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A messy 'Yellow Face' opens

By Matt Windman

6:47 PM EST, December 10, 2007

Hoon Lee as DHH in David Henry Hwang's 'Yellow Face,' at The Public Theater. (Newsday/Ari Mintz)

Look up "yellow face" in the dictionary. It says "a yellow stylized representation of a smiling face." But for playwright David Henry Hwang, it refers to the practice of having a Caucasian pretend to be an Asian individual, rather like the infamous blackface practice that we now associate with minstrelsy and Al Jolson movies.

In 1990, Hwang led the protests against the casting of Jonathan Pryce as the Engineer, a Eurasian, in the Broadway musical "Miss Saigon." After Hwang gained the support of Actors' Equity, producer Cameron Macintosh threatened to cancel the Broadway transfer, in spite of its then record-breaking ticket advance. Once Equity relented, Hwang was left with frustration and endless negative publicity.

Hwang first reacted by writing "Face Value," a farce about mistaken racial identity that closed during its Broadway previews. Now, Hwang again revisits his past with a docudrama loosely based on the "Miss Saigon" incident, the creation of "Face Value," and his relationship with a fictional character named Marcus. DHH, his lead character, is of course David Henry Hwang. Everyone else in his cast plays multiple characters.

DHH, according to the play, cast Marcus as the protagonist in "Face Value" under the belief that he was Eurasian, but it turns out he was really Caucasian. But even though DHH arranges for Marcus to be removed from the production, Marcus becomes obsessed with the Asian-American community and tries to pass himself off as Eurasian. He even steals DHH's girlfriend.

"Yellow Face" marks Hwang's first play after spending a decade writing the books for musicals like "Aida," "Tarzan" and "Flower Drum Song." While Act One, which focuses on the "Miss Saigon" and "Face Value," is cute entertainment, Act Two is a total mess, bouncing endlessly between the Marcus sub-plot, governmental investigations of Hwang's father, and a racist New York Times reporter.

Unfortunately, the play is too metatheatrical for its own good. It turns into more of a confessional than a drama with any kind of structure or development. Still, one hopes Hwang, author of the excellent drama "M. Butterfly," will not wait another decade until he writes his next play.

The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St, 212-967-7555, $25-50. Tues 7pm, Wed-Fri 8pm, Sat 2 & 8pm, Sun 3 & 7pm. Thru Dec 23.