Tatler Taiwan Interview / From Taiwan to the World

From Taiwan to the World

When Broadway Meets Taipei

By Tatler Taiwan

The original article：Tatler Taiwan / From Taiwan to the world 當百老匯來到台灣

Adapted from Ang Lee’s 1993 cinematic classic The Wedding Banquet, the stage musical The Wedding Banquet: A New Musical marks a milestone for Taiwan’s performing arts scene. The production is the first Taiwanese musical to be jointly developed by Broadway creators and a Taiwanese team, bridging two theatrical traditions across the Pacific.

Following its critically acclaimed premiere in 2024 and an expanded revival in 2025, the musical’s success can largely be credited to two producers with a shared vision: Eric Kuo, lead producer of HUA Universal Arts Entertainment, and Taiwanese-American producer and performer Welly Yang.

For Eric and Welly, The Wedding Banquet is far more than a Broadway-style retelling of an Asian family story. It is, at its core, an effort to bring Taiwan’s cultural narratives to the global stage. Emerging from the uncertainty of the post-pandemic world and shaped through deep collaboration with Broadway artists, the musical carries a universal message of love and acceptance—while quietly asserting something Taiwan has long hoped to demonstrate: that its stories deserve to be seen and heard by the world.

A Story Twenty Years in the Making

More than two decades have passed since The Wedding Banquet first appeared on screen. At the time, Welly Yang was already performing on Broadway when a friend casually suggested adapting the film into a musical. Acting on instinct, he secured the stage rights and invited playwright Brian Yorkey and composer Woody Pak to begin shaping the adaptation.

At the time, they were all still early in their careers. Yorkey had yet to receive his Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award, and Pak had not yet emerged on the international stage as a composer. Looking back now, those early beginnings seem to carry a weight of destiny.

“What moved me about The Wedding Banquet,” Welly reflects, “is that it isn’t simply a story about sexuality. It’s about communication between parents and children—the search for understanding and support. That’s something people everywhere can relate to.”

A Post-Pandemic Beginning

Fast forward to 2020, when the pandemic brought the world to a standstill. For Eric, the pause became an unexpected moment of reflection.

“I started asking myself what I truly wanted to do,” he recalls.

The answer eventually led to the founding of HUA Universal Arts Entertainment. Eric envisioned building a platform capable of bringing Taiwanese stories to international audiences through musical theatre. Yet in the early stages of developing scripts and productions, he discovered that the ecosystem for large-scale musicals in Taiwan was still in its infancy.

Then, by chance—or perhaps by fate—he met Welly, who had returned to Taiwan during the pandemic. The two quickly realised their visions aligned, and a collaboration began.

Their first project together was presenting the English-language production of the long-running Broadway musical The Fantasticks in Taiwan. Soon after, they turned their attention to reviving The Wedding Banquet musical project.

“At first, I thought we would simply revisit the earlier version,” Eric says. “But after nearly twenty years, it became clear we needed to rebuild the work from the ground up.”

The team rewrote the script and composed entirely new songs—an ambitious process that took only three months. Eric laughs when recalling those months: “Whenever Welly messaged me in the middle of the night, I knew I wouldn’t be sleeping.”

“Although Welly had already laid the foundation for the musical twenty years ago,” Eric adds, “this collaboration with American creatives allowed us to build something truly new—and to establish a solid foundation for HUA’s future. When you build a house, the foundation matters most. Without it, nothing above will stand.”

A New Production, A New Challenge

The new US–Taiwan co-production brings together an international creative team including Broadway director Gordon Greenberg and choreographer Eamon Foley. The show’s leads—Telly Leung and Matt Shingledecker—are both seasoned performers on the Broadway stage.

During the adaptation process, the creative team continuously refined scenes and narrative details to ensure international audiences could connect with the story while preserving its Taiwanese character.

The revised version blends Mandarin and English dialogue, with moments of Taiwanese dialect woven in. One particularly memorable scene features the mother—played by acclaimed actress Miao Ke-li—arriving in America carrying a rice cooker, dumplings, and braised pork, a humorous yet deeply familiar gesture for Taiwanese audiences.

Musically, the production underwent extensive refinement. Because audiences perceive sound differently, Broadway productions often standardise musical arrangements and sound design to ensure consistency across performances.

Between the 2024 premiere and the 2025 revival, Eric—who has a background in music—spent nearly six months refining the musical tracks and remixing the entire orchestration to perfect every detail.

The Magic of Musical Theatre

For Eric, the magic of musical theatre lies in its irreplaceable immediacy.

“It’s a form of live art that AI can never replace,” he says. “Every performance is unique. It cannot be replicated.”

Welly sees musical theatre as a rare artistic form capable of bringing together dance, drama, visual design, and even architecture to create an immersive world beyond everyday life.

“In real life, people don’t suddenly start singing,” he says with a smile. “But in musicals, when emotions become too powerful for words, characters begin to sing. That emotional intensity—only musical theatre can express it.”

Letting Taiwan Be Heard

Looking ahead, the producers have a clear vision. The next step for The Wedding Banquet is London’s West End, with Broadway as the ultimate destination.

Their hope is that the musical will become a cultural bridge—one through which international audiences can discover Taiwan.

When asked what message they hope the musical will convey, Welly answers simply:

“Everyone needs love. It’s part of being human.”

For him, love extends beyond romance to include family, friendship, and self-acceptance.

Eric sees the project carrying three layers of meaning:first, a wish for a world with greater compassion and inclusion;second, proof that Taiwan is capable of producing world-class musicals;and finally, a declaration that Taiwanese stories deserve a place on the global stage.

Beyond The Wedding Banquet

Neither producer intends to stop here.

Later this year, the Broadway musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will make its Taiwan debut. At the same time, the pair reveal they are also developing a musical adaptation of Ang Lee’s first feature film, Pushing Hands, alongside a new film version of the story.

Welly has also been actively introducing international film resources to Taiwan. During the run of The Wedding Banquet, he even invited director Luc Besson—who happened to be filming Weekend in Taipei in the city—to attend a performance.

“If we don’t do this,” Welly says, “none of it will exist. What we are telling is not just the story of The Wedding Banquet. It is Taiwan’s story.”

Eric adds: “We hope Taiwan can become Asia’s first major preview destination for international tours—showing the world that Taiwan has both the capability and the stories to stand alongside the global stage.”