Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...there is much to enjoy about "King of the Yees." There is a funny and very telling sequence wherein two Asian-American actors (played by Daniel Smith and Angela Lin, both of whom are excellent) discuss the perils of navigating the theater's absurd ignorance and manipulation of Asian stereotyping — it's a very sharply written sequence that nails the complexity of needing to exist within a system that you also want to turn on its head. It's indicative of how important a voice Yee surely will be."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...Here it is: You will, without any question, fall madly in love with Larry Yee, or more precisely, with Francis Jue, the wiry, wide-eyed, shrewdly comic, comically un-hip and altogether remarkable actor who plays him with such effortless guile. This is the father you have loved with all your heart, as well as the man trapped (for better and for worse) in the thinking of a very different generation. He also just might be the most irresistible old-school style, first-generation American immigrant to arrive on a stage since Leo Rosten's Hyman Kaplan enrolled in night school (and yes, the Jewish reference is relevant here)."
Daily Herald - Recommended
"..."King of the Yees" also encompasses a series of cutting comedy sketches where Lin and Smith as actors playing actors hilariously debate and fall prey to Western pop cultural stereotypes of Asian-Americans. And by Act II, "King of the Yees" morphs into a mystical, if sometimes silly, quest where the heroine must solve riddles and pass cultural tests to rescue an imperiled loved one."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...This is a big load of meta-theatrics to pack into a mere two hours, but Goodman Theatre's world premiere production roots its spectacle firmly in the familiar—a thunderclap whenever crime boss Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow's name is uttered ( cf. Young Frankenstein ), a dance score that segues from traditional Sino-centric instruments to MC Hammer, Korean and mixed-ethnic actors commiserating on the vagaries of show-business Asian stereotypes—all blooming under Joshua Kahan Brody's direction at a velocity that ensures that our attention never wavers."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...What follows is a gripping, if truncated, look at a writer grappling with her identity as a thing that could be boiled down to a series of puzzle games. Yee's journey is indicative of the range of stories this nation holds."
Stage and Cinema - Not Recommended
"...With its in-jokes, private gossip, cute contrivances, and closed references, King of the Yees, at worst and at most, is Yee’s self-referential, narcissistically conceived concoction, a family album whose snapshots mean next to nothing. Lauren Yee is the once and future audience of King of the Yees. We needn’t bother."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...This ambitious work has a brisk pace, visual delights, and cutely funny situations. There is even several asides wherein two actors, Daniel Smith andAngelia Lin comment on the state of Asian actors including Koreans playing Chinese, etc. Mostly these asides add depth to the production. King of the Yees is manic, grounded in the blend of ethnic tradition, and rich in storytelling. Yet, ultimately, there is little new added to the classic tradition versus modern cultural identity. Lauren, after her wild ride, finds that her father Larry has much to offer. Her ride through her past is ultimately justified through clever wit, and some homemade wisdom."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...The purely intellectual viewer will see this as a fall short play that has very little substance or meaning, even doubting why this acclaimed theatre would commission Lauren Lee to write it. Those who see theater as an escape from the day-to-day lives they lead, will probably laugh their heads (or other body parts) off. This is a slick, hysterical evening of pure entertainment. Yes, it probably could have been trimmed down to a 90 or 100 minute, no intermission show, but being two acts. and lasting a little over 2 hours including a ten minute intermission still allowed it to work."
Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended
"...For sheer entertainment value, Lauren Yee’s new comedy can’t be beat. Now premiering in Chicago, following its initial reading at the 2015 New Stages Festival, this delightful meta comedy will soon be seen at other theatres across the nation. The play is so unusual, it continually knocks the audience off its feet. This story of father/daughter relationship and cultural history owes much to such children’s classics as Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz. There’s even a bit of Sondheim’s musical, “Into the Woods” thrown in, for good measure, and the whole thing is quite simply a whole lot of fun."
Picture This Post - Highly Recommended
"...Regardless of whether you are Asian American or part of an intergenerational immigrant family, King of the Yees will resonate with anyone who has struggled to be accepted, find personal meaning and identity, and to measure up to their family and society's expectations. Yee's play is deeply universal and easy to access because she infuses joy and humor into the mix, as well as a willingness to skewer standard theatre tropes in unexpected ways."
NewCity Chicago - Recommended
"...As a work that is forever in progress, "King of the Yees" reflects honestly, openly and, most important, humorously on the incomplete nature of art making. Most of what makes this play less fulfilling upon reflection (the start-stop nature of the action, the abrupt shifts from hallucinatory humor to sentimentality, the suspiciously juvenile behavior of the thirty-year-old main character) is built into its DNA and Yee has done an admirable job of not letting the meta-theatrics get too out of control."
