Dads and daughters.
People in those roles know they have a special relationship and identity. And in King of Yees, the first production of Gateway Theatre’s 2016/2017 season, that bond is stretched and twisted across cultures with doses of sharp humour, says director Sherry Yoon.
“It deals with stereotypes, traditional Asian and contemporary cultures, in an interesting way,” she said. “It’s all mashed up in a way I’ve never experienced in the theatre.”
The story, penned by playwright Lauren Yee, follows the search for a woman’s father, Larry, played by Gateway’s artistic director Jovanni Sy, who has suddenly disappeared in the heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown. The journey is a joyride through cultural stereotypes and cultures that Yoon said has broad appeal.
“It not only addresses stereotypes between Caucasian and Asians, it also looks at stereotypes Asians impose upon other Asians,” she said. “Nobody is immune. But the spirit of it is about love and connecting, even though the humour is contemporary and clever.”
Yoon added that the play shifts between worlds, mixing reality and fantasy, while the relationship between father and daughter anchors the audience.
“It really is a human play that way,” Yoon said. “That’s such a beautiful part of the story, no matter what culture you’re from. It’s just the idea of parental relationships and all of the challenges, bittersweet things and complexities that are rooted in a deep love.”
It’s also a coming of age experience where the love and respect you have for family is balanced by the distance that is a part of growing up
“It also provides a realm where self-discovery and culture play themselves out,” Yoon said. “It’s where you can’t live up to a cultural idea. All you can do is be yourself. It’s about the struggles we have trying to be something that we feel is imposed upon us and that we cannot be. That’s the inherent set up in the play — it’s impossible to be an idea.
“And it makes for a lot of fun and quite a ride.”
King of Yees runs at Gateway Theatre from Oct. 13-22.
For more information about tickets and show times, visit online at GatewayTheatre.com.
