The real spy behind M. Butterfly dies

Cover of Golden Child, a recent play about identity by Hwang

One of the most remarkable stories has to be the story of the cross-gender Beijing Opera singer who seduced embassy secrets out of an unsuspecting male lover, for years.

It was made into the Broadway smash, M. Butterfly, written by playwright David Henry Hwang.  Here’s what Hwang told me, in an interview I did with him for huffingtonpost,  about finding and creating his fascinating  hit, with Shi at the very center of the story:

“I guess I feel I’m always trolling for inspiration. M. Butterfly came from a newspaper article, which I learned about at a cocktail party when someone said to me, ‘Oh, have you heard about the French diplomat who had a 20 year affair with a Chinese actor who turned out to be A) A spy and B) A man in drag?” Golden Child was really based on my own family history. So I think inspiration comes from any number of places. I find I’m most attracted to stories about identity, about transformation….”

The real life story of Shi Pei Pu ended today at the age of 70, the NY Times reports.

David Henry Hwang went on to write the Broadway hit, Aida, for Elton John and Timothy Rice.  He also continues to consider the nuances of what it means to be an American, a Chinese American, and an individual.  He is one of the most fascinating people I have ever had the good fortune to interview, and if I can clear it digitally I’ll post a documentary I made that includes him called “Origins of Creativity: Playwrights.  I’ll also see if David is available to say something about Shi.

Meanwhile, rest in peace Shi Pei Pu, and here is some of what it was like to turn your life into art, according to Hwang:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vickie-karp/third-screen-david-henry_b_159962.html

Shi Pei Pu, a Beijing opera singer and spy whose sexually convoluted love affair with a French Embassy worker created one of the strangest cases in international espionage and was the inspiration for the Broadway show “M. Butterfly,” died in Paris on Tuesday.

via Shi Pei Pu, Singer, Spy and ‘M. Butterfly,’ Dies at 70 – Obituary (Obit) – NYTimes.com.

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• Shi Pei Pu, Singer, Spy and ‘M. Butterfly,’ Dies at 70 (nytimes.com)