From the Conceiver/Developer

When Brian Yorkey, Woody Pak, and I began working on bringing Ang Lee's The Wedding Banquet to the musical stage over 3 years ago, we were faced with the tremendous responsibility to preserve the spirit and beauty of the much beloved film, while at the same time opening the story to the world of song and dance. There were no doubts in our minds that the story could make a great musical. There was great drama in the conflicts between generations and cultures. There was great love between two men, a woman, parents, and children. Add to that humour, some sex!, and we had a perfect formula. But most importantly, the piece was incredibly poignant and had an important story to tell: that of reconciling our own dreams and passions against the weight of tradition. In the end, the protagonist Wai Tung realizes that he will never become the man he wants to be until he is truthful to his parents and the world about who he is. Honesty prevails, and we discover that love is love -- across cultural divides, and across generations -- no matter where it exists, and that where we find that love, is also where we find family, no matter where it exists. In adapting the film into a musical, we have had the freedom of going beyond the constructs of the original screenplay. We have constantly looked for opportunities to tell the story in the celebratory fashion of the great musical. For example, rather than having scenes take place indoors, we have opened up the story and brought it to fantastical locations: such as Wei Wei and a horde of tourists on a double-decker bus in New York City singing and dancing a rousing gospel number, and the entire company doing Tai Chi in Central Park at the beginning of Act II. It is the music and dance, rather than the close-up, that takes us on the emotional journey of the characters. Under the experienced direction of John Tillinger, choreographer Sergio Trujillo, musical director R.J. Tancioco, and an incredibly talented cast that represents the best of America's theatrical talents, the musical has literally exploded into life, beyond our wildest imagination. It has been a wonderful journey for all of us, and yet it's just the beginning. World premiering The Wedding Banquet in Taiwan has been tremendously important and rewarding to me personally. Both Ang Lee and my own parents are from Tainan, Taiwan and the story itself is both Taiwanese and American, as am I. Because of that, it was with a great sense of pride that we bring the musical to where it in many ways was born -- Taiwan. Finally, thank YOU for joining us on this journey, and I hope you will find the experience as deeply rewarding as it has been for us in bringing it to life. Welly Yang Conceiver/Developer July 26, 2003