Brooklyn resident Charlene Kaye loves her mom dearly, but that didn't stop the musician, actor and comedian from turning their tumultuous relationship into comedy.
In a 60-minute one-woman show entitled, Tiger Daughter: Or, How I Brought My Immigrant Mother Ultimate Shame, Kaye details-- through much laughter-- all the emotional highs and lows her mother has put her through.
Some high points of Kaye’s show include when her mother Lily Kaye, who is Chinese Singaporean, asks her daughter to photoshop her face into an image of a Chinese empress. Or when her mom commissions nude portraits of herself to display at home. Or when she sends her daughter dating profiles of eligible men, except they are teenagers and married guys.
“My mom is the Asian Anna Wintour, as well as the world’s most terrible dating app,” said Kaye.
Then there’s the low, or when her mom reveals in an interview that she thinks Kaye is spoiled and entitled because she has put all her energy into pursuing music and the arts.
“Sure, there’s the typical Asian phenomenon of never getting to please your mom,” Kaye, 38, said. “But it’s rough when you’ve disappointed her by just being myself.”
The show, however, is a comical homage to her courageous and outrageous mother. As Kaye splices personal stories about her family with a PowerPoint presentation, she grapples with why her mother doesn’t understand her and why she needs her approval so much.
Kaye, who grew up in Hawaii, Singapore, Hong Kong and Arizona and went to college in Michigan, said she always knew she wanted to be in the arts. After graduating from college, she moved to Prospect Heights in 2010.
After releasing an EP in 2010, Kaye released a solo record Animal Love in 2012, which received critical praise. The glam rock/pop musician was also part of San Fermin, an indie rock collective, before going solo again under the moniker KAYE.
“My music has always been theatrical,” said Kaye, who was part of a group called Guns N’ Hoses, an all-female Guns N’ Roses cover band.
Once the pandemic hit, Kaye said she was hungry to learn another art form, so she took an online acting class at William Esper Studio. There, she trained under Jennifer Monaco, who helped her shape her stories about her mother into the current show. (Monaco is now the director of Tiger Daughter.)
There was a time when Kaye didn’t think an Asian woman could make it as a musician or actor.
“I mean, who was an Asian female musician supposed to look up to? Cassandra Wong from Wayne’s World?” Kaye repeated a joke that is also part of the show, referring to Mike Meyer’s love interest in the movie played by actress Tia Carrere.
Now she’s been trying her hand at stand-up and performs two to three times a week, including at Littlefield in Gowanus or Union Hall in Park Slope.
“And the occasional book store,” she said.
Brooklyn's independent comedy scene has been welcoming, Kaye said as she tries to find her voice. She is thinking about combining music with comedy, something she has already showcased on Instagram with her viral posts breaking down the music stylings of Taylor Swift and Charlie XCX.
These posts caught the attention of comedian and actress Margaret Cho, who invited her to perform at The Public Theater-- part of a residency where she is curating shows at the storied Manhattan theater.
In addition, Kaye will play an Asian rock musician in the upcoming film Ron Forever, and helped her sister Liann Kaye, a filmmaker, score her films The Blessing and Seoul Switch.
Although Kaye said she has “tried to move to L.A.,” she keeps gravitating towards Brooklyn because there’s a density of artists doing all kinds of work, keeping her intrigued and on her toes.
As for her mother’s approval on her career trajectory, Kaye thinks things are starting to look up:
“It helps when family friends start calling and texting my mom when they hear about what I’m doing,” Kaye said. “There’s nothing like that Asian auntie validation that makes a mom proud.”
Kaye will be at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater on Oct. 24 and 25. She will also be performing at Dynasty Typewriter in Los Angeles on Nov. 22.