Hwang to Salute Wong on May 24 At MOCA

Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang will be 'Celebrating the Life of Jadin Wong' on Monday, May 24, at 5 p.m. at the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), 215 Centre St., in New York City.

Hwang will pay tribute to Wong, a celebrated Asian-American dancer, comedienne and talent agent who died March 30 at age 96.

Hwang said, 'The character of Madame Liang in my 2002 rewrite of 'Flower Drum Song' was my tribute to Jadin: a brassy, brilliant ex-actress-turned-agent for 'Oriental' talent. Jadin was the quintessential Broadway dame.'

Jodi Long, who played Liang in that Broadway revival, also will speak. In addition, she will present her documentary, 'Long Story Short,' a salute to her father, Larry Long, who, like Wong, was a showbiz pioneer during the era of Asian-American nightclubs in the 1940s and 1950s.

Born in 1913, Wong first gained fame when she was featured in Life magazine as a headliner at the famed Forbidden City nightclub in San Francisco. She later became a comedienne who toured around the world and a talent agent who represented hundreds of Asian-American performers over three decades.

Other speakers at the May 24th event will include Alice Mong, the director of MOCA; actress Nina Zoie Lam, and Wong's brother, Wally.

To RSVP, contact Jenny Wong: jwong@mocanyc.org; (212) 619-4785, ext. 4149.