LA Daily News - Highly Recommended
"..."Yellow Face" remains profound, even as it also remains very humorous. It's theme underscores one of the last seemingly acceptable cultural appropriations (remember the controversy over Scarlett Johansson's voicing of a character in "The Ghost in the Shell" series), and - albeit with humor - claims identity as an important aspect of the 21st century entertainment sphere."
Broadway World - Highly Recommended
"...Hwang has the brilliant way of manipulating the audience to laugh, laugh, laugh; then pull the rug out from under; introducing a very important message or serious scene. Faustino and Sun 's heartfelt father-and-son scenes' really the soulful core of YELLOW FACE."
LA Splash - Recommended
"...YELLOW FACE is an absorbing tale about the American culture then and now – a culture in which racial issues have yet to be resolved. This would be an especially fascinating show for students of Asian studies, giving them the opportunity to see the very personal emotions which underlie words like "prejudice" and "race." YELLOW FACE will have people discussing racial, political, and ethical conundrums long after the curtain comes down."
Stage Scene LA - Highly Recommended
"...Tony-winning playwright David Henry Hwang blurs fact and fiction in the most devilishly clever of ways while tackling issues of racism and race in his 2007 off-Broadway hit Yellow Face, now provoking gales of laughter, plenty of post-performance discussion, and an unexpected tear or two at Beverly Hills Playhouse."
On Stage Los Angeles - Somewhat Recommended
"...On the page, Yellow Face has moments that made me laugh out loud. On the stage, a slightly different story. HDH's reputation as a playwright expands in this wonky presentational production to be true to "proper casting" ie. Asians in Asian roles."
Will Call - Highly Recommended
"...The audience favorite (mine, too) is Alfonso Faustino in all of his many roles. He is especially moving a D.H. Hwang's elderly father, a Chinese man whose love for his adopted country, the land of the free and the home of Frank Sinatra, James Stewart and Clark Gable, runs deep. Plus the author has given him a lot of quotable lines and he charms in every part he assumes. Also impressive is Lisagaye Tomlinson who masters accents and gender, Dennis Nollette brings authenticity to the roles of agent, politician etc. and Jennifer Vo Le can be loving, temperamental and super sexy with equal ease. The above mentioned Pendergast., in addition to his announcing job, is well cast as a sophisticated, crack reporter/interviewer. Theatre lovers will sink their teeth into this production, which ends up surprising and enlightening us as to who our real enemy is."
Total Theater - Highly Recommended
"...Working on a bare stage whose only props are chairs, a few phones and a cage-like backdrop, the actors move in tightly choreographed fashion, bringing Hwang's world to vibrant, hilarious life."
Showmag - Recommended
"...Ten years have past since Hwang began to investigate the subjectivity and fluidity of Asian identity, and since that time gender identities have joined the conversation. Yet these are still difficult concepts, and this production engenders a perfect opportunity to exercise one's own ethical muscles."
Stage Raw - Recommended
"...Yellow Face packs a lot of ideas and information into its near two-hour running time but there's little dramatic action. So the onus falls on the actors - most heavily on Sun as DHH - to provide the drama through their reaction to events. Under Robert Zimmerman's direction, Sun's laidback performance is serviceable but without the crisp ironical edge to make him interesting. Some of the same can be said of Moretti in the potentially delicious comic role of Marcus, a person who at one point almost forgets that he's white. Also, Faustino is unconvincing as an elderly Chinese-American financier, and there's little familial chemistry apparent between his character and Sun's. Lisagaye Tomlinson does fine in multiple minor roles that are essentially expository, while Jennifer Lo Ve is most memorable as DHH's sulky supercilious ex, who ends up bedding down with Marcus, much to DHH's dismay"
Accessibly Live Off-Line - Highly Recommended
"...Directed by Robert Zummerman, YELLOW FACE shows off a period that ushered in the political correctness era of the 1990s and later became part of the permanent domestic domain. It also brought to the attention that foreign governing bodies can indeed play a role of how a political campaign for office can be influenced through the acquisition of large amount of funds. These elements still plays a part to the current political landscape of now."
