Lauren Yee's 'King of the Yees' Opens October 19 at New York's Signature Theatre, Running Through November 15
King of the Yees, the semi-autobiographical comedy by playwright Lauren Yee, officially opened in New York on October 19. Presented by Signature Theatre, the production plays the Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theater at The Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street, New York, through November 15, following previews that began October 6. Both TDF and Playbill list October 19 as the opening date.
Set against San Francisco's Chinatown, the play follows Larry Yee, for nearly twenty years the heart and soul of the Yee Fung Toy Family Association, a fraternal organization in Chinatown. To his daughter Lauren, a playwright living in New York, the association is a relic of a vanishing world. When Larry suddenly disappears, Lauren sets off on a surreal quest through a fantastical version of Chinatown — complete with dancing lions and the ghosts of her ancestors — and through the history and myths of her own lineage.
Joshua Kahan Brody directs, returning to the play after staging its earlier productions in San Francisco and Chicago. Tony Award winner Francis Jue reprises the role of Larry Yee, which he previously played in Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco, while Kelly Marie Tran plays Lauren in her Off-Broadway debut. The company also includes Maureen Sebastian and David Shih.
Speaking to Playbill, Tran said: "The play is so much about finding where you belong, even though it's been there the whole time, and having this strange separation from it. I think that has also been my journey with the entire entertainment industry." She added that the Asian American community has carried her through that journey.
The first reviews appeared on October 19 and 20, with BroadwayWorld rounding up notices from New York Stage Review, the New York Theatre Guide, ExeuntNYC and others. The New York Theatre Guide called the play "less of a traditional family play and more of a formal experiment, one that's at times confounding but never boring, and sure to leave you with more questions than answers," adding that it "might also make you want to call your dad." Tickets and performance information are available from Signature Theatre.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 本剧女主角 Kelly Marie Tran 本人资料图（2025 年 Sundance 电影节）。Photo by ReverendPoppins / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0。文件页：https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kelly_Marie_Tran_Sundance_2025_Cropped.jpg
