Hwang's 'Yellow Face' with Jue, Debuts at The Public Nov.19

The Public Theater will conclude its fall season with the world premiere of David Henry Hwang's new play Yellow Face, directed by Leigh Silverman.  A co-production with the Center Theatre Group, this backstage comedy begins previews on Monday, November 19 and will run through Sunday, December 23 with an official press opening on Monday, December 10 at 7 PM.

Hwang premiered his first play, FOB, at the Public in 1981 which went on to win an OBIE Award.  His other plays produced at the Public include The Dance and the Railroad (Drama Desk nomination), Family Devotions (Drama Desk nomination), and The Sound of a Voice.  His last new play, Golden Child, premiered at The Public in 1996 and then transferred to Broadway where it received a Tony Award nomination.  Golden Child also earned an OBIE Award for playwriting.

"In Yellow Face, Playwright David Henry Hwang puts himself center stage with alter-ego DHH, telling his side of the explosive controversy stirred up when he led the protest against the hiring of Jonathan Pryce in the original Broadway production of Miss Saigon. Truth and fiction are hard to separate as Hwang gives us a funny and moving backstage look at his search to confront the roles that race and ethnicity play in America," state press notes.

Yellow Face was developed in collaboration with the Stanford Institute for Creativity in the Arts, Stanford University and The Lark Play Development Center.

The cast of Yellow Face features Noah Bean, Francis Jue, Julienne Hanzelka Kim, Kathryn Layng, Hoon Lee, Lucas Caleb Rooney, and Anthony Torn.

Yellow Face will feature sets by David Korins; costumes by Myung Hee Cho; lights by Donald Holder; and original composition and sound design by Darron West.

David Henry Hwang (Playwright) was awarded the 1988 Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, and John Gassner Awards for his Broadway debut, M. Butterfly, which was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.  For his play Golden Child, he received a 1998 Tony nomination and a 1997 OBIE Award.  His new book for Rodgers & Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song earned him his third Tony nomination in 2003.  He was the book writer of Disney's Tarzan, with score by Phil Collins, and also co-authored the book for Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, which ran almost five years on Broadway and won four 2000 Tony Awards.

Leigh Silverman (Director). Her recent credits include Lisa Kron's Well on Broadway and the West End production of Wit.  Upcoming projects include the world premieres of Brooke Berman's Hunting and Gathering (Primary Stages) and Tanya Barfield's Of Equal Measure (Center Theatre Group).  Her recent off-Broadway credits include Well (The Public Theater); Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (Second Stage Theatre); The Five Lesbian Brothers' Oedipus At Palm Springs (world premiere, New York Theatre Workshop); Tanya Barfield's Blue Door (Playwrights Horizons); Eve Ensler's The Treatment (world premiere, The Culture Project); Neena Beber's Jump/Cut (world premiere, Woolly Mammoth Theatre/Theater J and Women's Project); Big Times (world premiere, W.E.T.) and Finder's Fee (world premiere, Rattlestick Theater).

Yellow Face will begin previews on Monday, November 19 and run through Sunday, December 23 with an official press opening on Monday, December 10 at 7 PM.  The performance schedule is Tuesdays at 7 PM; Wednesdays thru Fridays at 8 PM; Saturdays at 2 PM and 8 PM; and Sundays at 3 PM and 7 PM.  There are no performances on Thursday, November 22 or Tuesday, December 11 and added Monday performances on November 19 and December 10 at 7 PM.

The Public Theater is located at 425 Lafayette Street.  Tickets are $50 with student tickets available in advance, at the box office only, for $25 (1 per ID).  There are a limited number of Rush Tickets sold an hour before curtain at every performance available to the general public (Two per person, $20 each, cash only).

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