David Henry Hwang’s Yellow Face is a masterpiece that masterfully combines sharp humor with profound introspection. The play’s revival at the Todd Haimes Theatre is a powerful reminder of the importance of spotlighting diverse narratives over the allure of formulaic theater that Peter Brooke would call “deadly.”
Upon entering the theater, I was immediately struck by the sight of a predominantly Asian audience, a testament to the production’s resonance. The thematic core of Yellow Face lies in its “unreliable memoir” format that blurs the lines between autobiography and fiction, allowing Hwang to critique cultural appropriation, racial identity and the media’s role in mongering fear towards immigrant communities. To cement the distance between truth and fiction, Hwang names the character meant to represent himself as DHH.
The satire opens with the notorious Miss Saigon casting controversy of 1990, when British actor Jonathan Pryce, a white man, was cast as the Eurasian Engineer in the musical’s Broadway transfer. While the Actors’ Equity Association clashes with casting directors over the ethics of the decision, DHH — portrayed with charm and complexity by Daniel Dae Kim — is reveling in his success as the Tony-winning playwright of M. Butterfly. This victory has established him as a prominent figure in AAPI theater and activist. However, as he seeks to create a follow-up that surpasses his prior triumph, DHH unwittingly casts Marcus G. Dahlman (Ryan Eggold), a white actor, as the Asian lead in his next project.
The absurdity of this mistake, which feels almost too farcical to be true, is contextualized through AEA’s guidelines prohibiting creatives from directly inquiring about an actor’s ethnicity — a measure intended to prevent discrimination. Frantic upon realizing his misstep and desperate to avoid public disgrace, DHH spirals into an elaborate web of deception. He encourages Marcus to use the more ambiguous stage name Marcus Gee and fabricates a backstory that ties Marcus to Eurasian roots through a dubious claim of Siberian and Jewish ancestry. Desperate for his big break, Marcus goes along with the act, even landing the role of the King in The King and I—until his assumed identity makes him the scapegoat for political corruption amid the United States government’s rising anti-Asian rhetoric.
Kim’s performance captures DHH’s frantic energy and relentless need to salvage his reputation. His portrayal brilliantly crosses over between self-assured pride and comedic desperation, giving the audience insight into the internal conflict of a man caught between principle and self-preservation. In addition, Eggold’s comedic timing is impeccable as he embodies a worryingly clueless, simple-minded character.
Complementing Kim’s portrayal of DHH is Francis Jue’s magnetic performance as HYH, DHH’s father Henry Yuan Hwang. A Shanghai-born immigrant and founder of California’s Far East National Bank, HYH is both a proud champion of his son’s success and a poignant figure emblematic of the complexities of the American dream.
When DHH, panicked after his casting misstep, turns to HYH for solace, HYH hilariously misinterprets the call, pivoting to a heartfelt monologue about DHH’s achievements. This comedic moment underscores HYH’s unwavering belief in the family’s embodiment of immigrant success.
Jue captures this buoyant optimism with charm, but it is his portrayal of HYH’s vulnerability — particularly as he confronts racial prejudice during the Chinese banking investigations of the late 1990s — that adds gravitas to the role. He transitions seamlessly between humor and heartbreak, grounding the satire with a profound emotional core. Jue’s layered performance breathes life into HYH, making him the heart of the production. His ability to oscillate between comedic oblivion and the quiet despair of a man wrestling with systemic racism serves as a compelling anchor, elevating Yellow Face’s exploration of identity, family, and the elusive promise of the American dream.
Outside of the father-son duo, Yellow Face benefits greatly from actors Kevin Del Aguila, Marinda Anderson and Shannon Tyo, who deliver standout performances in a variety of “cameo-like” roles. This casting choice — where actors of diverse racial backgrounds play characters of different ethnicities, including instances of non-white actors playing white characters and vice versa — adds an innovative layer to the play’s discourse on appropriation and authentic representation.
By bending these casting norms, the production amplifies its critique of racial stereotypes while also challenging the audience’s assumptions about who gets to portray whom on stage. Each brief but impactful appearance further grounds the story in its historical context, offering both comic relief and incisive commentary. These moments collectively underscore Yellow Face‘s interrogation of the boundaries between identity and performance, making them essential to its broader cultural and theatrical critique.
Watching Yellow Face on Broadway was a profoundly emotional experience for me, rooted in my deep admiration for David Henry Hwang’s work. As a theater student in art school, I attempted to direct one of his one-act plays during my senior year, but the process revealed an unfortunate reality: I could not cast any male East Asian actors due to the stark lack of diversity within the program. Faced with this limitation, I was forced to pivot my artistic vision and select a different play entirely. This moment underscored the systemic “chicken-and-egg” dilemma for Asians in the theater arts: the scarcity of roles and narratives reflecting our experiences deters many from pursuing a path in the field. Without representation on stage or in programs, aspiring Asian artists often feel unwelcome or excluded from the industry.
Yellow Face not only brings much-needed visibility to Asian narratives but also invites audiences to reconsider the structures of representation in the arts. This production is more than a revival—it is a stepping stone toward a broader cultural reckoning. As Kim cited in his Playbill credits, Yellow Face is a performance dedicated to “the AAPI theater artist who paved the way for all of us.”
Katie Kim is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at [email protected].