When it came to returning to Broadway, Daniel Dae Kim had a few criteria in mind.
The actor, known for his role in “Lost,” debuted on Broadway in 2016 in “The King and I” at the Lincoln Center Theater. Now, Kim is starring in “Yellow Face,” a semi-autobiographical play by Tony Award winner David Henry Hwang playing at the Todd Haimes Theatre through Nov. 24.
“Yellow Face,” directed by Leigh Silverman, follows Kim’s character DHH, loosely based on Hwang, as he protests the yellowface casting of actor Jonathan Pryce in “Miss Saigon” on Broadway. While this part is true, the production, a revival from 2007, takes a few fictionalized twists as DHH goes on to accidentally cast a white actor in an Asian role in his show “Face Value” — satirical chaos ensues with family members, friends, reporters and more as DHH realizes his mistake.
For Kim, this was the perfect role to return to the stage for.
“After having been on Broadway, it wasn’t like I was making my debut anymore,” he says on a Zoom call between shows. “To come back, it required something that I felt was close to me.”
He adds: “It’s not often that we see an Asian American play on Broadway told in such a deftly skillful way, but it’s a unique combination of craft, art and timeliness….It’s easy to be jaded when you’re talking about race and identity or ‘woke politics,’ but what I love about this play is that it takes an abstract issue and reduces it and distills it to a human-to-human interaction….It comes from a place of, let’s figure this out together, and I think as a society, we could all use a little bit more of that.”
Daniel Dae Kim
Marcelo Krasilcic
Kim was particularly excited to tap into his comedy chops with the farce-y “Yellow Face” plot. When asked if he surprised himself with his comedy prowess, Kim emphatically answered no. He always knew he was funny, though he says audiences are often surprised.
“Being able to surprise people pleasantly is always fun,” he says. “To take risks is part of growth and having a long career.”
As Kim is returning to Broadway, it’s also not the first iteration of “Yellow Face.” It first hit stages in 2007 in Los Angeles and New York City, though never made it to Broadway. For Kim, this revival reflects change.
“The fact that it never got to Broadway said something to me…because in 2007 this show was not as critically well received,” he says. “It means that the culture has shifted and the culture has in some ways caught up with what David was talking about all those years ago.”
The play kicks off with DHH protesting the casting of Pryce in “Miss Saigon,” which was occurring right as Kim was starting out in his career.
“I distinctly remember the controversy. I was just getting to New York at the time,” he says.
As the show combines fact and fiction, Kim weaves his own experiences in the industry with Hwang’s memories of the period to create the semi-autobiographical character.
“I asked [Hwang] about some of his experiences during that time because I wanted to get his perspective and thoughts to deepen the character,” Kim says. “At the same time, I’ve done work as an advocate for the Asian American community. I already knew a lot about what he was going through.”
While Kim felt deeply connected to the themes of the play and to Hwang’s experiences, the role itself didn’t come without its challenges, particularly as the character does land himself in his own miscasting controversy.
“The idea that he implicates himself is something that I find interesting,” he says. “Humiliating yourself on stage was something that it took me a little while to be able to access in a genuine way because I’m very protective of this character, but to do justice to this character would mean to do justice to that element of it.”
With this idea of “humiliating yourself on stage,” the one-act play is fast-paced and funny, yet at times incredibly moving, particularly in the scenes with DHH and his father played by Francis Jue — he also originated the role in the 2007 production. Representing a true father-son relationship in these scenes is another element of the character that came naturally to Kim.
“The way into those scenes for me was my relationship with my own father. He’s an immigrant, the way that David’s father was. He was a doctor and so I know what it meant to him, and what his American dreams were,” he says. “It was easy to apply.”
Kim’s father has been able to see this connection play out on stage.
“He was happy, and I have to say, I couldn’t help but think of him through the entire play,” Kim says. “That had been the case even through rehearsal.”
As “Yellow Face” approaches its closing date in a few weeks, Kim’s schedule is full with a show dropping on Amazon Prime and a packed filming schedule, while also running his production company 3AD.
“My dance card is pretty full,” he quips just hours before the evening performance of “Yellow Face.”
