Michael K. Lee (born June 5, 1973) is an American actor and singer who is based in Seoul, Korea.
Early life and education Lee was born in Brooklyn, New York to Susie and Won Yub Lee. He was raised in Salamanca, a small Native American reservation town near Buffalo, where his father, a surgeon, set up his practice. Theirs was the only Asian American family in the town. He played both violin and piano, and performed in the Greater Buffalo Youth Orchestra. He is a graduate of Stanford University, where he studied psychology on a pre-med track and sang with the Stanford Fleet Street Singers.
Career Lee's career began in 1995, when he was cast in the second national tour of Miss Saigon. He auditioned for the show on three occasions before he was cast. Lee went on to join the Broadway production of Miss Saigon (Thuy). His other Broadway credits include Jesus Christ Superstar (Simon Zealotes), Pacific Overtures (Kayama), and Rent.
From 2015 to 2016, Lee starred in the musical Allegiance on Broadway, a show about George Takei's life experiences (who starred in the musical alongside Lee). In the show, Lee reprised the role of Frankie Suzuki, a character based on real-life political activist Frank S. Emi. The role had won him the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle's Craig Noel Award for Outstanding Featured Performance in 2012, during the Allegiance's run at the Old Globe there. Allegiance began Broadway previews on October 6, 2015, and opened on November 8, 2015, running through early 2016.
Lee has starred in numerous productions in Seoul, including Jesus Christ Superstar (Jesus), Miss Saigon (Chris), Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (Tick), Notre Dame de Paris (Gringoire), Amour (Dusoleil), and Gone with the Wind (Ashley). His other international credits include Where Elephants Weep in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, They’re Playing Our Song in Manila, Philippines (opposite Lea Salonga), and A Twist of Fate in Singapore (opposite Laura Michelle Kelley).
Lee portrayed Tommy in The Who's Tommy, winning a Seattle Footlight Award for Best Actor in a Musical; Judas and Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar, Aladdin in Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular; and Jamie Willerstein in The Last Five Years.
Personal life As of 2013, he lives in Seoul, Korea. He is married to actress Kim Varhola.
Theater Year Title RoleRegion 1991–2001 Miss Saigon Thuy - ReplacementBroadway1999Beijing SpringLA 2000 Jesus Christ Superstar Simon ZealotesBroadway ... They’re Playing Our Song...Manila, Philippines 2001 The Last Five Years Jamie Willerstein ... A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ForumHero... 2003 Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular AladdinDisneyland 2004–05 Pacific Overtures KayamaBroadway 2005 A Twist of Fate ...Esplanade Theatre, Singapore 2006 Miss Saigon (South Korea debut) ChrisSouth Korea 2007 The Who's Tommy Tommy 2008 The King and I ... Village Theatre, Issaquah, WA ... Where Elephants Weep...Phnom Penh, Cambodia2010Miss SaigonChrisSouth Korea2011Jesus Christ SuperstarJesus Christ / Judas IscariotVillage Theatre, WA2012Allegiance (musical)Frankie SuzukiOld Globe Theatre, San Diego 2013 Jesus Christ Superstar Jesus Christ South Korea 2013 Notre Dame de Paris GringoireSouth Korea2014Priscilla, Queen of the DesertTickSouth Korea Amour DusoleilSouth KoreaSeopyeonjeDonghoSouth KoreaThe DevilXSouth Korea2015Gone with the Wind (musical)AshleySouth KoreaJesus Christ SuperstarJesus ChristSouth Korea 2015–16 Allegiance (musical) Frankie SuzukiBroadway2016Nevermore: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan PoeSouth Korea2016Notre-Dame de Paris (musical)GringoireSouth Korea 2017 Rocky Horror Show Dr. Frank N. Furter South Korea Napoleon NapoleonSouth Korea Hedwig and the Angry Inch (musical) HedwigSouth Korea 2018 The Phantom of the Opera RaoulSouth KoreaNotre-Dame de Paris (musical) GringoireSouth KoreaRocky Horror ShowDr. Frank N. FurterSouth Korea2019Hedwig and the Angry Inch (musical)HedwigSouth Korea2020Something Rotten!NostradamusSouth KoreaEyes of DawnJang Ha-rimSouth Korea2021Blue Helmet : A Song of MeissaCommanderSouth Korea Jesus Christ Superstar Jesus Christ Japan2022–23Jesus Christ SuperstarJesus ChristSouth Korea2023The DevilX-WhiteJapan2024Notre-Dame de Paris (musical)GringoireSouth KoreaNext to NormalDanSouth Korea2024–25Jesus Christ SuperstarJesus ChristSouth Korea2025–26EvitaCheSouth Korea
TV shows 2017: Phantom Singer 2, jury member 2020: King of Mask Singer (MBC), contestant as "Half Moon Prince" (episodes 247–248) 2023: XO, Kitty (Netflix), Professor Lee of Korean Independent School of Seoul (KISS)
References