November 10th. Was just able to get a really good seat on 11/9. Hope this is good.  Looking forward to some fun.