Francis Jue
Encyclopedia
Francis Jue is an Asian-American actor and singer. Jue is known for his performances on Broadway
, Off-Broadway
and in regional theatre
, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area. Among his acting awards are the 2008 Obie Award
and Lortel Award
for Outstanding Featured Actor.
, one of nine children of Chinese American
s Frank (an engineer for the U.S. Navy) and Jennie Jue. He grew up in the Richmond district of San Francisco and attended St. Ignatius College Preparatory
high school, taking advantage of the school's excellent drama program. He received his B.A. degree at Yale University
.
as the boy in the tree and the Dutch Admiral. Later, he appeared in the show on Broadway
as the Dutch Admiral and Madam (2004–05). He also appeared on Broadway in Thoroughly Modern Millie (play), creating the role of Bun Foo (2002–04), and in M. Butterfly
as the title character, Song Liling (1988–90, as understudy and then a replacement in the original Broadway production (and starring in the national tour), and also occasionally as Comrade Chin).
Jue's Off-Broadway
credits include Dr. Mendel in the 2006 National Asian American Theater Festival's revitalization of William Finn
's Falsettoland
; numerous roles with the New York Shakespeare Festival
in Hamlet
, King Lear
, The Tragedy of Richard II
, Pericles, Prince of Tyre
, Timon of Athens
and The Winter's Tale
; Dream True: My Life with Vernon Dixon (Vineyard Theatre
); Oscar in Chay Yew
's A Language of Their Own (2005), the father in Kevin So's musical, Victor Woo: The Average Asian American, and Mr. Oji in Philip Kan Gotanda's After the War (2007). He won the 2008 Lucille Lortel Award
for Outstanding Featured Actor and a 2008 Obie Award
for his performance in David Henry Hwang
's Yellow Face
at the Public Theater
. "Jue distinguishes himself as Hwang's father, Henry Y. Hwang.... Jue's moving and heartfelt portrayal... has been earning the consummate actor rave reviews." For the role, Jue was also nominated for a 2008 Drama Desk Award
for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play. Jue has said of Hwang, "For me, Hwang's work has been a seminal part of being Asian-American in this culture. It's about feeling alienated in your own country." From May to July 2009, after recovering from an injury, Jue appeared in Coraline
with MCC Theater
at the Lucille Lortel Theatre
in the role of Father.
Jue returned to the Public Theatre in October–November 2011 in Love's Labor's Lost.
. He has appeared a number of times at Paper Mill Playhouse
and North Shore Music Theatre, and at Theatreworks, Magic Theatre, and Asian American Theatre Co. in San Francisco in such productions as Red, as Skeets Miller in Floyd Collins, as Thomas in A Question of Mercy, as Mike, Ronald and Skunk in As Bees in Honey Drown
, as the title character in Amadeus
, as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream
, as the title character in M Butterfly, as Parsi man in Just So
, as Amanuensis and Geronte in The Illusion, as the MC in Cabaret
(Bay Area Critics Circle Award), as Jeffrey in A Song for a Nisei Fisherman, as Molina in Kiss of the Spider Woman
(1997 West Coast production; DramaLogue Award), and The King and I
(2006). At The Muny
in St. Louis, he starred in the title roles of Peter Pan
in July 2007 and
The Engineer in Miss Saigon
in July 2008. In August and September 2009, he reprised his role in Yellow Face at Theatreworks.
In the summer of 2010, Jue played Smokey in Damn Yankees
at The Muny. That fall, he starred as Dr. Givings in The Actors Theatre production of In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)
in Phoenix, Arizona
. In 2011, he was back at The Muny as Sebastian in The Little Mermaid
. CBS St. Louis wrote: "The consummate acting, dancing and singing skills of Francis Jue as Sebastian are a joy to experience."
Jue's television credits include Dorian on Talk to Me (2000, ABC), voice of James in Nikki (2000, Cartoon Network), Puppet, Love & Mertz, Dr. Yamagatchi on One Life to Live
, Dr. Fong on Law and Order: SVU (2005–06, NBC), Dr. Tom Li on The Good Wife (2009–10, CBS) and Dr. Halberton, Law & Order
(2010, NBC). Jue appears as Ang Hsu in the film Joyful Noise
, written and directed by Todd Graff, scheduled to be released in January 2012. It stars Dolly Parton
and Queen Latifah
.
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
and in regional theatre
Regional theatre in the United States
Regional theaters, or resident theaters, in the United States are professional or semi-professional, theater companies that produce their own seasons. The term regional theatre most often refers to professional theatres outside of New York City...
, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area. Among his acting awards are the 2008 Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
and Lortel Award
Lucille Lortel Awards
The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986...
for Outstanding Featured Actor.
Life and career
Jue was born in San Francisco, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, one of nine children of Chinese American
Chinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
s Frank (an engineer for the U.S. Navy) and Jennie Jue. He grew up in the Richmond district of San Francisco and attended St. Ignatius College Preparatory
St. Ignatius College Preparatory
St. Ignatius College Preparatory is a preparatory school in the Jesuit tradition serving the San Francisco Bay Area since 1855. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, in the Sunset District of San Francisco, St. Ignatius is one of the oldest secondary schools in the U.S. state...
high school, taking advantage of the school's excellent drama program. He received his B.A. degree at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
NY Theatre
Jue first appeared in New York in 1984 in a production of Pacific OverturesPacific Overtures
Pacific Overtures is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a libretto by John Weidman, and additional material by Hugh Wheeler. The musical is set in 1853 Japan and follows the difficult Westernization of Japan, through the lives of two friends caught in the change...
as the boy in the tree and the Dutch Admiral. Later, he appeared in the show on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
as the Dutch Admiral and Madam (2004–05). He also appeared on Broadway in Thoroughly Modern Millie (play), creating the role of Bun Foo (2002–04), and in M. Butterfly
M. Butterfly
M. Butterfly is a 1988 play by David Henry Hwang loosely based on the relationship between French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and Shi Pei Pu, a male Peking opera singer....
as the title character, Song Liling (1988–90, as understudy and then a replacement in the original Broadway production (and starring in the national tour), and also occasionally as Comrade Chin).
Jue's Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
credits include Dr. Mendel in the 2006 National Asian American Theater Festival's revitalization of William Finn
William Finn
William Alan Finn is an American composer and lyricist of musicals. His musical Falsettos received the 1992 Tony Awards for Best Music and Lyrics and for Best Book.-Biography:...
's Falsettoland
Falsettoland
Falsettoland is a musical with a book by James Lapine and music and lyrics by William Finn.Following In Trousers and March of the Falsettos, it is the third in a trio of one-act musicals centering on Marvin, his wife Trina, his psychiatrist Mendel, his son Jason, and his gay lover Whizzer Brown...
; numerous roles with the New York Shakespeare Festival
New York Shakespeare Festival
New York Shakespeare Festival is the previous name of the New York City theatrical producing organization now known as the Public Theater. The Festival produced shows at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, as part of its free Shakespeare in the Park series, at the Public Theatre near Astor Place...
in Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
, The Tragedy of Richard II
Richard II (play)
King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by some scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's...
, Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Pericles, Prince of Tyre is a Jacobean play written at least in part by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected works despite questions over its authorship, as it was not included in the First Folio...
, Timon of Athens
Timon of Athens
The Life of Timon of Athens is a play by William Shakespeare about the fortunes of an Athenian named Timon , generally regarded as one of his most obscure and difficult works...
and The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale is a play by William Shakespeare, originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, some modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some critics, among them W. W...
; Dream True: My Life with Vernon Dixon (Vineyard Theatre
Vineyard Theatre
The Vineyard Theatre is an Off-Broadway non-profit theatre company, located at 108 East 15th Street in Manhattan, New York City, near Union Square. Its first production was in 1981...
); Oscar in Chay Yew
Chay Yew
Chay Yew is a playwright and stage director who was born in Singapore. As of 2007 he lives in New York City. As of July 2011, he becomes Artistic Director of Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago.-Career:...
's A Language of Their Own (2005), the father in Kevin So's musical, Victor Woo: The Average Asian American, and Mr. Oji in Philip Kan Gotanda's After the War (2007). He won the 2008 Lucille Lortel Award
Lucille Lortel Awards
The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986...
for Outstanding Featured Actor and a 2008 Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
for his performance in David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwang is an American playwright who has risen to prominence as the preeminent Asian American dramatist in the U.S.He was born in Los Angeles, California and was educated at the Yale School of Drama and Stanford University...
's Yellow Face
Yellow Face
Yellow Face is a play by David Henry Hwang, featuring the author himself as the protagonist. It premiered in Los Angeles at the Mark Taper Forum in association with East West Players and had its Off-Broadway premiere at the Joseph Papp Public Theater...
at the Public Theater
Public Theater
The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as The Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers. It is headquartered at 425 Lafayette Street in the former Astor Library in the East Village...
. "Jue distinguishes himself as Hwang's father, Henry Y. Hwang.... Jue's moving and heartfelt portrayal... has been earning the consummate actor rave reviews." For the role, Jue was also nominated for a 2008 Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play. Jue has said of Hwang, "For me, Hwang's work has been a seminal part of being Asian-American in this culture. It's about feeling alienated in your own country." From May to July 2009, after recovering from an injury, Jue appeared in Coraline
Coraline (musical)
Coraline is a musical written by Stephen Merritt and David Greenspan and is based on the novella Coraline by Neil Gaiman. It follows a young girl who is bored in her new house, and finds a new universe.-Production:...
with MCC Theater
MCC Theater
MCC Theater is an Off-Broadway theater company located in New York City, founded in 1986 by artistic directors Robert LuPone and Bernard Telsey along with six graduates of the New York University drama department, including Jana Herzen...
at the Lucille Lortel Theatre
Lucille Lortel Theatre
The Lucille Lortel Theatre is an off-Broadway playhouse located at 121 Christopher Street in New York City's Greenwich Village.The venue was built in 1926 as a 590-seat movie theater called the New Hudson, later known as Hudson Playhouse...
in the role of Father.
Jue returned to the Public Theatre in October–November 2011 in Love's Labor's Lost.
Other credits
Jue has also appeared widely in regional theatreRegional theatre in the United States
Regional theaters, or resident theaters, in the United States are professional or semi-professional, theater companies that produce their own seasons. The term regional theatre most often refers to professional theatres outside of New York City...
. He has appeared a number of times at Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theatre with approximately 1200 seats, located in Millburn, New Jersey, less than 25 miles from Manhattan. Due to its location, it can draw from the pool of actors who live in New York City. Its location, as well as its focus on producing large-scale shows, makes...
and North Shore Music Theatre, and at Theatreworks, Magic Theatre, and Asian American Theatre Co. in San Francisco in such productions as Red, as Skeets Miller in Floyd Collins, as Thomas in A Question of Mercy, as Mike, Ronald and Skunk in As Bees in Honey Drown
As Bees In Honey Drown
As Bees In Honey Drown is a satirical comedy by Douglas Carter Beane, an American playwright and screenwriter. The first showing of the play was in New York City in June, 1997. Four weeks later it moved to Lucille Lortel Theatre in the West Village, where it played for a year. It was also a...
, as the title character in Amadeus
Amadeus
Amadeus is a play by Peter Shaffer.It is based on the lives of the composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, highly fictionalized.Amadeus was first performed in 1979...
, as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
, as the title character in M Butterfly, as Parsi man in Just So
Just So (musical)
Just So is a musical by Anthony Drewe and George Stiles written in 1984 based on theJust So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. Just So was produced by Cameron Mackintosh at the Watermill Theatre and Tricycle Theatre in England, as well as at the Goodspeed Opera House and North Shore Music Theatre in the...
, as Amanuensis and Geronte in The Illusion, as the MC in Cabaret
Cabaret (musical)
Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
(Bay Area Critics Circle Award), as Jeffrey in A Song for a Nisei Fisherman, as Molina in Kiss of the Spider Woman
Kiss of the Spider Woman (musical)
Kiss of the Spider Woman is a musical with music by John Kander and Fred Ebb, with the book by Terrence McNally. It is based on the Manuel Puig novel El Beso de la Mujer Araña...
(1997 West Coast production; DramaLogue Award), and The King and I
The King and I
The King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in...
(2006). At The Muny
The Muny
The Muny, short for The Municipal Theatre Association of St. Louis, is an outdoor musical theatre, located in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri...
in St. Louis, he starred in the title roles of Peter Pan
Peter Pan (1954 musical)
Peter Pan is a musical adaptation of J. M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter Pan and Barrie's own novelization of it, Peter and Wendy. The music is mostly by Mark "Moose" Charlap, with additional music by Jule Styne, and most of the lyrics were written by Carolyn Leigh, with additional lyrics by Betty...
in July 2007 and
The Engineer in Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover...
in July 2008. In August and September 2009, he reprised his role in Yellow Face at Theatreworks.
In the summer of 2010, Jue played Smokey in Damn Yankees
Damn Yankees
Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League...
at The Muny. That fall, he starred as Dr. Givings in The Actors Theatre production of In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)
In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)
In the Next Room is a play by Sarah Ruhl. It concerns the early history of the vibrator, when doctors used it as a clinical device to bring women to orgasm as treatment for "hysteria." Other themes include Victorian ignorance of female sexual desire, motherhood and breastfeeding, and jealousy...
in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
. In 2011, he was back at The Muny as Sebastian in The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid (musical)
The Little Mermaid is a stage musical produced by Disney Theatrical, based on the animated 1989 Disney film of the same name and the classic story of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen...
. CBS St. Louis wrote: "The consummate acting, dancing and singing skills of Francis Jue as Sebastian are a joy to experience."
Jue's television credits include Dorian on Talk to Me (2000, ABC), voice of James in Nikki (2000, Cartoon Network), Puppet, Love & Mertz, Dr. Yamagatchi on One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
, Dr. Fong on Law and Order: SVU (2005–06, NBC), Dr. Tom Li on The Good Wife (2009–10, CBS) and Dr. Halberton, Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
(2010, NBC). Jue appears as Ang Hsu in the film Joyful Noise
Joyful Noise (film)
Joyful Noise is an upcoming musical film, starring Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton, Keke Palmer, Courtney B. Vance, Francis Jue and introducing Jeremy Jordan. It was written and directed by Todd Graff, with gospel-infused music by Mervyn Warren. The film is set to be released in theaters on January 13,...
, written and directed by Todd Graff, scheduled to be released in January 2012. It stars Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
and Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah
Dana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American singer, rapper, and actress. Her work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy...
.