ABOUT

John hails from Atlanta, GA and graduated from Elon University with a B.F.A. in Music Theatre. After graduation, John entered the Teach For America Houston corps and taught 7th grade Reading at Frank Black Middle School, serving low-income and low-socioeconomic status children for two years. John was a 2013 nominee for the Sue Lehmann Excellence in Teacher Leadership Award for his exceptional outcomes in the classroom.

After completing the corps, John moved to New York City and shortly thereafter went on the road for two years with the First National Tour of Cinderella, traveling to over 54 cities and performing as the cover for ‘Prince Topher.' In the Fall of 2017, John originated the role of ‘Bobo’ in the world premiere of the musical KPOP Off-Broadway at Ars Nova.

In 2019, John made his Public Theatre debut in Soft Power. You can hear John on the Original Cast Album of Soft Power (available here) which was nominated for a 2021 Grammy for Best Musical Theatre Album. Soft Power was directed by Leigh Silverman and featured a book & lyrics by David Henry Hwang, music & additional lyrics by Jeanine Tesori, and choreography by Sam Pinkleton.

In March 2022, “a sympathetic John Yi” (Theater Mania) was a principal performer in Prospect Theatre's Notes From Now at 59E59 Theatres. His performance, which featured the eight-minute opening number “Don’t Swat The Bee” by Adam Gwon, was lauded as “grounding and…ingratiating” and “strong-voiced.” In Spring of 2022, John starred as 'Handsome Zhang' in the New York premiere of Snow in Midsummer at Classic Stage Company, written by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig and directed by Zi Alikhan.

In the Fall of 2022, “the always wonderful John Yi” (The New Yorker) made his Broadway debut originating the role of ‘Danny’ in KPOP. KPOP began previews on Thursday, October 13 at Broadway’s Circle in the Square Theatre, with an official opening night on Sunday, November 27. KPOP gave its final Broadway performance Sunday, December 11th, 2022. The KPOP original Broadway cast album released digitally on May 8th, 2023 with a CD album release on May 12, 2023. The album is produced by Harvey Mason Jr. for Sony Masterworks Broadway. KPOP earned three Tony nominations for Best Original Score, Best Choreography, and Best Costume Design of a Musical for 2023.

In Spring and Summer of 2023, John starred as “Cinderella’s Prince/Milky White” in Into the Woods at the Guthrie, directed by Sarna Lapine, in a “scene stealer” performance coined as “comedy gold,” “absurdly funny,” and “played to insane hilarity…who darn near steals every scene he is in as the lovable pet.” Performances ran through August 13.

You can catch John as recurring character ‘Cho-Young Woo’ in the heist series Kaleidoscope, streaming only on Netflix. John recently wrapped on the short film for VIAL as ‘Sunny,’ written by Pete Cestaro and Bruce Buschel and directed by Steve Gomer. John is currently in performances for tick, tick…BOOM! at George Street Playhouse with book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson, directed by David Saint. The show runs until May 19th.