kstonge42's review
challenging
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
imogenrobinson__'s review
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
A beautiful, thought-provoking and very clever play entwined with the opera of Madama Butterfly. Perfectly critiques Orientalist stereotypes.
I wish I'd gotten the chance to see it performed.
I wish I'd gotten the chance to see it performed.
kittkat's review against another edition
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
CELLS Lektüre
Sehr… interessant. Hätte ich zwar nicht in meiner Freizeit gelesen, aber das Drama hat mich dann doch gefesselt.
In true drama fashion sprechen unsere Figuren die sehr ernsten und wichtigen Themen auf völlig absurde Art und Weise an. Manchmal war ich mir nicht sicher, ob die Story grad rassistisch und/ oder homophob wurde, aber im Endeffekt war die Antwort die ganze Zeit: ja. Rassismus, Homosexualität, Fetischismus, Kolonialismus, rape mentality usw. sind hier alle ein Thema.
Das allerbeste an der ganzen Sache? Es basiert auf einer wahren Geschichte, nämlich: Französischer Diplomat wurde wegen Spionage in 1986 zu 6 Jahre Gefängnis verurteilt. Spionage inwiefern? Er hatte eine 20 Jahre lange Affäre mit einer chinesischen Sängerin, die eigentlich ein Mann war (was ihm nicht bekannt war) und dieser hat Infos vom Franzosen an die kommunistische Partei weitergegeben. Wild.
Zum Schluss eine Weisheit von Monsieur Gallimard:
Sehr… interessant. Hätte ich zwar nicht in meiner Freizeit gelesen, aber das Drama hat mich dann doch gefesselt.
In true drama fashion sprechen unsere Figuren die sehr ernsten und wichtigen Themen auf völlig absurde Art und Weise an. Manchmal war ich mir nicht sicher, ob die Story grad rassistisch und/ oder homophob wurde, aber im Endeffekt war die Antwort die ganze Zeit: ja. Rassismus, Homosexualität, Fetischismus, Kolonialismus, rape mentality usw. sind hier alle ein Thema.
Das allerbeste an der ganzen Sache? Es basiert auf einer wahren Geschichte, nämlich: Französischer Diplomat wurde wegen Spionage in 1986 zu 6 Jahre Gefängnis verurteilt. Spionage inwiefern? Er hatte eine 20 Jahre lange Affäre mit einer chinesischen Sängerin, die eigentlich ein Mann war (was ihm nicht bekannt war) und dieser hat Infos vom Franzosen an die kommunistische Partei weitergegeben. Wild.
Zum Schluss eine Weisheit von Monsieur Gallimard:
„When a woman calls a man her ‚friend‘ she‘s calling him a homosexual.“
P. S. woah das sind viele trigger warnings…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, and Transphobia
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, War, and Suicide
Minor: Colonisation
kelz31's review
I enjoyed this story, though the long time frame was confusing and made it slightly harder to suspend disbelief. Would love to see this produced
600bars's review against another edition
5.0
ughhhh i already typed so much shit then switched it off of kindle edition and now everything is gone wtf
Anyway
I got about 5 pages in and realized I knew nothing about madame butterfly, like literally nothing at all, and even though the characters explain the plot I figured I should know that material before reading a subversion of that material. So I went on a tangent of reading/watching a bunch of summaries, and then down another rabbit hole of reading about miss saigon because I also knew absolutely nothing about that show. I asked my sister who is a theater nut a bunch of questions about why it was so problematic and she graciously answered them all. I had a crazy "why is everything always connected" moment because yesterday I listened to the Hadestown soundtrack at the urging of a friend, and that stars Eva Noblezada, who also starred in Miss Saigon in the broadway revival! Why would my theme of today and yesterday involve the same girl who is also a mexicasian?life is crazy! i digress
I really liked this play! It was sharp and funny and enetertaining. critiquing orientalism, imperialism (and even threw in a line about Japanese imperialism), the nonhumanity of nonwhite and/or nonmen, and raising questions about perception of gender and how that implicates ones own sexuality. I wonder if all the explanations of things would seem too obvious to someone who was more familiar with madame butterfly, but for me I enjoyed the characters directly speaking and explaining things to me.
Anyway
I got about 5 pages in and realized I knew nothing about madame butterfly, like literally nothing at all, and even though the characters explain the plot I figured I should know that material before reading a subversion of that material. So I went on a tangent of reading/watching a bunch of summaries, and then down another rabbit hole of reading about miss saigon because I also knew absolutely nothing about that show. I asked my sister who is a theater nut a bunch of questions about why it was so problematic and she graciously answered them all. I had a crazy "why is everything always connected" moment because yesterday I listened to the Hadestown soundtrack at the urging of a friend, and that stars Eva Noblezada, who also starred in Miss Saigon in the broadway revival! Why would my theme of today and yesterday involve the same girl who is also a mexicasian?life is crazy! i digress
I really liked this play! It was sharp and funny and enetertaining. critiquing orientalism, imperialism (and even threw in a line about Japanese imperialism), the nonhumanity of nonwhite and/or nonmen, and raising questions about perception of gender and how that implicates ones own sexuality. I wonder if all the explanations of things would seem too obvious to someone who was more familiar with madame butterfly, but for me I enjoyed the characters directly speaking and explaining things to me.
kimberly_levaco's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
In M Butterfly, David Henry Hwang effortlessly blends gender, race, political, and sexual dynamics in the vibrant and touching story of Song and Rene. The characterizations of both the leads offer countless layers of personality that need to be peeled away to find the core of their beings, in the best way possible.
shanviolinlove's review
5.0
Excellent. How brilliant it is to take a beloved masterpiece like Madame Butterfly and offer a different depiction, from the voice of a Chinese American playwright. "Why, at the Peking opera, are women's roles played by men? Because only a man knows how a woman is supposed to act."