best ensemble
lead actor sylvia kwan
fight choreography
Cgi/video
best production
best director
lead actor paul yen
7
LA DRAMA CRITICS CIRCLE nominations
vietGone
Paul Yen is stupendous from start to finish as Quang, the Playwright’s charismatic bad boy father. Yen raps with... swagger as he fast-talks the super contemporary slang. [H]e’s like an Asian James Dean.
-L.A. Times, Charles McNulty
Yen gives a charismatic performance as Quang. It’s a role that requires him not only to rap and enact choreographed fights but also to portray the elderly version of his character, which he does with graceful skill.
[S]ome of the most thrilling raps since Lin Manuel Miranda revolutionized Broadway... expertly delivered by Yen and Kwan... Yen’s sexy, sculpted Quang [is] everything you want a... romantic lead to be[.]
Paul Yen totally inhabits his role of Quang... Yen's at his most charming as the older Quang being interviewed on his military history by his adult son.
His raps are among the most searing and he delivers a nuanced, heartbreaking performance.
Paul Yen's deep connection with the material, his witty reconstructions of iconic superheroes and his keen grasp of some pretty complicated social forces are reasons enough to interest almost anyone. If you go... you'll also be able to say you saw a young actor at the start of the vertical trajectory of his career.
An extraordinary accomplishment... poignant, compelling, humorous, and challenging. But, most of all, it is truthful... Yen’s writing is articulate and powerful, and his acting demonstrates what it means to “lose oneself in character” and “to experience as if for the first time.”
[T]he opportunity to be entertained, while opening my mind up to something I had never considered before. Paul does that in the most inventive, brave way. I’ll take him as my superhero any day.
Paul’s honesty in revealing his insecurities, self-doubt, shame and anger in the process of forging his own identity makes SIC beautifully thought provoking and emotionally rewarding... Equally noteworthy is the way Paul masterfully balances tone throughout the play, seamlessly shifting from buoyant comedic moments to his most heartfelt and sometimes tense.
Paul Yen’s Secret Identity Crisis probes into the heart of the issue of racism in Hollywood. Yen takes a symbolic route, via the world of comic superheroes, to dissect his journey as an Asian-American artist. The result is funny and profound[.]
Paul’s performance was inspiring.
[T]houghtful, poignant, angry in the best way, wise, powerful and true.
[D]issertation-level-deep, completely deliberate, and fantastically entertaining. This is an important piece of theater and an even more important piece of writing - intelligent, poignant and necessary for the evolution of society as a whole.
Paul Yen weaves an incredibly entertaining and though-provoking journey through the existential trials of being an Asian-American in Hollywood... The show is as relevant and poignant as it is entertaining and hilarious!
Not only was the show well thought out and highly educational, but deeply personal and funny, and most of all extremely relevant.