San Francisco Opera recasts Monkey King for modern stage

The legendary Monkey King, hero of the 16th-century Chinese classic Journey to the West, continues to inspire fresh artistic expression through a sold-out San Francisco Opera production that has sparked a wave of cross-cultural dialogue in the Bay Area.

A beloved figure in Chinese literature and popular culture, the stone-born trickster and immortal warrior Sun Wukong has appeared in comics, graphic novels, television shows, films and video games.

With San Francisco Opera's new staging of The Monkey King, which premiered on Nov 14 and ran through last Sunday, its story is reaching fresh audiences and prompting conversations about identity, immigration and shared cultural values.

Commissioned by the opera company in partnership with the Chinese Heritage Foundation of Minnesota, the production draws from the opening episodes of Wu Cheng'en's classic novel, considered one of China's four greatest literary classics.

A carefully curated art exhibit featuring 12 Bay Area artists is on display inside the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, offering diverse interpretations of Sun Wukong's evolution from rebellious stone-born creature to enlightened sage.

"We wanted to create a space where we could talk about and showcase the way that the Monkey King is a personal story for many people," Ryan Marchand, director of the department of diversity, equity and community at the San Francisco Opera, told China Daily. "And we wanted to show that his significance extends beyond Chinese communities to the broader Asian diaspora."

The exhibit, organized in collaboration with a local community engagement group, features artworks ranging from jade sculptures and ball-jointed dolls to digital prints and oil paintings, arranged chronologically to follow Sun Wukong's journey from his miraculous birth from stone through his legendary adventures.

Cocurator Caitlin Pambid said the exhibition presents cross-cultural versions of the Monkey King that people grew up knowing.

"Whether that was because they grew up with the Monkey King story, or after doing research for the art installation, many artists recognized aspects of their own lives in him," Pambid told China Daily. "I think that is the major takeaway from this installation."

From an educational standpoint and a personal one, Pambid said, the exhibit invites viewers to see their own journeys in the Monkey King.

For Pambid, who first read Journey to the West in her undergraduate humanities courses, the Monkey King's struggles echo those of immigrant communities. "I really identified with his desire as a character to be recognized, and with the way he was sidelined by other gods, who saw him only as a monkey," she said. "The story resonates strongly with first-generation immigrants who want to stand on an equal footing with everyone else."

Sun Wukong has inspired countless interpretations for hundreds of years, including the 2024 blockbuster video game Black Myth: Wukong, which sold 18 million copies in its first two months.

San Francisco Opera's The Monkey King has completely sold out its eight-performance run and raised over $3 million in philanthropic support from the community.

Blending opera, dance and puppetry, the production has attracted a broad alliance of backers across technology, business, cultural and nonprofit circles.

Among the supporters are Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, and his wife Lori. The couple serve as honorary chairs of The Monkey King Committee and have just announced a $5 million gift to San Francisco Opera to help underwrite the production of The Monkey King.

A first-generation Chinese immigrant, Huang said in a statement, "The Monkey King is a timeless epic that celebrates courage, transformation, and the spirit of adventure." He praised the opera as a "breathtaking fusion of Chinese legend and American craftsmanship and artistry".

The cultural celebration culminated with a public market outside the War Memorial Opera House during the last two performances. "It's inspired by the Chinatown night market. Visitors can enjoy the lion dance, the dragon dance, calligraphy, food, and crafts," Marchand said.

Marchand, who studied the Monkey King in theater classes at San Francisco State University's Asian theater studies program, sees parallels to contemporary America.

"I love the Monkey King story," Marchand said. "When I was watching it, it felt very relevant to today's political landscape. It felt like it was speaking to things we are living through today."

Pambid agreed, finding the character's struggles particularly resonant across centuries.

"I find his struggles more understandable than egotistical," she said. "I think it's really powerful to have a character that originated from the 16th century that can still be so relevant today."

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com