“In 17 years, I think every single cell in your body has changed over at least once. I think that I changed more than the play did,” says Francis Jue in reference to the play Yellow Face. The actor first performed the role of Henry, a stage version of playwright David Henry Hwang’s father, off-Broadway in 2007. Nearly two decades later, Jue returned to the role in the Broadway revival to great acclaim. He recently joined Gold Derby to discuss the script’s continued relevance.
Henry is an immigrant from China and is obsessed with American ideals and culture. Yellow Face dives into the tricky world of identity politics and asks who has the right to the American dream. “When we first did it in 2007, people were wondering why he was still writing about identity? Weren't we past issues of racism? Obama was about to be president and isn't theater wonderful,” notes Jue. American culture has caught up with the discussions in the play, just in time for this revival. “Identity still is an issue. America still is wrestling with the question of what it means to be American.”