M. Butterfly is loosely based on the true story of a French diplomat who became involved with a male Chinese opera star and was eventually convicted of spying for the Chinese. The Guthrie production presents the narrative in a series of flashbacks as told by former diplomat Rene Gallimard as he wastes away in a French prison. He summons for the audience his memories of his time as a junior officer stationed at the French embassy in Beijing. We observe his budding infatuation for Song, a Chinese opera star who plays the lead role in a production of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. They eventually form a relationship, but Gallamard somehow never realizes that Song is a man. He also fails to recognize that Song is manipulating him into passing secrets to the Chinese government.
The play is a funny and insightful study of romantic love and the extent to which we will sometimes lie to ourselves and others in order to protect our idealized image of a lover. The cast is uniformly great, but Randy Reyes deserves special mention for his portrayal of Song. He’s been in several Guthrie productions, but here he finally brings his wit and wry delivery to a leading role. The scene in which Song finally reveals his true identity to Gallimard is one of the most intense and well-executed I’ve seen at the Guthrie.
As an aside, I heard several older ladies gasp at the full frontal male nudity, so keep that in mind when deciding to take your grandmother to this production.
Beautiful and… a bit painful. It is true that we sometimes deceive ourselves because we’ve become addicted to love, or rather to the pleasant sensations and “happiness” this love gives us.