For nearly twenty years, Larry Yee has been the heart and soul of the Yee Fung Toy Family Association, a fraternal organization in San Francisco’s iconic Chinatown. But to his daughter Lauren, a playwright living in New York, the association is an obsolete relic of a vanishing world. When Larry suddenly disappears, Lauren sets off on a wild quest to find him, embarking on a surreal, magical journey through the history and myths of her own lineage. KING OF THE YEES is a hilarious and heartfelt “kind of true” story by Signature resident artist Lauren Yee, who turns her incisive comedic eye on what we inherit and what it means to truly be a Yee. 

About the Playwright

LAUREN YEE is proud to be a Signature Theatre resident playwright. She is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and librettist based in New York City. Prior to the pandemic, Lauren was named by American Theatre as the second-most-produced playwright of that upcoming season. Recent plays include Cambodian Rock Band with music by Dengue Fever (South Coast Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, Signature Theatre, East West Players), The Great Leap (Denver Center, Seattle Rep, Atlantic Theatre, Steppenwolf, American Conservatory Theatre), King of the Yees (Goodman Theatre, Center Theatre Group), and Mother Russia (Seattle Rep, Signature Theatre, upcoming at Hampstead Theatre, South Coast Rep, Trinity Rep). She is writing the book for the musical adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, with music and lyrics by Heather Christian. Honors include the Doris Duke Artists Award, Whiting Award, Steinberg/ATCA Award, American Academy of Arts and Letters literature award, Horton Foote Prize, Kesselring Prize, Primus Prize, a Hodder Fellowship at Princeton, and the #1 and #2 plays on the 2017 Kilroys List. TV: ”Pachinko” (Apple), “Soundtrack” (Netflix), “Interior Chinatown” (Hulu), “Billions” (Showtime), “Clipped” (FX). She’s previously developed pilots for Netflix and Apple and is currently developing TV and feature projects for Netflix and Universal. BA: Yale, MFA: UCSD. laurenyee.com