The Roundabout Theatre Company (RTC) production of “Yellow Face” will be preserved in a live capture for PBS. The David Henry Hwang play will be filmed during performances on Nov. 21 through 23 at Broadway’s Todd Haimes Theatre. “Yellow Face” will air as part of PBS’ “Great Performances,” a five-decades-long series which captures all disciplines of the performing arts on film.
This announcement comes in advance of the limited engagement’s Nov. 24 closing date. Featuring direction by Leigh Silverman, “Yellow Face” began previews on Sept. 13 and opened on Oct. 1. Daniel Dae Kim stars as DHH, an Asian-American playwright who objects to the act of yellow-face casting in a musical, only to mistakenly cast a white actor in an Asian role in his own play. Kim’s production company, 3AD, will partner with PBS on the capture.
“As a longtime fan and supporter of both PBS and ‘Great Performances,’ I couldn’t be happier for my production company, 3AD, to be collaborating with them to bring new life to ‘Yellow Face,’” said Kim in a statement. “I am deeply grateful to David, Leigh, Roundabout, our exceptional cast and crew and everyone who supported our efforts to bring this important and entertaining play to an even wider audience.”
“We are delighted to partner with Roundabout Theatre Company to capture ‘Yellow Face’ to bring this powerful play to a national audience,” added Great Performances executive producer David Horn. “It’s thought-provoking, relevant and showcases the artistic excellence we value at ‘Great Performances.’”
A co-production of the WNET Group and RTC, “Yellow Face” will be directed for television by Annette Jolles. For ‘Great Performances,’ Mitch Owgang is producer, Bill O’Donnell is series producer and Horn is executive producer. For RTC, Sydney Beers is executive producer.
In addition to Kim, the company of “Yellow Face” comprises Kevin Del Aguila as Actor A, Marinda Anderson as Actor B, Ryan Eggold as Marcus, Francis Jue as HYH and others, Greg Keller as Reporter and Shannon Tyo as Leah and others.
“Yellow Face” originally premiered Off-Broadway in 2007, in a production also helmed by Silverman. The current mounting is the play’s Main Stem premiere; “Yellow Face” was recently deemed eligible in the Best Revival of Play category for the 78th annual Tony Awards.
A premiere date for “Yellow Face” on “Great Performances” will be announced.
RTC is led by interim artistic director Scott Ellis. As previously announced, Christopher Ashley will join RTC as artistic director in 2026.
