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Yellow Face
“A thesis of a play, unafraid of complexities and contradictions, pepped up with a light dramatic fizz. It asks whether race is skin-deep, actable or even fakeable, and it does so with huge wit and brio.” -TimeOut London“A pungent play of ideas with a big heart. Yellow Face brings to the national discussion about race a sense of humor a mile wide, an even-handed treatment and a hopeful, healing vision of a world that could be” –Variety“It’s about our country, about public image, about face,” says David Henry Hwang about his latest work, a mock documentary that puts Hwang himself center stage. An exploration of Asian identity and the ever-changing definition of what it is to be an American, Yellow Face “is by turns acidly funny, insightful and provocative” (Washington Post).The play begins with the 1990s controversy over color-blind casting for Miss Saigon before it spins into a comic fantasy, in which the character DHH pens a play in protest and then unwittingly casts a white actor as the Asian lead. Yellow Face also explores the real-life investigation of Hwang’s father, the first Asian American to own a federally chartered bank, and the espionage charges against physicist Wen Ho Lee. Adroitly combining the light touch of comedy with weighty political and emotional issues, Hwang creates a "lively and provocative cultural self-portrait [that] lets nobody off the hook” (The New York Times).
86 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
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About the author
David Henry Hwang
58 books134 followersDavid Henry Hwang (Chinese: 黃哲倫; pinyin: Huáng Zhélún; born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright who has risen to prominence as the preeminent Asian American dramatist in the U.S.
He was born in Los Angeles, California and was educated at the Yale School of Drama and Stanford University. His first play was produced at the Okada House dormitory at Stanford and he briefly studied playwriting with Sam Shepard and María Irene Fornés.
He is the author of M. Butterfly (1988 Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Awards, Pulitzer finalist), Golden Child (1998 Tony nomination, 1997 OBIE Award), FOB (1981 OBIE Award), The Dance and the Railroad (Drama Desk nomination), Family Devotions (Drama Desk Nomination), Sound and Beauty, and Bondage. His newest play, Yellow Face, which premiered at Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum and New York's Public Theatre, won a 2008 OBIE Award and was a Finalist for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize. He wrote the scripts for the Broadway musicals Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida (co-author), Rodgers & Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song (2002 revival, 2003 Tony nomination), and Disney's Tarzan. His opera libretti include three works for composer Philip Glass, 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, The Voyage (Metropolitan Opera), and The Sound of a Voice; as well as Bright Sheng's The Silver River, Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar (two 2007 Grammy Awards) and Unsuk Chin's Alice In Wonderland (Opernwelt's 2007 "World Premiere of the Year"). Hwang penned the feature films M. Butterfly, Golden Gate, and Possession (co-writer), and also co-wrote the song "Solo" with Prince. A native of Los Angeles, Hwang serves on the Council of the Dramatists Guild. He attended Stanford University and Yale Drama School, and was appointed by President Clinton to the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
He was born in Los Angeles, California and was educated at the Yale School of Drama and Stanford University. His first play was produced at the Okada House dormitory at Stanford and he briefly studied playwriting with Sam Shepard and María Irene Fornés.
He is the author of M. Butterfly (1988 Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Awards, Pulitzer finalist), Golden Child (1998 Tony nomination, 1997 OBIE Award), FOB (1981 OBIE Award), The Dance and the Railroad (Drama Desk nomination), Family Devotions (Drama Desk Nomination), Sound and Beauty, and Bondage. His newest play, Yellow Face, which premiered at Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum and New York's Public Theatre, won a 2008 OBIE Award and was a Finalist for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize. He wrote the scripts for the Broadway musicals Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida (co-author), Rodgers & Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song (2002 revival, 2003 Tony nomination), and Disney's Tarzan. His opera libretti include three works for composer Philip Glass, 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, The Voyage (Metropolitan Opera), and The Sound of a Voice; as well as Bright Sheng's The Silver River, Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar (two 2007 Grammy Awards) and Unsuk Chin's Alice In Wonderland (Opernwelt's 2007 "World Premiere of the Year"). Hwang penned the feature films M. Butterfly, Golden Gate, and Possession (co-writer), and also co-wrote the song "Solo" with Prince. A native of Los Angeles, Hwang serves on the Council of the Dramatists Guild. He attended Stanford University and Yale Drama School, and was appointed by President Clinton to the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 232 reviews
May 8, 2024
The Earlier Yellow Face*
Review of the Audible Studios audiobook (May 2, 2024) multicast adaptation of the original play (2007) and the playscript from Dramatists Play Service (February 13, 2009).
Playwright David Henry Hwang creates a fictionalized story about his unpublished play Face Value (1993) which closed on Broadway after only 8 preview performances without even an official opening. The fiction takes off from the real-life protests of Hwang and others to the casting of Caucasian actor Jonathan Pryce in the role of the half-Vietnamese bar owner "The Engineer" in the London and New York staging of the Miss Saigon (1989) musical.
Hwang then opens his own play "Face Value" but inadvertently casts a Caucasian named Marcus as his Asian lead (in reality BD Wong played the role) and then has to invent a supposed Asian background for the actor in order to not embarrass himself. The actor then goes on to play several prominent Asian roles in the theatre, culminating in the role of the King of Siam (Thailand) in The King and I.
Various farcical events pile on top of each other with Hwang's father being accused of laundering Communist Chinese money in his bank, the press eager to expose Marcus's deception and DHH (the playwright's proxy) scrambling to both save his father from prosecution and undo the false narrative he had created for Marcus.
The audiobook had a full cast of prominent film and TV actors and featured Daniel Dae Kim in the role of DHH and Jason Biggs in the role of Marcus. Several prominent figures and actors played themselves. Everyone did an excellent job in this comedy farce.
Footnote
* I am thinking of the recent novel Yellowface (2023) by R.F. Kuang.
Trivia and Link
There was a Direct to YouTube film adaptation of David Henry Huang's Yellow Face in 2 parts which premiered ten years ago in 2014 and which you can watch here (Part 1) and here (Part 2).
Review of the Audible Studios audiobook (May 2, 2024) multicast adaptation of the original play (2007) and the playscript from Dramatists Play Service (February 13, 2009).
Playwright David Henry Hwang creates a fictionalized story about his unpublished play Face Value (1993) which closed on Broadway after only 8 preview performances without even an official opening. The fiction takes off from the real-life protests of Hwang and others to the casting of Caucasian actor Jonathan Pryce in the role of the half-Vietnamese bar owner "The Engineer" in the London and New York staging of the Miss Saigon (1989) musical.
Hwang then opens his own play "Face Value" but inadvertently casts a Caucasian named Marcus as his Asian lead (in reality BD Wong played the role) and then has to invent a supposed Asian background for the actor in order to not embarrass himself. The actor then goes on to play several prominent Asian roles in the theatre, culminating in the role of the King of Siam (Thailand) in The King and I.
Various farcical events pile on top of each other with Hwang's father being accused of laundering Communist Chinese money in his bank, the press eager to expose Marcus's deception and DHH (the playwright's proxy) scrambling to both save his father from prosecution and undo the false narrative he had created for Marcus.
The audiobook had a full cast of prominent film and TV actors and featured Daniel Dae Kim in the role of DHH and Jason Biggs in the role of Marcus. Several prominent figures and actors played themselves. Everyone did an excellent job in this comedy farce.
Footnote
* I am thinking of the recent novel Yellowface (2023) by R.F. Kuang.
Trivia and Link
There was a Direct to YouTube film adaptation of David Henry Huang's Yellow Face in 2 parts which premiered ten years ago in 2014 and which you can watch here (Part 1) and here (Part 2).
November 26, 2021
Hwang's storytelling technique is masterful. I never knew what perspective was coming next. A masterclass in play-craft. And hilarious. Race served 7 ways, skewering racism and political correctness at the same time. Left wondering/hoping for an African American playwright to do the same. Theater can do so many things TV and movies can't. It can be brave and uncomfortable in a space where we breathe the same air. Where our heartbeat, gasps, and laughs align. Nothing like it. (Skips down the street singing show tunes and shouting Shakespeare monologues.)
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December 8, 2022I urge you all to swear creatively - Dr. Anderson
January 18, 2024
This is a brilliantly funny and wonderfully moving play. It's metatheatrical, it's Brechtian, and it's very, very smart.
May 22, 2023
Clever in parts; Meta-theatrical; but its literary merits are, imho, rather meager.
October 3, 2024
4.1
Yellow Face is a semifictional memoir that mixes facts with fiction, starting with the controversy surrounding the casting of a Caucasian actor in an Asian role, to which the author and main character of the book, David Henry Hwang, wrote public letters of protest against.
This results in DHH being inspired to write a new play, Face Value, and mistakenly casting a white actor as his Asian lead.
While trying to cover up this blunder, he comically adds to his mishap by creating an exaggerated background, which consequently creates a spiderweb of troubles while trying to maintain this hoax.
This audiobook explores in a clever but humorous way themes from racial stereotypes in media, politics, community, and family to cultural identity, artistic freedom combined with representation, and the marginalization of minority communities in America.
David Henry Hwang starts as a
Tony Award-winning playwright arrogant and high on his success, outraged enough to light a fire that pushed for more protests, but when it’s his “name” on the line, he quickly turns his back. He is angry at Marcus, the lead actor in his failed play Face Value, for not admitting to the public that his identity as Asian American is fake, but at the same time he was not willing to out this himself for fear of being dragged down with him, making him grasp for straws to rationalize his mistakes. The events in this book force DHH to consider what identity, race, and community mean to himself and the public, undoing his web of lies at the end of the book.
The audiobook had an amazing full cast of around 13 different narrators led by Daniel Dae Kim. It was also joined by an array of different sound effects, like a phone ringing or the cracking sound of a speaker. I must say they have done an amazing job and it turned out great, although for me personally I prefer a smaller cast and little-to-know sound effects, which I knew before starting this book. For me, it became a little bit overwhelming with so many different narrators. This audiobook is ideal for people wanting to experience a book, to basically hear a movie in their head.
David Henry Hwangs book reminded me a lot of RF Kuangs recent book with a similar title, Yellowface, approaching similar themes but in the publishing industry and media. It was a great listen and a well thought out combination of fact and fiction.
Yellow Face is a semifictional memoir that mixes facts with fiction, starting with the controversy surrounding the casting of a Caucasian actor in an Asian role, to which the author and main character of the book, David Henry Hwang, wrote public letters of protest against.
This results in DHH being inspired to write a new play, Face Value, and mistakenly casting a white actor as his Asian lead.
While trying to cover up this blunder, he comically adds to his mishap by creating an exaggerated background, which consequently creates a spiderweb of troubles while trying to maintain this hoax.
This audiobook explores in a clever but humorous way themes from racial stereotypes in media, politics, community, and family to cultural identity, artistic freedom combined with representation, and the marginalization of minority communities in America.
David Henry Hwang starts as a
Tony Award-winning playwright arrogant and high on his success, outraged enough to light a fire that pushed for more protests, but when it’s his “name” on the line, he quickly turns his back. He is angry at Marcus, the lead actor in his failed play Face Value, for not admitting to the public that his identity as Asian American is fake, but at the same time he was not willing to out this himself for fear of being dragged down with him, making him grasp for straws to rationalize his mistakes. The events in this book force DHH to consider what identity, race, and community mean to himself and the public, undoing his web of lies at the end of the book.
The audiobook had an amazing full cast of around 13 different narrators led by Daniel Dae Kim. It was also joined by an array of different sound effects, like a phone ringing or the cracking sound of a speaker. I must say they have done an amazing job and it turned out great, although for me personally I prefer a smaller cast and little-to-know sound effects, which I knew before starting this book. For me, it became a little bit overwhelming with so many different narrators. This audiobook is ideal for people wanting to experience a book, to basically hear a movie in their head.
David Henry Hwangs book reminded me a lot of RF Kuangs recent book with a similar title, Yellowface, approaching similar themes but in the publishing industry and media. It was a great listen and a well thought out combination of fact and fiction.
August 19, 2018
When I was a theater critic, I had a rule that I wouldn't review a play unless I had seen the whole thing. This was in case the end was so good that it made me rethink the rest of the play and turned it from blah into enjoyable. Until today, that had only happened twice. This play makes number three. At first it felt like David Henry Hwang's (DHH) apology tour. Then it felt like DHH's bitter pity party that the audience is stuck attending. Then something is revealed that changes everything. I went from blah, to, "Hey, this is playing at a nearby theater, I'm going to go see it tomorrow." So give it a chance and stick it out until the end. You'll see why DHH won an Obie award.
August 20, 2025
This audible original was short and sweet. Daniel Dae Kim, Jason Biggs, and all of the other actors were incredible voices in this audiobook. An interesting story about race that would be fun to discuss in a book club.
May 25, 2025
A fascinating and unexpectedly humorous look and racism and hypocrisy. Its honest approach is refreshing.
August 2, 2025
I watched the PBS proshot of this play back in May, but I thought it apt to revisit the work now in the wake of the Maybe Happy Ending casting controversy. So much of it hits even harder, it almost feels prophetic.
After a week of obsessively scrolling through arguments and online discourse, it's refreshing to come back to Yellow Face and see some of your own thoughts unpacked and mirrored back.
The commentary is relevant as ever, the satire is witty, and the play is genuinely hilarious.
I had no idea that Face Value was a real show. I thought he made it up.
After a week of obsessively scrolling through arguments and online discourse, it's refreshing to come back to Yellow Face and see some of your own thoughts unpacked and mirrored back.
The commentary is relevant as ever, the satire is witty, and the play is genuinely hilarious.
I had no idea that Face Value was a real show. I thought he made it up.
March 5, 2025
I’m interested how this works onstage.
June 7, 2021
I think I finally get what David Henry Hwang is About - the ideas he's trying to figure out and the points he's trying to make. But I've also figured out that I'm just never going to love his stuff because Hwang is, to me, clearly from an older generation. I thought it was my fault for expecting an old play to still be politically relevant and relatable, but then I realized this wasn't published in the 90s like I'd thought while reading it. Hwang and I are simply on different wavelengths when it comes to views and concerns about Asian American experiences.
Still, there was a lot to like. The unreliable narration, surreality, fourth wall breaks, etc., made Hwang's kinda cheesy humor finally land for me. The story and pacing were rocky in the first act but didn't drag. DHH's relationship with his dad... their disconnect over art... oof. And Marcus's immediate attraction to the “community” of being Asian, in contrast to not having experienced unconditional acceptance and support and dedication based on a group identity before, really gave me something new to think about.
Still, there was a lot to like. The unreliable narration, surreality, fourth wall breaks, etc., made Hwang's kinda cheesy humor finally land for me. The story and pacing were rocky in the first act but didn't drag. DHH's relationship with his dad... their disconnect over art... oof. And Marcus's immediate attraction to the “community” of being Asian, in contrast to not having experienced unconditional acceptance and support and dedication based on a group identity before, really gave me something new to think about.
August 13, 2018
I read this in one sitting as I was doing laundry. I love Hwang's voice throughout and it made me think of myself regarding what mask or "face" I put on in the world. As an Afro-Latina or just a black person (I'm both) but how folks see me. This play made me think a ton. The play was also really funny. I've been reading a ton of plays lately and this one made me laugh out loud and chuckle a few times. I know if I saw this performed I'd laugh just as much. This play is important and I'm glad it was written. I can't wait to read the rest of his work!
January 4, 2019
holy shit where was this play in my life last year when i was embroiled in a (fairly minor, though definitely nonfictional) race-related media fiasco???
funny and thoughtful. frenetic, but just might work? would have to have clean direction/design though; would be easy to get wrong.
funny and thoughtful. frenetic, but just might work? would have to have clean direction/design though; would be easy to get wrong.
March 11, 2017
Good. But the gender politics...
March 28, 2024
when i got to the end and realized this doesn’t pass the bechdel test i understood why i had felt the urge to rip my hair out on each page! (🥶)
June 18, 2024
Another audiobook I almost instantly hated. Very insider-y about contemporary Broadway. Not my thing.
July 28, 2021
** 4 stars **
A smart and comic exploration of Asian, American, and Asian American identity. A fictionalized version of the playwright, DHH, casts an unknown actor named Marcus G. Dahlman to star in his new play Face Value--a play about Asian identity--shortly after protesting Jonathan Pryce (a white actor) portraying the role of an Asian man in Miss Saigon. Marcus's name doesn't sound Asian and he doesn't look stereotypically Asian, but as the casting director says, "that doesn't mean anything nowadays." DHH soon learns, however, that Marcus does not actually have any Asian ancestry, but he's already cast him in the role, and it would be racist to fire him just for being white. In the meantime, DHH's father, a Chinese immigrant to the US who now runs a successful bank and has built the American dream he always wanted, is under investigation by the federal government in what seems like a racially motivated attack against Chinese Americans. What is DHH to do?
Hwang explores how people fashion their own sense of identity in the so-called 'melting pot' of the United States and who gets to do so. The character of Marcus is almost a prediction of later white Americans who posed as POC, like Rachel Dolezal and Jessica Krug. Would definitely recommend if you have an interest in contemporary American drama.
A smart and comic exploration of Asian, American, and Asian American identity. A fictionalized version of the playwright, DHH, casts an unknown actor named Marcus G. Dahlman to star in his new play Face Value--a play about Asian identity--shortly after protesting Jonathan Pryce (a white actor) portraying the role of an Asian man in Miss Saigon. Marcus's name doesn't sound Asian and he doesn't look stereotypically Asian, but as the casting director says, "that doesn't mean anything nowadays." DHH soon learns, however, that Marcus does not actually have any Asian ancestry, but he's already cast him in the role, and it would be racist to fire him just for being white. In the meantime, DHH's father, a Chinese immigrant to the US who now runs a successful bank and has built the American dream he always wanted, is under investigation by the federal government in what seems like a racially motivated attack against Chinese Americans. What is DHH to do?
Hwang explores how people fashion their own sense of identity in the so-called 'melting pot' of the United States and who gets to do so. The character of Marcus is almost a prediction of later white Americans who posed as POC, like Rachel Dolezal and Jessica Krug. Would definitely recommend if you have an interest in contemporary American drama.
March 7, 2021
A masterpiece. Interior Chinatown has been getting lots of white-guilt buzz lately re: the Asian American male existensial crisis but David Henry Hwang
mined that shaft first and did it better. And the racism of the politicians, producers and journalists is all the more brutal given that it's all from the historical record. DHH doesn't hold himself above the mockery which means he's not wallowing in unattractive pathos either. And Marcus Gee - by the end, I came around to appreciate and laugh with him.
I did know about the scandal of the Miss Saigon casting already and wonder how that saga would have played out in 2021 -- if we're actually that farther along as a society.
Reviewing plays that you haven't seen performed is tough but the language is gripping even on the page. I hope to see a production someday.
4.5/5, minus half a star because the female characters are barely there. His father is too large for life, and achingly familiar.
mined that shaft first and did it better. And the racism of the politicians, producers and journalists is all the more brutal given that it's all from the historical record. DHH doesn't hold himself above the mockery which means he's not wallowing in unattractive pathos either. And Marcus Gee - by the end, I came around to appreciate and laugh with him.
I did know about the scandal of the Miss Saigon casting already and wonder how that saga would have played out in 2021 -- if we're actually that farther along as a society.
Reviewing plays that you haven't seen performed is tough but the language is gripping even on the page. I hope to see a production someday.
4.5/5, minus half a star because the female characters are barely there. His father is too large for life, and achingly familiar.
December 9, 2022
very clever and satyrical take on what identity actually means, how we look at it and how belonging to it can affect and change our perspectives.
very interesting. definetly want to read more david henry hwang.
very interesting. definetly want to read more david henry hwang.
December 17, 2023
A snarky satire that’ll have you stunned by its horror and humor. In this fast-paced, gripping story, you’ll flip between hate and pity for this incredibly flawed protagonist, yet she’s so well developed you can’t help having sympathy for her.
September 25, 2024
Watched the production with Daniel Dae Kim today with Rahul and Chansol. A heartbreaking and hilarious contribution to the genre of Asian Diasporic Media About Your Fucked Up Relationship With Your Parents
May 7, 2025
What I really love about this piece is the absurdity of it and how the absurdity sneaks up on you. Written 17 years ago, it is unfortunately, still relevant and the situations in it are infuriatingly still happening!! I do recommend the TCG version because Frank Rich's Foreward puts the piece and it's author into their rightful place in the theatrical Pantheon!
January 6, 2025
Very good, bit drawn out
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March 28, 2024Ooh girl David you brave for this one!
January 31, 2025
Solid play, give it a shot if you like it.
July 15, 2024
I listened to the full cast version of this book/play and it was amazing.
July 28, 2023
such a fun and interesting read.
June 15, 2025
As someone who is biracial and Asian American this play made me feel certain emotions that I don’t think I’ve gotten from other plays. I just love reading Asian plays like a lot they make me feel seen
Displaying 1 - 30 of 232 reviews