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Daniel's filmography has outgrown a single page!
Theatre
Off-Broadway
- "Ivanov" by Anton Chekhov, Translated by Paul Schmidt and Directed by Jonathan Bank, Produced by The National Asian American Theatre Company ... Doctor Lvov
The play is about the tribulations of Ivanov, an impoverished gentleman farmer, and his social circle: his uncle, the even more impoverished Count Shabelsky; his Jewish wife, Anna, who is dying of tuberculosis; Anna’s self-righteously honest doctor, Lvov, who despises Ivanov for his neglect of his wife; Borkin, the hapless estate manager; the Lebedev family (a local dignitary, his moneylending wife, and their daughter Sasha); and assorted Lebedev hangers-on. (Summary from nytheatre.com)
More info at The National Asian American Theatre Company website.
Reviews by
Jonathan Kalb - NY Times (requires free registration), Loren Noveck - NYTheatre.com and Simon Saltzman - Curtain Up.
Excerpt from review in Curtain Up --
"You will be hard pressed not to laugh aloud at the righteous moralizing of the young doctor, particularly as played by a relentlessly stupefied Daniel Dea [sic] Kim."
- "The Tempest" by Shakespeare, Adaptation Written and Directed by Andrew Tsao, produced by East West Players (November 2002 - December 2002) ... Prospero
This production blends Eastern and Western techniques to create a hip, young, sexy production of one of Shakespeare’s most mythic and abstract plays. It is the first Tempest in the United States with an all Asian-American cast. Details on the East West Players site.
On an island somewhere far away from here and now lives the exiled Duke of Milan Prospero, his daughter, a spirit, and a half-human beast. Fate and destiny come together to bring Prospero's enemies to this magical island where revenge, desire, love and forgiveness all work to bring a wronged man back to humanity. (Description from East West Players site)
Reviews in The Daily Bruin, Backstage.com and AsiaMedia.
Excerpt from review in The Daily Bruin --
Daniel Kim, who plays Prospero, believes Shakespeare's plays traditionally favor speech over action, but feels that body language clarifies the verbal language. "(Physical movement) communicates more effectively Shakespeare's words and intentions," Kim said.
Tsao and the East West Players worked with a choreographer from Louisiana. All the actors have a background in martial arts so the choreographer, director and actors borrowed from the discipline to create the body language for the play. For the all Asian American cast and crew, interpreting martial arts movements and incorporating their heritage into the performance was a way to personalize a tale of Western culture.
In the opening scene, as Miranda speaks to her father on the deserted island, Prospero's movements look like Tai-Chi, standing in a wide stance and circling his arms as if drawing in and pushing out energy. The players also use undated costumes and a timeless setting to show that the themes Shakespeare focused upon reverberate across cultures and throughout generations. Prospero, for example, wears dark pants with gold splashes and a long black coat with a purple velvet sash. "We want to emphasize the timeless, universal themes," said Kim. "We want the audience to see that Shakespeare isn't so foreign."
Infusing words into their body, and using cross-cultural genres, the players are aiming to create a production that penetrates and entertains all audiences. "What Shakespeare says is so huge and hard to understand, we must use every part of our bodily instrument to convey meaning ... and create an enjoyable experience," said Kim.
Excerpt from review in Backstage.com --
Daniel Dae Kim is a troubled Prospero, often lingering high above the action. Kim exudes nobility and fatherliness, while giving us interesting glimpses of Prospero's darker side. A conniving and occasionally lecherous man flickers by now and then. In Tsao's vision most of the ensemble is double-cast, which not only allows these gifted actors to show off quite a bit but also adds fresh, subtle overtones to the text.
Review from a fan in the audience:
The play was really great. I think Daniel was the best one in it. I actually noticed the age difference between him and the others, just because of the choices he made with respect to his mannerisms, etc. But then, I guess it isn't age so much as experience. There were only 7 in the cast and the others were good, some were better than others, but Daniel really outshined them. I do not think all actors can do Shakespeare. I know that Daniel really loves to perform Shakespeare, and it was very evident. He did not merely speak the words he'd memorized but made them his own language. I took a friend who is a big fan of Shakespeare, and she said she could tell he was truly enjoying himself, too.
I know he was hustling between shooting 24 during the day and then doing this play in the evening. How does he switch gears like that?!
- "Hamlet" by Shakespeare (June 2001) ... Director
For several months in spring 2001, Daniel ran a workshop on acting in Shakespeare, specifically Hamlet. This culminated in Daniel directing a production of Hamlet in Los Angeles which featured Daniel's friend, Joel de la Fuente of Space: Above and Beyond fame.
- "Golden Child" by David Henry Hwang produced by East West Players (Jan-Feb 2000) ... Ein Tien-Bin/Andrew (lead role) and a second role as Bin's modern-day grandson
Reviews in the Daily Bruin, ABCflash, LA Weekly, New Times, and Variety.com.
The true story of Hwang's great-grandfather. After
returning from the Philippines, Bin (Daniel) is excited about the Western ways he has
seen there. He wants to try to bring his family into the
new way of life. He sees Chinese traditions,
especially foot binding, as pointless, and believes they
just aren't useful anymore. Continually he repeats
"Times are changing."
He respects his first wife, played by Amy Hill, whom
he had been wed to before he was even born; he
feels nothing for his second wife, (portrayed by Emily
Kuroda) a conniving, backstabbing woman; yet he
truly loves his third wife (played by Connie Kim), the
only one he actually chose to marry. He fantasizes
about what it would be like to just be with her, and
these fantasies ultimately lead to disaster and tragedy
in his household.
(Description from Daily Bruin)
- "Cockroach Nation" by Matt Pelrey, reading for Lodestone Theatre Ensemble (December 1999) ... Boone
Plays a homeless survivalist who is convinced that the apocalypse (referred to in the play as "Trash Day") is just around the corner.
- "Home is Where the Han Is" by Philip W. Chung, reading for Multicultural Reading Series at Los Angeles Theatre Center (April 1999) ... unknown
A Korean immigrant, Mr Yim, wakes up one day to find himself on trial, representing the entire Korean American community, on charges of treason "against American history and culture." With the help of a half-Korean attorney who has denied his cultural roots, the confused Mr. Yim must prove that Korean Americans have provided valuable contributions to American life or face the possibility of spending an eternity in prison.
- "The Chang Fragments" by Han Ong produced at the Public Theatre (1996) .... Bruce Chang
Review from Back Stage.
- "The School for Wives" by Moliere produced by New York's National Asian American Theatre Company (NATCO) (1995) - A French Comedy ... young male ingenue Horace
Review from The New York Times and from The Village Voice. Full production listing at http://www.naatco.org/productions/1995_school_for_wives.htm
A middle-aged bachelor raises his beautiful ward to be the ignorant pliable wife he desires. His plans are thwarted by young love that springs up between his ward and Horace, the handsome young son of a close family friend. Daniel plays Horace with "convincing verve", personifing the unkillable and untamable emotion of love. (Description in part from The Village Voice)
- "A Doll's House" by Ibsen produced by Pan Asian Repertory Theater (1993) .... Torvald Hwang
Review from Back Stage.
- "Romeo and Juliet" produced by Theatre for a New Audience (1991) ... Paris
Review from Back Stage.
- "Gravity Falls from Trees" produced by DTW/Lenora Champagne (date unknown) ... Dr. Park
Regional
Most at At New York University's Tisch School of Arts (1993 - 1996)
- "Cymbeline" by Shakespeare .... Posthumus
- "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by Shakespeare .... Puck
- "Yankee Dawg You Die" by Philip Kan Gotanda .... Bradley
A satirical comedy by the Asian American playwright
- "The Hot L Baltimore" .... Paul Granger
- "The Winter's Tale" by Shakespeare .... Leontes
- "The Cherry Orchard" (1993) by Chekhov
- "The Three Sisters" .... Andrei
- "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" .... Valmont
- "The Ride Across Lake Constance" .... Von Stronheim
- "Trojan Women" .... Poseidon
- "Ubu Roi " .... Capt. Bordure
- "Ah, Wilderness"
Daniel's filmography has outgrown a single page!
(Thanks to Kate Duncan from the Space: Above and Beyond Alumni News website for the Hamlet news.)
If you have information not listed here, please email me at webmistress@danieldaekim.org
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