Associated Press
[Source: AP]
The first monologue Daniel Dae Kim ever performed was by David Henry Hwang.
He had to do one for his college summer program at the National Theater Institute in Connecticut. Kim chose a scene from “FOB,” Hwang’s play about the assimilation struggles of a Chinese American. So, it’s fitting that 35 years later Hwang — the first Asian American to win the Tony Award for best play — would be the one to bring Kim into the Tony spotlight.
Known for TV series such as “Lost” and “Hawaii Five-0,” Kim, 56, is the first Asian nominee in the category of best leading actor in a play in the Tonys’ 78-year history for his work in a Broadway revival of Hwang’s “Yellow Face.”
“I can imagine a lot of things, but I did not imagine this scenario with David,” Kim said. “That I would be in a play with him, that we would both be nominated for Tony Awards and we would be able to call each other friends.”
In the semi-autobiographical show, which ran last fall at the Roundabout Theatre Company, Kim played a satirical version of Hwang. The show also scored nods for best play revival and best performance by a featured actor in a play for first-time nominee Francis Jue, an original 2007 cast member.
You could not have scripted a better ending for a play that was written in response to the musical “Miss Saigon” casting white actors as Asian characters.
Kim’s performance was filmed in November and PBS will broadcast “Yellow Face” on Friday. The Tonys, airing on CBS on June 8, also will put a spotlight on the play.
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