Kelvin Han Yee and Daniel J. Kim are on fire in East West Players’ 37th-anniversary revival of Yankee Dawg You Die, Philip Kan Gotanda’s look at Asian-American representation on stage and screen, at how it has changed since the days of Anna May Wong and Sessue Hayakawa, and at the changes that remained to be made in 1988 … and still do in 2025.

Yee stars as 60something onetime Academy Award nominee Vincent Chang opposite Kim’s hotshot up-and-comer Bradley Yamashita, the role Yee himself originated at Berkeley Rep.

The product of the Chop Suey Circuit that made niche stars of crooner Larry Ching, belter Toy Yet Mar, and hoofer Dorothy Takahashi, Vincent earned his Oscar nomination for playing the kind of stereotypical “Oriental” that was pretty much the only option for an Asian American in mid-20th-century America, and indeed the TV/movie vet prides himself on never having turned down a role.

20something Bradley, on the other hand, has spent the past seven years acting, directing, and writing at San Francisco’s Theatre Project Of Asian America and under no circumstances would he ever accept the kind of parts that, as far as he’s concerned, turned Vincent into “a Chinese Steppin’ Fetchit.”

Could this be the start of a beautiful friendship?

So it would not seem based on their prickly meet-cute at a Hollywood Hills shindig where Vincent bristles at Bradley’s insinuation that he’s had more than a few nose jobs (to look less Asian) and Bradley takes umbrage at the older actor’s dismissal of the low-budget indie he’s recently starred in, no matter that film critic Eugene Bickle called him ”one of the most ‘watchable’ stars he’s seen this year.”

 Still, fate would appear to have more in store for the mismatched pair given the way it keeps throwing them together, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to predict that each man will end up changed by other, though whether for good or for ill remains to be seen.

 Having the play’s original Bradley return nearly four decades later as his older mentor is casting at its most inspired, and Yee imbues the role with defiance, pride, a wry sense of humor, and the kind of wisdom that can only be acquired in the school of hard knocks.

Rising star Kim gives Yee as good as he gets as a defiant young firebrand who comes to appreciate if not necessarily agree with the compromises made by his mentor even as he finds his own ideals tested by an industry not yet ready for a leading man who is both Asian and American.

Indeed if Yankee Dawg You Die was very much a contemporary snapshot of how things were for actors like Vincent and Bradley at the time of its 1980s debut, much of my own fascination at seeing it revived 37 years later comes from imagining how a now 60something Bradley would react were he to meet a young actor aspiring to be the next Justin H. Min, or Steven Yeun, or Simu Liu.

But that’s a matter for a sequel not yet written.

 As is, Yankee Dawg You Die proves a fascinating, thought-provoking look at how things were (and still are to a large extent), and if Gotanda’s play lost me for a while midway through with a series of rather bizarre dream/fantasy monologs I could have done without, it still packs a powerful punch, not the least because of the performances director Jennifer Chang has elicited and the cutting-edge look she and her gifted design team have given it.

Jason H. Thompson’s projections combine AI-animated historical snapshots and live video feeds to stunning effect on Yuri Okahana-Benson’s ingenious multiscreen set while costume designer Ivy Y. Chou outfits Vincent and Bradley in an eclectic assortment of 1980s looks from casual to Hollywood soiree formal

Scott Bolman’s lighting, Glenn Michael Baker’s properties, and Jesse Mandapat’s sound design are all as good as it gets, and the Godzilla puppet show midway through is a brilliantly updated twist on the scene’s original staging.

 Allen “Lucky” Weaver is casting director. Understudies Grant Chang and Jonathan Linux Cheung take center stage as Vincent and Bradley on Friday July 18.

Miller Tai is assistant director and movement coach. Brandon Hong Cheng and Edward Khris Fernandez are stage managers and Irene DH Lee is assistant stage manager. Davidson & Choy Publicity are publicists.

 One need only recall the eruption of anti-Asian hate that took place when the world shut down five years ago to know that Yankee Dawg You Die remains distressingly relevant in 2025. Kudos to East West Players for giving it the kind of Grade-A revival it so richly deserves.

East West Players, David Henry Hwang Theatre, 120 Judge John Aiso St., Los Angeles.
www.eastwestplayers.org

–Steven Stanley
July 6, 2025
Photos: Andrew Ge

Visit www.theatreinla.com/nowplayingrs.php for a review roundup of what’s now playing in theaters around Los Angeles.

Tags: East West Players, Los Angeles Theater Review, Philip Kan Gotanda