The Playwright visits Seattle...

...and merriment ensues!

The visit of a Tony award winning playwright is pretty exciting. It's even more so when the hosting theatre isn't the usual Equity house, but a smaller 99-seat or fringe theatre (though, if you note the production history of Yellow Face, it's been a favorite of smaller houses like ReAct/Pork Filled Players--and, really, the play fits quite nicely in a more intimate space).

That kind of excitement quickly generates audience enthusiasm. And the August 13 show with David sold out early, with a splash-over to the other two shows of the weekend (the big challenge for the producers is to keep the momentum and audiences going to the next three weekends, but that's OUR problem, not yours)(unless you haven't seen the show, in which case...let's talk....).

Of course, that excitement wasn't restricted to the audience--cast, crew and staff were all pretty much amped to 11 for David's visit (with the possible exception of myself. Of course, the visit pretty much gave me an excuse to give free reign to my control freak and OCD tendencies; you can check the trail of emails I was leaving to everybody over the week). From director on down, folks were fairly hyper--nervous, but in a good way, to see David Henry Hwang in the flesh.

I was out on the Hugo House steps when Dave walked up. (NO...I was NOT anxiously awaiting him. I was busy burping up the last of the burritos from Rancho Bravo I had scarped up for dinner--you can ask Dave, who could hear me burping rather inelegantly)(and that's my story and I'm sticking to it). After saying hello, he then wandered off into the Capitol Hill afternoon, looking for some mints for the evening. The Capitol Hill neighborhood was on its best behavior, with the sun out and the people perking along, and he came away suitably impressed by the vitality of the neighborhood.

By this time, the cast had worked itself into a minor frenzy. When asked if they wanted to have Dave visit before the show, they immediately replied, "ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING???"  Cooler heads prevailed; cast member Agastya Kohli convinced them that they would MUCH rather meet Dave before the show, to take the edge off the nerves and put everybody at east. So Dave came on down to the dressing room about 40 minutes before curtain and immediately put people at ease (as he is wont to do), spinning tales on exactly WHICH parts of Yellow Face were based on fact and which weren't (Hint: you'll probably guess wrong on some of the big scenes).

That night's performance, naturally, was revved up. As Dave later commented, it's one of only two productions that's used video projection of photos of the historical (and not so historical) figures; surprisingly, that gave it a movement and pace to the show that others didn't have (Dave's seen almost every production of Yellow Face done except for the one done in Mexico City (!) in Spanish).

Afterwards, Dave came out for a spirited talkback with the audience. Which, as quirky Seattleites do, ended up with a birthday cupcake or three. As it happens, David the playwright, David the director, and Jeremy the cast member all had birthdays within three days of the talkback, so we took the opportunity to do the Happy Birthday thing. In addition, we gave David a Pork Filled Players T-shirt, so he can tell his wife and kids the obligatory, "Yes, I went to Seattle, and all I got was this lousy T-shirt" deal. (The rest of the group will probably want to confer an honorary membership on him, so Dave can be an honorary member of every single Asian American theatre on the continent, but we probably won't tell him because we want to be unique that way).

Yes, there is a video tape. No, I haven't gotten around to processing it. Yes, we plan to put it up somewhere. No, I'm not sure I didn't screw up and forgot to turn the audio on.

Of course that wasn't the end of the weekend. On Sunday, there was a book signing at Elliot Bay, where Mayumi Tsutakawa moderated a talk/Q&A/book signing. As opposed to the night before, the material was somewhat broader, covering more of his career, such as his operas (David is the most prolific living opera librettist in the world), his Disney musicals and his approach to film (Hollywood tent poles, no. Independent films, yes). This talk was also taped and will appear on the Seattle Channel. I am quite sure they were competent enough to turn on both the sound and video.

Finally, there was dinner at O'Asian with a select group of cast and interested audience members. Very relaxed (except for the cast members who were simultaneously eating and sitting on Cloud 9), with a swapping of stories about his kids (now 15 and 10), a musing of great apprehensions (his son is now almost old enough to drive) and more telling of tales, both tall and small. The evening ended with the usual snapping of cast photos with the playwright and the cast and crew upholding their reputation of dignity, calm and coolness.

So, the playwright is gone. BUT THERE'S STILL FUN TO BE HAD!

Three more weekends of Yellow Face, and you can certainly enjoy the fun (especially with the cast loosening up with the visit from David). YELLOW FACE is a production of both the Pork Filled Players and Repertory Actors Theatre. It runs through Saturday, September 3 at the Richard Hugo House (1634 11th Ave in Seattle’s Capitol Hill area). 

There are specials for both NAAAP and AAJA-Seattle people!

Shows are 8 pm Fridays and Saturdays at 2 pm and 8 pm. Admission is $15 General Admission, $12 Students/Seniors/Artists at the door; tickets can also be purchased in advance at Brown Paper Tickets (http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/181433) for $12 General, $9 Students/Seniors/Artists (Reservations recommended). Discounted group rates are also available for parties of 10 or more. For more information and ticket reservations, please call the ReAct Box Office at (206)364-3283 or visit online at http://www.reactheatre.org or go to the Pork Filled Players website.

We'll talk more later.