The story of Danny Chen, an Asian American soldier bullied to the point of committing suicide while in Afghanistan, is now on stage thanks to Tony winning playwright David Henry Hwang.
KUVO reports An American Soldier opened at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC this weekend.
Chen was showered with racial slurs and bullied by his superiors during his 6 weeks in Afghanistan. The incident not widely known outside the Asian American community led to demotions or dismissals from the Army against 8 people.
“This is a story with big emotions, big primary colors in a way, and big plot events,” says Hwang to turned the tragedy into a one hour opera.
“Danny and I are different people, but we’re young Asian-Americans in the United States,” tenor Andrew Stenson says. “Even though you were born here or raised here, some people are still going to treat you like you’re a foreigner.”
You can read more about what Chen’s parents hope will come of this show on KUVO .