Review: KING OF THE YEES at Signature Theatre

King of the Yees, Lauren Yee's zany, semi-autobiographical homage to San Francisco's Chinatown, opened Tuesday night to uproarious laughter and thunderous applause at Signature Theatre's ARK space, marking the play's DC-area premier.

Yee has crafted a brilliant, frenetic show that takes the audience on a two hour ride that is by turns funny and poignant, as it explores Asian archetypes, Chinese culture, the relationship between fathers and daughters, and learning to love one's family heritage. Along the way Yee interweaves San Francisco politics, pokes fun at Asian stereotypes, and makes a hilarious nod and wink to Kung Fu action movies (including a super-slow motion gun battle that features a Tong Chinese gangster that is straight out of central casting), all delivered at a pace that harks back to the Keystone Kops of the silent film era.

Executing Yee's stellar script is a very strong cast, under the direction of Jennifer Chang. Chang skillfully brings out the best in her ensemble - Ashley D. Nguyen (playing Yee and narrating the action), Grant Chang (Larry Yee), and Sylvia Kwan, Jacob Yeh, and Nicholas Yenson, who play Actors 1 through 3 respectively, and bring dozens of characters (and an amazing Chinese New Year dragon puppet) to life. This is one of those shows where the costume changes and range of characters created is as entertaining as the show itself.

And speaking of costumes, special mention must be given to Helen Q. Huang's costumes, some of which are delightfully campy, while others are a feast for the eyes. The creative team (Tanya Orellan/Scenic Design, Minjoo Kim/Lighting Design, Matthew M. Nielson/Sound Design & Original Music, Casey Kaleba/Fight Choreographer, and Joy Lanceta Coronel/Accent Coach) has done a uniformly excellent job of supporting the action on stage with high quality production elements. (Kaleba's choreography of the gun battle sequence is worth the price of admission, all by itself.)

Chang has made great use of the cozy space in the ARK, and King of the Yees takes the audience on both a physical tour of Chinatown, and an emotional journey with the author's on-stage avatar. The play is clever and multi-layered - it's easy to see why Yee was the most produced playwright of the 2018/19 season. It's also a show that would be hard to execute well, so audiences would be well advised to catch this exceptional production, before it closes.

King of the Yees runs through October 22nd in the ARK space at Signature Theatre. Running time is approximately 2:15, with one fifteen minute intermission.

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