Even though Hwang had written his first off-Broadway play, F.O.B., in his early 20s, he never expected M. Butterfly to become a Broadway hit. In fact, he says, the actors had a betting pool on when the production would fold.
He followed that success with Golden Child, which — after its 1996 world premiere at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa — also went to Broadway and was nominated for a Tony. Since then, Hwang has been busy. He co-wrote (with Linda Woolverton and Robert Falls) the book for the Disney-produced Elton John–Tim Rice musical Aida, worked on Disney's Tarzan and wrote some screenplays. Working on such non-Asian-related works was strangely relaxing since he didn't have the additional level of responsibility of representing Asians and Asian Americans. It was also a measure of his success — proof that he wasn't boxed into an ethnic niche.
A decade passed before Hwang finally decided to write an original play.
He took three months to write Yellow Face in 2005, and then workshopped it. He has continued rewriting it during rehearsals at the Mark Taper Forum — the venue where he premiered his adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song. (That went on to garner Hwang a third Tony nomination.)
It's not surprising that he decided to write about the Miss Saigon controversy. Hwang compares his plays to a photo album and feels “privileged to have snapshots of himself” to read and help him remember where he was at that time.
A lot has changed since Hwang grew up in the San Gabriel Valley. He can remember a time when his parents were unable to buy a house in San Marino, a time before the demographics changed in favor of Asian Americans in many local cities, a time before the Wen Ho Lee case and the naming of East West Players' theater in his honor.
In a recent telephone interview with the Pasadena Weekly, the Los Angeles–based Hwang described Yellow Face, saying, “This is a mockumentary. DHH is the main character, and this play has things that actually happened and things that are invented.
“[DHH] inadvertently, after leading a protest against Jonathan Pryce, a white actor as an Asian lead, casts a white actor as an Asian lead in the play, Face Value.”
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