Yes, BD Wong Can Say That

By any measure, BD Wong has achieved great success. The San Francisco native has won a Tony Award and appeared in four Broadway shows. On the big screen, Wong has acted in some of the highest-grossing films of all time, including the Jurassic Park series. On television, fans recognize him from key roles in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Gotham, and Mr. Robot. His voice is even frequently featured in video games.

Now the 62-year-old Brooklyn resident is taking on a new challenge: directing. Last year, Wong directed several stage projects, including the world premiere of a new musical based on the movie Mr. Holland’s Opus. In the Comedy Central series Awkwafina is Nora from Queens, he not only portrays Nora’s dad, Wally, but has also served as director.

In this interview, Wong talks about his experience as an Asian American actor, as well as shares details about his current directing project.

What’s your reaction to the success of Everything Everywhere All at Once and Asian American-centered stories at the recent Oscars?

BD Wong: It was no mistake that everyone had a strong hunch Michelle Yeoh would win and then Halle Berry [the first African American to win “Best Actress”] presented the award. A door opened when Halle Berry won. You can’t really quantify the opportunities, but precedence is really important.

During their acceptance speeches, several of the actors described their difficult experiences with the Hollywood casting system. Can you relate?

Wong: I watched the Oscars with some fellow Asian actors, and we all related to the feeling of not being able to assume your potential because of the lack of opportunities. These things are very universal in our community – and translatable to other communities, as well. It’s a common thing.

Because I’m really kind of forging into new territory as a director now, I feel the difference in my ability to be creative and expressive. I’m only as good as the opportunities that I’m given. I can’t make more opportunities happen for myself, beyond a certain extent.

You’re currently directing Judy Gold’s new solo show with Primary Stages, Yes, I Can Say That!, which runs through April 16^th at New York’s 59E59 Theaters. What’s the production about?

Wong: Judy Gold is a well-known stand-up comic who has spent a long career working her way up the ranks. She wrote a book [Yes, I Can Say That: When They Come For the Comedians, We Are All in Trouble] that came out in 2020 about comedy and free speech in a climate in which people get canceled.

There are things in-play now — that weren’t when Judy was first starting — making it very challenging for a new comic to push the envelope. As a solo performance, there’s material that’s from the book, but the show is custom-made for the theatre. It isn’t a long stand-up set. It’s more like a play than a solo show.

How hard was it to translate Judy’s book to the stage?

Wong: The whole book is a treatise on the nuances of free speech: censorship, government intervention, conservative versus progressive politics — all these kinds of things and how they relate to comedians’ ability to poke fun at the government, or the ability to uncover or shed light on certain things.

Because it’s only an 80-minute show with one performer, distilling that book down to its essence is challenging, but I think Judy and Eddie Sarfaty, who co-wrote this play together, did a really good job of bringing her book to life. [Note: Sarfaty is married to the author of this interview.]

How did you get involved with the project?

Wong: I’ve known Judy for many years. We appeared on Margaret Cho’s sitcom [ABC’s All-American Girl] together in the 90s. We became friends then and I have a long history with her.

The show has not only been wonderfully satisfying to me as an artist, but I also feel it’s rather important. She’s saying things that can make us all think about how we process our own discomfort about edgy humor. At the same time, she’s hilarious, so it’s a very entertaining show. I just love working on it.

Last fall, an angry heckler hurled a full beer can at comedian Ariel Elias during a set. With all the heat around this topic of free speech, political correctness, and cancel culture, do you have any concerns about security with Yes, I Can Say That!?

Wong: I don’t – maybe I should, but I don’t because of the context in which Judy is performing. There is a certain sense of safety in an off-Broadway theater. In the show, Judy does address a sense of fearing for her safety in a general way – which is real because of the incident you described and other incidents internationally, in which comics are imprisoned or executed because of the humor that their government doesn’t approve of.

A reason why people think something is controversial is because they’re not well informed about it. Judy breaks apart and takes you through the history of comedy and what it means for a comic to gain the audience’s trust – all those little things that we don’t really think about as audience members.

The show’s poster is edgy. What’s the story behind that?

Wong: There was one iteration. It was high concept because – let’s talk about advertising for a second. With publicity, you have one second to capture somebody’s understanding of what an entire production is about: the content and whether it’s funny or serious.

Our poster is a depiction of Judy holding the stand-up microphone, brandishing it like a weapon, and wearing a red bright red gag ball in her mouth. I can’t think of any better way to depict what the show is about or its tone. She’s wonderfully, hilariously rageful.

For Yes, I Can Say That! tickets, please visit 59E59 Theaters.

Listen to The Revolución Podcast full episode featuring BD Wong with co-hosts Kathryn Garcia Castro, Diego Lastra, Linda Lane González, and Court Stroud on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google or by clicking here.