The World of Suzie Wong is a 1958-premiered

stage play A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and intended for theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Reading (process), reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright. Pla ...

, adapted from the eponymous 1957 novel by Richard Mason, ''

The World of Suzie Wong ''The World of Suzie Wong'' is a 1957 novel by British writer Richard Mason. The main characters are Robert Lomax, a young British artist living in Hong Kong, and Suzie Wong, the title character, a Chinese woman who works as a prostitute. ...

''. The play was in turn adapted into the 1960 Hollywood British-American feature film ''

''. The novel was adapted into a play by playwright

Paul Osborn Paul Osborn (September 4, 1901 – May 12, 1988) was an American playwright and screenwriter. Osborn's original plays are '' The Vinegar Tree'', ''Oliver Oliver'', and ''Morning's at Seven'' and among his several successful adaptations, ''On Bo ...

. It is one of the major elements of the ''Suzie Wong'' franchise.

Plot

The play dramatizes the story of the eponymous Richard Mason novel, ''The World of Suzie Wong'', upon which it is based.

History

The play opened for the 1958-1959

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

season in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on October 14, 1958. It opened at the

Broadhurst Theatre The Broadhurst Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 235 West 44th Street (Manhattan), 44th Street in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1917, the theater was designed ...

for the 1958–1959 season, and went on to the 54th Street Theatre for the 1959–1960 season. It closed its first Broadway run on January 2, 1960. The Broadway run was directed by Joshua Logan, with sets designed by Jo Mielziner, and costumes designed by Dorothy Jeakins; and starring France Nuyen as ''Suzie Wong'', and

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

as Robert Lomax. During its first shows, the play was constantly improved from being a turgid drama to having a more comedic tone, evolving from a play that was panned to an award-winning play. At the time she was cast, France Nuyen spoke little English and learned her lines phonetically. The play opened for the 1959-1960 West End season in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The West End run starred

Tsai Chin Tsai Chin may refer to: * Tsai Chin (actress) (born 1933), actress from Shanghai, also known as Irene Chow * Tsai Chin (singer) (born 1957), Taiwanese singer {{Hndis ...

as ''Suzie Wong''.

Peter Coe Percy Newbold "Peter" Coe (27 September 1919 – 9 August 2008) was a British athletics coach, author, translator and coach of his son Sebastian Coe. Early life and education Coe was born Percy Newbold Coe in Stepney, the only child of carpente ...

later signed on as director.

Film adaptation

The play was adapted into an eponymous motion picture feature film, ''The World of Suzie Wong'', that premiered in 1960. France Nuyen, who played Suzie Wong on Broadway, would go on to be cast for the film adaptation, but fell ill during filming, and needed to be replaced by

Nancy Kwan Nancy Kwan Ka-shen (; born May 19, 1939) is a Chinese-American actress, philanthropist, and former dancer. In addition to her personality and looks, her career was benefited by Hollywood's casting of more Asian roles in the 1960s, especially in ...

. In lieu of William Shatner, the film cast an older male lead,

William Holden William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...

, which changed the dynamic between the male and female leads.

Awards and honours

* Winner: 1959

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway theatre, Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945� ...

— France Nuyen as

Suzie Wong Suzie Wong can refer to: * ''The World of Suzie Wong'', a 1957 novel by Richard Mason ** ''Suzie Wong'' (franchise), a media franchise originating from the novel ** ''The World of Suzie Wong'' (film), the 1960 film adaptation of the novel * Suz ...

* Winner: 1959 Theatre World Award —

as Robert Lomax * Nominee: 1959

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

Best Costume Design (Play or Musical) — Dorothy Jeakins

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:World Of Suzie Wong 1958 plays Plays set in the 1950s Plays about race and ethnicity Hong Kong in fiction Broadway plays Melodramas Plays set in China Plays based on novels Plays about prostitution American plays adapted into films West End plays Works about prostitution in Hong Kong