Asians in the theatre

[GypsyRoseLee]

Posted: 3/30/05 at 6:08pm

So, a friend of mine who is Asian-American was expressing today her dismay at what she percieves to be a shortage of opportunities for Asian-American's in the theatre. Being a good friend, I reminded her of such shows as Miss Saigon, Flower Drum Song and The King and I. I also told her about Lea Salonga and how she has had a great career and even played roles like Eponine. My question is: are there any more shows or actors I could remind her of to hopefully perk her up?

[bially082]

Posted: 3/30/05 at 6:10pm

Well, The Lion King and Wicked use all kinds of ethnicities too. And Brooklyn. They may not specifically call for asians but asians could certainly be in them.

[eslgr8]

Posted: 3/30/05 at 6:19pm

Unfortunately, Asian actors do have a harder time getting cast in non-Asian shows, though things may be getting better as more shows embrace color-blind casting such as Telly Leung playing Boq in the upcoming Chicago production of Widked. Sadly, this still isn't happening enough. Jennifer Paz, who played Kim in Miss Saigon on Broadway and starred in Flower Drum Song in L.A. after Lea Salonga left the prodution, was recently kicked out of Actors' Equity. As an Asian actress, she was having a hard time finding leading roles, so accepted the role of Kim in the non-Union tour of Miss Saigon. She got permission from AE to do the tour (due to the lack of leading roles for Asian actresses), but when she applied to be readmitted, her request was refused, as she wanted to be able to go back and forth between union and non-union jobs. If your friend is talented and determined, nothing should stop her from persuing her goals, but even though things may be getting better, the situation for Asian American actors is still quite unfairly not what it should be.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 3/30/05 at 6:30pm

That's interesting, eslgr8. I didn't know that!

The only other high-profile Asian performer aside from Lea is the great BD Wong. And Mayumi (can't think of her last name) from Rent, as well as Aiko (can't spell her last name) from the RHS revival. But they're hardly famous relative to the other two. :-/

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 3/30/05 at 6:38pm

Mayumi Ando and Aiko Nakasone?

[loganp37]

Posted: 3/30/05 at 6:39pm

Gosh! That is horrible to hear about Jennifer Paz, she is really amazing. I saw her in the recent (still touring) non-union tour. (Which was really good by the way, go see it)

Posted: 3/30/05 at 6:40pm

Sunrise, burning heat
Nothing is as travelled as a Bombay street
Contradictions, city of extremes
Anything is possible in Bombay dreams
Some live and die in debt
Others making millions on the Internet
Contradictions, city of extremes
Anything is possible in Bombay dreams

This __ is coming! Hip hip hooray!
CNN cameras are here in Bombay
The slums have to be painted right away
Or next year __ will come from L.A.!

We eunuchs bring you luck
Give us money, you will see
I can change your fortune
If you are kind to me
But if you refuse us
You'll face adversity
Even though we're not
The men we used to be

Life's never easy
Every day you struggle through
You lean on me
I lean on you

Life's never easy
Every day's an uphill fight
Prayers are ignored(?)
But we're all right

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 3/30/05 at 6:52pm

There's also Pacific Overtures and the plays of David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly, The Dance and the Railroad et al).

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 3/30/05 at 7:37pm

I didn't know that AE did that to Jennifer. I built costumes for her when she played Sally Bowles in Caberet with the East/West Players in LA. She was the sweetest thing!

Actually, the East/West players would be a great thing! It is a primarily Asian company which does full productions with Asian casts. I LOVED thier production of SWEENY TODD!

[rent1988]

Posted: 3/30/05 at 7:49pm

christmas eve from Q is an asian part played by an asian actress (ann harada). not a role quite up to par with kim from miss saigon however...

[Jwei123]

Posted: 3/30/05 at 7:59pm

luvtheemcee- GOD why do you think you're SO much better than me. Cuz you're not. JK luv you darling! :)

also, ann sanders in beauty and the beast (now in Q, i believe)

[Kris2]

Posted: 3/30/05 at 8:02pm

If there's a lack of opportunities, then you have to create them. However, plenty of musicals employ(ed) color blind casting or are willing to - Chicago, Wicked, Les Mis, Aida, Beauty and the Beast, The Rocky Horror Show, Rent, etc. Also, anything with a large chorus tends to cast multi-racially to create a more diverse look. With straight plays it's a little tougher.

There's also South Pacific and Cookin' in addition to the others that have been mentioned. There's Ann Harada (or Ann Sanders) in Avenue Q, Julie Danao in the upcoming Lennon, Deborah Craig in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, etc.

There are Asian-American theater groups. There's the East West Players in Los Angeles who have been around since 1965. There's the Asian American Theater Company which has been around since 1973. 2g (Second Generation) is a fledgling group that has put on The Wedding Banquet and Making Tracks - the latter is playing in California right now for a limited time. There's the Pan Asian Repertory Theatre which is an Off-Broadway company.

Tell your friend to look a little harder or to create her own opportunities if she feels dismayed at a lack thereof. Sometimes you have to make your own way as opposed to accepting what's already out there.

*ETA: Whoops, was beaten to a couple of these examples, but you get the point. Updated On: 3/30/05 at 08:02 PM

Posted: 3/30/05 at 9:24pm

Don't forget Connie in A CHORUS LINE

"4 foot 10, 4 foot 10"

[kangaroo]

Posted: 3/30/05 at 9:32pm

There was a Korean in AIDA {Yoon Kim, I believe}... while I do agree that race will certainly place into factors when it comes to casting people, there are also shows out there for asians too. Unforunately, at places like my school... we have a 100% white cast of King and I. That type of thing bothers me... that it is okay for a "white person {American, not to be offense}" can be an Asian, but an Asian can NEVER play a white person. Just from the Asian perspective, it's very frustrating, when you know someone is better... but your skin plays a factor

[perfusion]

Posted: 3/30/05 at 9:32pm

B.D. Wong YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DTBG2]

Posted: 3/31/05 at 12:04am

i've also noticed the color blind casting. A black woman playing elpheba...in green makeup of course...but c'mon now...its awesome!

[Broadway Matt]

Posted: 3/31/05 at 12:12am

there's still a long way to go when it comes to Broadway and Asian performers. we're at a comfortable level of tokenism right now, you'll usually see your bigger ensembles have 1 Asian performer. but then something like Overtures or Flower Drum comes along and hoards all of the filipino people, then closes too quickly.

[Dreamcatcher]

Posted: 3/31/05 at 12:33am

I personally am extremely dismayed because of the lack of Asian casting in shows. I am an aspiring actress and I really hope to do Broadway some day but I am Korean and there is no mistaking my features for that of an Asian. It's something I worry about alot because, while shows like Flower Drum Song are very good shows, I don't want to be limited to "Asian" shows and such. I would LOVE to do shows like RENT (as a main cast member and not just an ensemble) or LSoH but I'm always afraid that I will be looked over immediatly because I am not caucasian. I really hope that this issue will improve by the time I am have graduated from high school or college because I don't see how its fair that I have to limit my goals and expectations or have a slimmer chance of reaching my ultimate goals just because of how I look. I know this is the real world and I can't expect everything to be fair and no matter what happens looks will always be a big part of theatre but it's very disheartening to me to know that I will most likely never get to play, say Audrey or Maureen just because I have Asian features. From my point of view its very dis-heartening because I don't wish to try to make myself look "white" because I'm proud of my heritage but it feels like if I don't, I have such a slimmer chance of getting where I want to be as an actress. It feels like I would have to go to lengths like getting surgeries to make my face less round, or give me a double lid and dye my hair lighter to get the opportunities that other people are offered without all that. Sorry for the length but this is an issue that has been in the front of my mind for a long time ever since I really started to think about acting as a profession.

[Kris2]

Posted: 3/31/05 at 1:06am

Wow Dreamcatcher. Don't EVER get plastic surgery to make yourself look less Asian. NEVER let it come to that. It's so messed up that you believe that's what you need to do to succeed. If you have the talent and the ability, then you'll work your way to where you want to be.

Now Audrey is a role that is pretty consistently white. However, Maureen has been played by Asian actresses. Not fulltime, but understudies - Julie Danao, Cristina Ablaza, Fiona Choi too I believe. There's also the Korean, Japanese, and Manila casts too. Though I suppose you're not counting those.

BroadwayMatt: there's still a long way to go when it comes to Broadway and Asian performers. we're at a comfortable level of tokenism right now, you'll usually see your bigger ensembles have 1 Asian performer. but then something like Overtures or Flower Drum comes along and hoards all of the filipino people, then closes too quickly.

Very true. To be fair though, Miss Saigon ran for like 9 or 10 years. Plus, it's still touring in the US and the UK. It's kept a lot of Asian performers in a job over the years.

[Dreamcatcher]

Posted: 3/31/05 at 1:12am

No I know, I would NEVER consider surgery to make myself look less Asian. As I said before, I am proud of my heritage and features and I don't really like the idea of cosmetic surgery for superficial reasons to begin with. I still hold onto a hope of Maureen because the show is fairly loose, I think, with ethnicities and such and as for Audrey, I know it is strictly a cuacasian look and maybe I'm thinking irrationally, but if I were good enough by that time, you'd suppose that its something a blond wig could cover for. I don't believe in changing myself physically for other people and I wouldn't let it come to it. If I have to try twice as hard to get roles and get people to see me through my phsyical features then so be it, it's just frustrating sometimes to think about.

Posted: 3/31/05 at 1:18am

Cynthia Onrubia seems to still be working and she's been around awhile and is quite successful.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 3/31/05 at 1:26am

Being an Asian performer (I'm Filipino), it is a little discouraging to think that I will only be cast as ethnic roles (like now, I'm playing the Hispanic migrant worker Roberto in Working). But then, one can only hope for a better future where colorblind casting is utilized more often. There are so many talented Asian actors and performers out there and ready for work. Why must they always wait for another revival of Flower Drum Song or Pacific Overtures or The King and I? People always make a case for black and African American actors; it shouldn't be different for Asians. And there's always August Wilson's "The Ground on Which I Stand" viewpoint, but really, is segregated theatre really the answer here? So, as I plan to continue performing on the stage, I hope Broadway and theatre evolve to the point where skin color or the shape of one's eyes are not factors in casting. Thankfully, I've been pretty fortunate so far in my experience.

~Steven

[Dreamcatcher]

Posted: 3/31/05 at 1:31am

I completely agree HeyMrMusic. Why should we feel like we need to hide our Asian looks to get the roles we want in theatre. Shows like Flower Drum Song are good and I'd love to have the opportunity to play those roles sometime in the future but I don't want to be limited to those ethnic roles. Asian (and all other minority races for that matter) should have as good of a chance at roles as any caucasian actor/actress because in the end it should be about talent not the color of one's skin or the shape of their eyes. I know friends who are asian who always try out all these make ups and hair colors that will give the illusion of a double crease or make them have more prominent chins or lighter hair when going to auditions in fear that they won't be cast without it and I think that's horrible. I know that this isnt a perfect world, but the fact that they felt the need to hide their natural looks in fear of not being given a fair shot is wrong. I really do hold hope for a more unbiased theatre community in a few years but one never does know. I certainly hope this whole thing improves for the better.

[CASuperboy]

Posted: 3/31/05 at 1:49am

As an Asian actor, I feel like it's so easy to fall into getting cast as a "foreigner." At the same time because so little is seen of Asians on stage and film, what is seen of them becomes a representation of Asians Americans in general, which can become really tricky because that representation can become a stereotype (e.g. Kung Fu fighters). I definitely think it's so important for Asians American actors and artists to find a way to create their own plays and films to showcase how they want to be seen, and bombard the stage and screen with a diversity of images and portrayals of Asians that it makes it harder to stereotype Asians as being "this" or "that."

Also, on another note: Okay, I grew up liking Miss Saigon and I still love the music, but recently I've just felt that the things that happen in the story are so problematic in terms of representation. I just feel wierd that she kills herself for Chris. Like we've seen so many different shows and movies where the Asian girl sacrifices herself in some way for her white lover (e.g. Madame Butterfly... actually they both have almost the same plot.) And that all is considered beautiful. But turn the tables around with a white girl killing herself for an Asian dude, and I just don't really see that as beautiful. I dunno. Okay. Go. Discuss.

[Dreamcatcher]

Posted: 3/31/05 at 1:57am

Yes the Asian stereotype both on stage and in movies/TV really doesn't sit well with me. I'm a little sick of people thinking all I can do as an actress is the bubbly schoolgirl straight out of an Anime cartoon who does that little giggle behind her hand. And yes, that has happened to me where thats pretty much all people thought I could do until I had to spend weeks convincing them that I had other talents. It's horrible. I mean sure, I CAN play that kind of personality but I would like to be considered for other types of characters. I detest it when people judge me like that by just looking at me.