$5 Off Tix: Award-Winning Drama “M. Butterfly” Live in SF (Feb. 5-March 14)

Jessica Palopoli / San Francisco Playhouse.

David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly is a captivating drama that subverts Puccini’s Madame Butterfly through the true story of a French diplomat’s 20-year affair with a Chinese opera singer. As cultural and personal identities blur, the play challenges our assumptions about love, power, and deception. With its clever twists and poignant humor, M. Butterfly is a thought-provoking exploration of desire, illusion, and the complexities of human connection. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play and a Pulitzer Prize finalist.

M. Butterfly
San Francisco Playhouse
February 5 – March 14, 2026
450 Post St., SF
Tickets starts at $47 $52 – fees included

Exclusive – $5 off Tickets w/ secret code FUNCHEAP

The best seats go quickly. Tickets are subject to availability.

1988 Tony Award for Best Play

“A heated, intensely provocative show. It never lets up.” – Deadline

“It will move you, it will thrill you, it may even surprise you. It is a play not to be missed, and it is a play once caught that will never be forgotten.” – The New York Post

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

DAVID HENRY HWANG’S stage works includes the plays M. Butterfly, Yellow Face, Chinglish, Kung Fu, Golden Child, The Dance and the Railroad, and FOB, as well as the Broadway musicals Elton John & Tim Rice’s Aida (co-author), Flower Drum Song (2002 revival) and Disney’s Tarzan. Hwang is a Tony Award winner and three-time nominee, a three-time OBIE Award winner, a Grammy Award winner who has been twice nominated, and a three-time Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. Opera News called him America’s most-produced living opera librettist. He co-wrote the Gold Record “Solo” with the late pop icon Prince and was a Writer/Consulting Producer for the Golden Globe-winning television series The Affair from 2015-2019.

Hwang is currently creating Empress, a TV series for Netflix; the live-action musical feature film The Hunchback of Notre Dame for Disney Studios; and a movie to star actress Gemma Chan. Hwang serves as Head of Playwriting at Columbia University School of the Arts and sits on the Board of the American Theatre Wing, where he recently completed his term as Chair. His newest work, Soft Power, a collaboration with composer Jeanine Tesori, premiered at Los Angeles’ Ahmanson Theatre, where it won six Ovation Awards. Its subsequent run at the Public Theatre in NYC received a 2020 Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theatre Album and was a Finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Drama.

In 2016, The David Henry Hwang Society was founded by William C. Boles (Rollins College), Martha Johnson (University of Minnesota), and Esther Kim Lee (University of Maryland). The DHH Society is devoted to the scholarly examination of plays by David Henry Hwang.

ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES

For blind and visually impaired audience members, San Francisco Playhouse partners with Gravity Access Services to offer live audio description and haptic access tours for selected performances.

Note: View the official calendar for full schedule including special performances.

 

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