Screen star Daniel Dae Kim returns to the stage in the Broadway premiere of 'Yellow Face'
Nearly two decades after its debut off-Broadway at The Public Theater, “Yellow Face” by Tony Award-winner David Henry Hwang is now on Broadway.
The production features screen star Daniel Dae Kim as the central character "DHH".
"On Stage" host Frank DiLella caught up with Kim, Hwang and director Leigh Silverman to talk about the Broadway premiere of “Yellow Face.”
Now in previews at the Todd Haimes Theatre is David Henry Hwang's comedy Yellow Face, which at last makes its Broadway debut following an off-Broadway premiere in 2006. Roundabout Theatre Company is presenting the play, which is directed by Leigh Silverman.
"I thought this was a comedy that would mostly be for Asian audiences. It's very gratifying that over the years it's grown in stature, it's been done around, and the culture has moved too," Hwang recently told BroadwayWorld. "So, when we did a reading of the version for Audible last year we discovered 'Oh, it's even funnier now!' because the issues that are the heart of it that powered the comedy are so much more central to our culture. It's really exciting to now be getting to do this on Broadway for you know a mainstream theater audience."
That's right! For those who cannot make it to New York City to see the play in person, you're in luck, because Audible released an audio version earlier this year and both star Daniel Dae Kim and Francis Jue. And for anyone who has already bought tickets, you can have a whole new experience with a mostly different cast by listening to the recorded version.
Next up from Roundabout Theatre Company is the new production of Yellow Face by David Henry Hwang directed by Leigh Silverman, which will open at the Todd Haimes Theatre on October 1. Check out a first look at the cast in action!
Yellow Face will feature Daniel Dae Kim as “DHH,” Kevin Del Aguila as “Actor A,” Ryan Eggold as “Marcus,” Francis Jue as “HYH & Others,” Marinda Anderson as “Actor B,” Greg Keller as “Reporter/NWOAC,” and Shannon Tyo as “Leah & Others.” Meet the cast of Yellow Face below!
Inspired by real events, the playwright’s fictionalized doppelgänger protests yellowface casting in Miss Saigon, only to mistakenly cast a white actor as the Asian lead in his own play. This Obie Award-winning and Pulitzer finalist play is a laugh-out-loud farce about the complexities of race.
Below is a selection of theater opening* in New York in October, including five shows on Broadway, four of them revivals (or classics), with starry casts, many of whom are making their debuts or long-awaited returns: Jim Parsons, Ephraim Sykes, Richard Thomas, Zoey Deutch (these first four among the many in “Our Town”), Daniel Day Kim, Juliana Margulies, Nicole Scherzinger, Kit Carson and Rachel Ziegler (these last two in Romeo + Juliet).ber 1
Yellow Face (Roundabout’s Todd Haimes Theater)
Daniel Dae Kim stars in David Henry Hwang’s 2007 comedy, which finally makes it to Broadway, a semi-fictionalized dramatization of three events in the playwright’s life: his protest against the performance of a non-Asian actor as an Asian character (a practice referred to as yellowface) in Miss Saigon; the failure of his 1993 play, “Face Value”; and a Senate investigation that targeted Asian Americans including his father.
September 13 – November 24
The Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov’s 80-minute opera Ainadamar (Fountain of Tears) unfolds chiefly in the head of the aged actress Margarita Xirgu (Angel Blue), in her youth a muse to the incendiary Spanish playwright Federico García Lorca (Daniela Mack). Beginning in pulsating flamenco, the score dissolves in the end to an ethereal trio inspired by the precedent of Richard Strauss in Der Rosenkavalier, the third voice in Golijov’s mix being that of Nuria, Xirgu’s brilliant protégée. The flamenco singer Alfredo Tejado appears (but not in the trio) as the Falangist politician who takes charge of Lorca’s execution, an event that David Henry Hwang’s libretto borrows from the historic record. What’s the whole fantasy about? Oh, just life, death, art, self-immolation.
Variety has announced programming for its annual Business of Broadway Breakfast, presented by City National Bank, on September 30 in New York. The event, hosted by Cole Escola of "Oh, Mary!," will celebrate the upcoming season of Broadway with conversations from cast members and directors of "Sunset Boulevard," "Yellow Face," and "Our Town."
The event will also include a keynote from Daniel Dae Kim and David Henry Hwang of "Yellow Face," as well as one with Jim Parsons, Zoey Deutch, Michelle Wilson, and Ephraim Sykes of "Our Town."
Daniel Dae Kim sat down with Ronny Chieng on The Daily Show to discuss his role in David Henry Hwang's Yellow Face, which is currently in previews on Broadway.
Kim plays a fictionalized version of Hwang in the play, which is inspired by real-life events beginning during the controversial casting of Miss Saigon in 1990. In the interview, Kim discusses the genesis of the play and also highlights why the subject matter is so important.
"We're in a situation now where there are so many great Asian-American performers...so there's absolutely no reason why Asian performers should not be playing Asian characters," Kim said. "The thing that gets a little bit more nuanced now is whether we should be nationality specific among Asian-Americans and that is an interesting question too." Watch the full interview with Daniel Dae Kim now!
Yellow Face follows a playwright’s fictionalized doppelgänger as he protests yellowface casting in Miss Saigon, only to mistakenly cast a white actor as the Asian lead in his own play. The Obie Award-winning and Pulitzer finalist play is a laugh-out-loud farce about the complexities of race.
The play is currently in previews at the Todd Haimes Theatre.
A little-known fact about Daniel Dae Kim: He’s really, really into “Saturday Night Live.”
“I’m a super fan,” says the actor just a few days before starting performances for the revival of David Henry Hwang’s 2007 play “Yellow Face” on Broadway. Speaking on the latest episode of “Stagecraft,” Variety’s theater podcast, he added, “I have not missed a single episode since probably 1980.”
That trivia tidbit may come as a surprise to those who know Kim best for the super-serious characters he plays on TV, like the loyal survivor Jin-Soo Kwon on “Lost” or the upstanding detective Chin Ho Kelly on “Hawaii Five-0.” But now this “SNL” enthusiast is subverting his own morally upright persona in Hwang’s play, in which he stars as a comically flawed version of the Tony-winning playwright.
The Roundabout Theatre Company production, now in previews, officially opens Oct. 1 at the Todd Haimes Theatre in New York City.
Daniel Dae Kim returned to Broadway on Friday, Sept. 13 after nearly a decade away, as performances kicked off for David Henry Hwang's semi-autobiographical play, Yellow Face.
PEOPLE can exclusively debut first-look photos of the play, which also stars New Amsterdam actor Ryan Eggold in his Broadway debut.
The Roundabout Theatre Company production, which officially opens Oct. 1 at the Todd Haimes Theatre in New York City, stars Kim, 56, as DHH — a character based off Hwang himself.
Described by Hwang as an "unreliable memoir," the play is inspired by the infamous Miss Saigon casting controversy, which made headlines when the musical transferred from London's West End to Broadway in 1990 with Welsh actor Jonathan Pryce reprising his role of the Engineer, an Eurasian (French-Vietnamese) pimp.
Musicals about Tammy Faye and Louis Armstrong?
A revival of "Our Town" starring Jim Parsons? A new play starring Robert Downey Jr.? Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone together on stage? Audra McDonald as Mama Rose?
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
YELLOW FACE
Tony Award winner and three-time Pulitzer finalist David Henry Hwang ("M. Butterfly") makes his Roundabout debut with the Broadway premiere of his "is-he-or-isn’t-he" comedy of identity, show business and (perhaps) autobiography, according to a release. Inspired by real events, the playwright’s fictionalized doppelgänger protests yellowface casting in "Miss Saigon," only to mistakenly cast a white actor as the Asian lead in his own play. Previews Sept. 13, opens Oct. 1, closes Nov. 24. Todd Haimes Theatre, 227 W. 42nd St., $58 to $348; 212-719-1300, roundabouttheatre.org.
In the new Broadway production of “Yellow Face,” the “Lost” and “Hawaii Five-0” star is taking a risk. “I am aware,” he says, “that people have not usually seen me in this way.”
It’s tough to see the resemblance.
In the Broadway production of David Henry Hwang’s “Yellow Face,” starting previews at the Todd Haimes Theater on Sept. 13, Daniel Dae Kim will star as DHH, a fictionalized, none-too-sympathetic character based very loosely on the Tony-winning playwright.
“Who wouldn’t want to have their doppelgänger be Daniel Dae Kim?,” said Hwang, whose play premiered Off Broadway in 2007 and who helped cast Kim in this Roundabout Theater Company revival.
Who indeed? Since Kim first broke through in 2004 as the brooding, morally conflicted former enforcer on the hit ABC series “Lost,” and later as a tough, shotgun-blasting detective on the CBS reboot of “Hawaii Five-0,” he has become known for a certain type of character. Earnest. Serious. Enigmatic. Dignified.
As the King of Siam, “Daniel stood in the middle of this enormous space and just held the entire audience in the palm of his hands,” said Maria Friedman, who performed alongside him in a 2009 staging of “The King and I” at London’s cavernous Royal Albert Hall. “There’s nothing slight about him.”
Daniel Dae Kim is set to return to Broadway this fall in David Henry Hwang's comedy "Yellow Face."
The production marks the Broadway premiere of Hwang's Obie Award-winning and Pulitzer Prize finalist play, directed by Tony Award nominee Leigh Silverman. Kim, known for his roles in "Lost" and "Hawaii Five-0," will portray a fictionalized version of Hwang himself in a story inspired by the controversial casting of Jonathan Pryce in the 1991 Broadway production of "Miss Saigon." The play delves into the complexities of race and identity in the entertainment industry, highlighting the challenges faced by Asian American actors.
"Yellow Face" will begin previews at the Roundabout Theatre Company's Todd Haimes Theatre on Sept. 13, with an official opening on Oct. 1 and a limited engagement through Nov. 24.
Daniel Henry Hwang's play follows his fictionalized doppelgänger as he leads protests against yellowface casting, but then mistakenly casts a white actor as an Asian lead.
Rehearsals have begun for Roundabout Theatre Company's upcoming Broadway production of Yellow Face by David Henry Hwang. Previews will begin September 13, with opening night set for October 1 at the Todd Haimes Theatre. The limited engagement will continue through November 24.
Directed by Leigh Silverman, Yellow Face will star Daniel Dae Kim as DHH, Kevin Del Aguila as Actor A, Ryan Eggold as Marcus, Francis Jue as HYH and Others, Marinda Anderson as Actor B, Greg Keller as Reporter/NWOAC, and Shannon Tyo as Leah and Others.
Columbia University School of the Arts presents… “Please join us for a season of readings, screenings, conversations, and more with these and other extraordinary artists.” —Sarah Cole, Dean of Columbia University School of the Arts and Parr Professor of English and Comparative Literature.
Playwright and Theatre Professor David Henry Hwang will explore his play, Yellow Face—a laugh-out-loud farce about the complexities of race” that is on Broadway this fall—with Director Leigh Silverman as part of Dean of the School of the Arts Sarah Cole’s signature speaker series, Speak Now. Moderated by playwright and director James Ijames.
New York stages are welcoming Robert Downey Jr., Adam Driver, Audra McDonald and more this season.
BROADWAY
‘YELLOW FACE’ David Henry Hwang’s 2007 satire stars Daniel Dae Kim (“Lost”) as a fictional version of the playwright, navigating anti-Asian racism in the theater and culture, while — whoops — mistakenly casting a white actor in an Asian role. In 2018, The New York Times named this comedy one of the 25 best American plays of the previous 25 years. Leigh Silverman directs this Roundabout Theater staging. (Sept. 13-Nov. 24, Todd Haimes Theater).
As David Henry Hwang gears up for Yellowface on Broadway, watch the Tony winner reflect on his Broadway memories, including how he transformed "Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song", the importance of Asian American representation, and his longtime relationship with the Public Theater.
Recently, iHeartRadio Broadway got to chat with the Broadway cast of Yellow Face. Yellow Face will begin preview performances on Friday, September 13, 2024, and open officially on Friday, October 1, 2024, at the Todd Haimes Theatre (227 West 42nd Street) on Broadway. This is a limited engagement through Sunday, November 24, 2024.
Yellow Face by David Henry Hwang directed by Leigh Silverman will feature Daniel Dae Kim as “DHH,” Kevin Del Aguila as “Actor A,” Ryan Eggold as “Marcus,” Francis Jue as “HYH & Others,” Marinda Anderson as “Actor B,” Greg Keller as “Reporter/NWOAC,” and Shannon Tyo as “Leah & Others.
Inspired by real events, the playwright’s fictionalized doppelgänger protests yellowface casting in Miss Saigon, only to mistakenly cast a white actor as the Asian lead in his own play. This Obie Award-winning and Pulitzer finalist play is a laugh-out-loud farce about the complexities of race.
David Henry Hwang’s Yellow Face is having its Broadway premiere this fall at Roundabout Theatre Company’s Todd Haimes Theatre. Catch up with Daniel Dae Kim and the rest of the cast as they dive into the award-winning play, which begins as a “comedy of mistaken racial identity” and becomes much more.
David Henry Hwang’s Yellow Face is having its Broadway premiere this fall at Roundabout Theatre Company’s Todd Haimes Theatre.
In David Henry Hwang’s Pulitzer finalist play inspired by real events, the playwright’s fictionalized doppelgänger protests yellowface casting in Miss Saigon, only to mistakenly cast a white actor as the Asian lead in his own play. Yellow Face is a laugh-out-loud farce about the complexities of race.
Hwang, director Leigh Silverman and members of the cast—Daniel Dae Kim, Kevin Del Aguila, Ryan Eggold, Francis Jue and Marinda Anderson—spoke to The Broadway Showabout metafiction, making mistakes, laughing at topical issues and more.
