Michael K. Lee

Michael K. Lee is an American actor and singer born on June 5, 1973, in Brooklyn, New York. He was raised in Salamanca, a small town situated on a Native American reservation near Buffalo, where his father, Won Yub Lee, a surgeon, established his medical practice. Lee and his mother, Susie Lee, were part of the only Asian American family in the town. During his youth, he studied both violin and piano and performed with the Greater Buffalo Youth Orchestra. He later attended Stanford University, where he pursued psychology on a pre-med track and sang with the Stanford Fleet Street Singers.

Lee's professional career began in 1995 when he was cast in the second national tour of Miss Saigon, a role he secured after auditioning for the production three times. He subsequently joined the Broadway company of Miss Saigon, playing the role of Thuy. His additional Broadway credits include Jesus Christ Superstar, in which he played Simon Zealotes; Pacific Overtures, in which he played Kayama; and Rent.

From October 2015 through early 2016, Lee appeared on Broadway in Allegiance, a musical drawing on the life experiences of George Takei, who also starred in the production. Lee played Frankie Suzuki, a character based on real-life political activist Frank S. Emi. He had originated the role during Allegiance's earlier run at the Old Globe in San Diego, where his performance earned him the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle's Craig Noel Award for Outstanding Featured Performance in 2012. The Broadway production began previews on October 6, 2015, and opened officially on November 8 of that year.

Beyond Broadway, Lee has built an extensive career in regional and international theater. In the United States, he portrayed Tommy in The Who's Tommy, a performance that earned him a Seattle Footlight Award for Best Actor in a Musical, and played both Judas and Jesus in separate productions of Jesus Christ Superstar. He also took on the role of Aladdin in Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular and played Jamie Willerstein in The Last Five Years. His international work includes productions in Seoul, among them Jesus Christ Superstar, Miss Saigon, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Notre Dame de Paris, Amour, and Gone with the Wind. He has also appeared in 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 Kelly.

Lee is married to actress Kim Varhola and has been based in Seoul, Korea, since at least 2013. His television work includes serving as a jury member on the Korean program Phantom Singer 2 in 2017, competing as a contestant under the name "Half Moon Prince" on King of Mask Singer on MBC in 2020, and appearing in the Netflix series XO, Kitty in 2023, in which he played Professor Lee of the Korean Independent School of Seoul.