David Henry Hwang

David Henry Hwang is a playwright, screenwriter and librettist for musicals and operas. He is a Tony Award winner and three-time nominee, a three-time Obie Award winner, and a two-time Nominated Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. His plays include M. BUTTERFLY, CHINGLISH, GOLDEN CHILD, YELLOW FACE, THE DANCE AND THE RAILROAD and FOB. He wrote the script (or "book") for the Broadway musicals Elton John and Tim Rice's AIDA (co-author), which ran almost five years on Broadway, the revised FLOWER DRUM SONG, and DISNEY's TARZAN, with songs by Phil Collins. As America's most-produced living opera librettist, his works include four pieces with composer Philip Glass, as well as AINADAMAR (Osvaldo Golijov - winner of two 2007 Grammy Awards), THE SILVER RIVER (Bright Sheng) and ALICE IN WONDERLAND (Unsuk Chin). His first play, FOB, premiered in his lounge of his dormitory at Stanford University. Hwang penned the feature films M. BUTTERFLY, GOLDEN GATE, and POSSESSION (co-writer), and co-wrote the song "Solo" with composer/performer Prince. Recently, he won the 2011 PEN/Laura Pels Award for a Master American Dramatist, the 2012 Inge Award for Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre, and the 2012 Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award. He is currently the Residency One Playwright at New York’s Signature Theatre, which is producing a season of his plays in 2012-13, including the premiere of his newest work, KUNG FU, inspired by the life of Bruce Lee. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife, actress Kathryn Layng, and their children.