More Theater Monday - Yellow Face

We were given complimentary tickets to Yellow Face for review purposes. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.

What: Yellow Face

Where: Todd Haimes Theatre 

             227 W. 42nd St.

             New York, NY

Who: Recommended for Ages 12 and Up

When: Through November 24, 2024

Yellow Face is a tightly written extremely thought-provoking play. It was written by David Henry Hwang. and is loosely based on actual events involving negative reactions to the casting of caucasian, Jonathan Pryce, as the Asian engineer in the original Broadway production of Miss Saigon. A fictionalized version of Hwang played by Daniel Dae Kim is, in fact, the main character in the play.

In the show, after protesting vehemently about the casting of Pryce, the character of Hwang accidentally casts a caucasian as an Asian character in his next show. Although this may seem unbelievable on paper it makes perfect sense within the context of the show.

This show makes you think about the arbitrariness of distinctions between people of seemingly different backgrounds and how you don't always know what a person is made of in terms of their background unless you're told. It reminds us once again about the importance of judging each person on their individual merits regardless of any racial, ethnic, or other groups they are perceived to belong to.

The racially and ethnically diverse seven-member cast works together exceedingly well. Most take on several roles not all of which necessarily reflect their actual gender, race, and/or ethnicity. This only serves to strengthen the central premise of the entire show.

Despite the weightiness and importance of its main theme, the show is not a heavy drama, It is actually quite funny, Thus, it gets its message across much better than it probably would if it were a heavy drama.

And that's our view. For more about Yellow Face or to purchase tickets, visit www.roundabouttheatre.org/get-tickets/2024-2025/yellow-face

Tune in tomorrow for Tips for Tuesday.

Photo credits:

All Yellow Face production photos by Joan Marcus

Images used in this post have been sent to us from publicists, artists, and/or  PR firms and are used by permission. If there is a problem with the rights to any image,  contact us here, and we will look into the matter.