BoHo’s ‘M.Butterfly’ Sheds It’s Cocoon

When David Henry Hwang's play M. Butterfly opened on Broadway in 1988 with John Lithgow and B.D. Wong, it became an instant smash earning three Tony Awards including Best Play. Theatre goers made a point of not telling others who hadn't seen the piece not to give away the "secret twist" of the plot that shocked many a patron. Same happened with the 1993 film version.

Forward twenty years and the "secret twist" is no longer such a secret nor is it that unique as the Crying Game proved. Ultimately, Hwang's work still thrives because it is really a character study on the stereotypes on different cultures and sexes that blurs the lines on what is perception and what is reality. Without the burden of having the secret to be kept as the central plot surprise allows this piece to take on a whole different and deeper meaning which the Bohemian Theatre Ensemble has taken full advantage of in their new production under the precise direction of P. Marston Sullivan.

The storyline of M. Butterfly is fascinating and more or less based on a true event; A French Diplomat, Rene Gallimard, attends a production of Madame Butterfly and falls in love with the Chinese opera diva, Song Liling, who is actually a man in disguise and a spy for the Chinese government. Using the Western stereotype of a meek and mild Chinese woman, Song is able to manipulate Gallimard's emotions and fantasies to garner tactical information regarding the Vietnam War which results in Gallimard being imprisoned for treason. Throughout the play, Gallimard draws parallels between his life and the characters in the opera, Madame Butterfly.

In the small confines of BoHo's space, you are utterly transformed into Gallimard's imagination and his retelling of the events that led him to his capture. This is in essence a love story, and Sullivan leaves the audience with a notion that perhaps Gallimard knew from the start that Song was in fact a man. This whole notion of the gender identity is secondary here as who is controlling who is the primary motivation of the characters, and how does each character get control over the others' emotions.

Though there are some strong secondary characters, M. Butterfly is only as good as its two leads and David Rhree as Song and Jeremy Young as Gallimard are stellar in these roles. Young, who resembles a young Richard Chamberlain with a vocal tone of Adam West, interprets Gallimard as a very reclusive type of character who is detached emotionally from everyone around him, including his wife, until he meets Song. This is the first time I have seen the character acted in such a manner and I was pleasantly surprised, especially in the third act when you can tell how emotionally beaten he ends up being and his final action of despair is borne out of a lifetime of disappointment.

Rhree is exquisite as Song. Though not the most beautiful of women, Rhree's acting chops explode when he is out of the diva persona and is just a man who is doing a job, but ultimately is in need of the love, affection and respect of Gallimard. The unclothing scene between the two is an acting masterpiece.

The action moves at a swift place and with the numerous scenes that encompass the production, scenic designer John Zuiker's creative use of shoji screens which are lit to great effect by designer Christine Ferriter allow for a very inventive transition from one place to the next.

M. Butterfly plays through April 20, 2008 the Heartland Studio, 7016 N. Glenwood, Chicago, Illinois. For tickets and show times, please visit www.bohotheatre.com or call 773.791.2383