Could the Tonys mark a breakout year for Asian-American & Pacific Islander performers?
Could the Tonys mark a breakout year for Asian-American & Pacific Islander performers?
Wayman_Wong
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#1Could the Tonys mark a breakout year for Asian-American & Pacific Islander performers?
Posted: 4/28/25 at 8:43pm
This year, the Tony Award nominations will be announced Thursday, May 1, which happens to be the first day of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. May is set aside to recognize the contributions of Asian-Americans, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders to ''the history, culture and achievements of the U.S.'' In line with concentrating on Asia, as it refers to East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Asian Pacific, I came up with this list:
Among this year's Asian-American performers who could be Tony nominees:
* Darren Criss (''Maybe Happy Ending'' )
* Daniel Dae Kim (''Yellow Face'' )
* Francis Jue (''Yellow Face'' )
* Conrad Ricamora (''Oh, Mary!'' )
* Lea Salonga (''Sondheim's Old Friends'' )
* Nicole Scherzinger (''Sunset Blvd'' )
* Thom Sesma (''Dead Outlaw'' )
* Helen J. Shen (''Maybe Happy Ending'' )
Maybe I could be wrong, but I don't think any season has had more than two actors of East/Southeast Asian descent up for a Tony.
Prior examples include: 1976: Mako and Isao Sato (''Pacific Overtures'' ); 1991: June Angela (''Shogun'' ), Lea Salonga (''Miss Saigon'' ); 1996: Lou Diamond Phillips and Joohee Choi (''The King and I'' ); 2015: Ken Watanabe and Ruthie Ann Miles (''The King and I'' ).
If Daniel Dae Kim snags a Tony nomination for ''Yellow Face,'' it'll be a landmark. It'll be the FIRST time an Asian-American man has ever been NOMINATED for Leading Actor in a Play in the Tonys' 78-year history. In 1958, Cedric Hardwicke, a British Caucasian actor, was Tony-nominated in Leading Actor for playing a Japanese businessman in ''A Majority of One.'' That same year, Larry Blyden, another Caucasian, was Tony-nominated for playing Sammy Fong in ''Flower Drum Song.''
#2Could the Tonys mark a breakout year for Asian-American & Pacific Islander performers?
Posted: 4/28/25 at 9:09pm
Nitpicking here, but can the mods please get rid of that quotation mark/parenthesis glitch???
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dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#3Could the Tonys mark a breakout year for Asian-American & Pacific Islander performers?
Posted: 4/28/25 at 9:23pm
I would think just having so many possibilities is very much a breakout!
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#4Could the Tonys mark a breakout year for Asian-American & Pacific Islander performers?
Posted: 4/28/25 at 9:26pm
Also Amalia Yoo (John Proctor Is the Villain), Claire-Marie Hall (Operation Mincemeat), Tatianna Córdoba (Real Women Have Curves), Zachary Noah Piser (Redwood), and the cast of English. I think they all have a shot at a nomination, especially in those up-in-the-air featured categories.
DroughtofApathy
Swing Joined: 2/5/18
#5Could the Tonys mark a breakout year for Asian-American & Pacific Islander performers?
Posted: 4/28/25 at 9:27pm
Wayman_Wong said: "This year, the Tony Award nominations will be announced Thursday, May 1, which happens to be the first day of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. May is set aside to recognize the contributions of Asian-Americans, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders to ''the history, culture and achievements of the U.S.'' In line with concentrating on Asia, as it refers to East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Asian Pacific, I came up with this list:
Among this year's Asian-American performers who could be Tony nominees:
* Darren Criss (''Maybe Happy Ending'' )
* Daniel Dae Kim (''Yellow Face'' )
* Francis Jue (''Yellow Face'' )
* Conrad Ricamora (''Oh, Mary!'' )
* Lea Salonga (''Sondheim's Old Friends'' )
* Nicole Scherzinger (''Sunset Blvd'' )
* Thom Sesma (''Dead Outlaw'' )
* Helen J. Shen (''Maybe Happy Ending'' )
Maybe I could be wrong, but I don't think any season has had more than two actors of East/Southeast Asian descent up for a Tony.
Prior examples include: 1976: Mako and Isao Sato (''Pacific Overtures'' ); 1991: June Angela (''Shogun'' ), Lea Salonga (''Miss Saigon'' ); 1996: Lou Diamond Phillips and Joohee Choi (''The King and I'' ); 2015: Ken Watanabe and Ruthie Ann Miles (''The King and I'' ).
If Daniel Dae Kim snags a Tony nomination for ''Yellow Face,'' it'll be a landmark. It'll be the FIRST time an Asian-American man has ever been NOMINATED for Leading Actor in a Play in the Tonys' 78-year history. In 1958, Cedric Hardwicke, a British Caucasian actor, was Tony-nominated in Leading Actor for playing a Japanese businessman in ''A Majority of One.'' That same year, Larry Blyden, another Caucasian, was Tony-nominated for playing Sammy Fong in ''Flower Drum Song.''
"
Not only are there more AAPI performers eligible in a single season than ever before, but they're also spread out across seven of eight categories (also including Amalia Yoo, though perhaps less likely than the names mentioned above). Only three Asian actors have ever won, two of whom were/are in shows this past year. While it may be a long shot given the competitive field, if three of them pick up awards then the number of AAPI Tony-winning actors will have doubled in just a single season. In a season that doesn't include either The King and I or Miss Saigon, this is pretty monumental for our community.
#6Could the Tonys mark a breakout year for Asian-American & Pacific Islander performers?
Posted: 4/29/25 at 2:50am
"In a season that doesn't include either The King and I or Miss Saigon, this is pretty monumental for our community."
I think that's the most special thing! That most of the roles (not all but most) aren't centred around the racial identity of the actor which seemed like the only way to get opportunities historically, instead today it's just pure talent on display.
Listen to how incredible Zachary Noah Piser's vocals are during 'Still' (who describes himself as a jewish-asian American I believe). To be able to hold his own next to Idina Menzel who I am sure finds his performance moving is a pretty nice feat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrB000CdnUU&list=RDYrB000CdnUU&start_radio=1
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
Updated On: 4/29/25 at 02:50 AM
#7Could the Tonys mark a breakout year for Asian-American & Pacific Islander performers?
Posted: 4/29/25 at 3:35am
Depressing it took this long. As "inclusive" as Broadway assumes it is, it's still very white.
#8Could the Tonys mark a breakout year for Asian-American & Pacific Islander performers?
Posted: 4/29/25 at 8:35am
Would Maybe Happy Ending be the first best musical nominee written by an Asian writer and to originate in an Asian country?
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
round2
Featured Actor Joined: 4/11/08
#9Could the Tonys mark a breakout year for Asian-American & Pacific Islander performers?
Posted: 4/29/25 at 9:25am
Among others listed here, I sure would love to see Amalia Yoo nominated for her gorgeous performance in John Proctor is the Villain...
Wayman_Wong
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#10Could the Tonys mark a breakout year for Asian-American & Pacific Islander performers?
Posted: 4/29/25 at 11:46pm
Meantime, here's hoping PBS' ''Great Performances'' airing of David Henry Hwang's ''Yellow Face'' on May 16 also boosts its Tony chances in Best Play Revival. Below, ''Backstage Pass With Lia Chang'' covered its recent N.Y. screening with its star, Daniel Dae Kim, director Leigh Silverman and Hwang.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKHThJRtsWg
#11Could the Tonys mark a breakout year for Asian-American & Pacific Islander performers?
Posted: 4/30/25 at 2:53am
Confirming my speculation in this cute interview with Idina and Zachary Idina suggests that Zachary's song Still 'Steals the show'........they are cute together
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7Mb0L3LegI
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
Wayman_Wong
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#12Could the Tonys mark a breakout year for Asian-American & Pacific Islander performers?
Posted: 5/1/25 at 9:51am
That's FIVE Asian-American performers nominated for Tonys in the same season (when the most there's ever been is two in a season).
* Darren Criss (''Maybe Happy Ending'' )
* Daniel Dae Kim (''Yellow Face'' )
* Francis Jue (''Yellow Face'' )
* Conrad Ricamora (''Oh, Mary!'' )
* Nicole Scherzinger (''Sunset Blvd'' )
Kim becomes the first Asian-American (of Southeast Asian ancestry) to be nominated for Leading Actor in a Play in Tonys' 78-year history.
Also, Jue and Ricamora become the first two male Asian-American actors to be nominated in the same category.
If one of them wins Featured Actor in a Play, he will be first Asian-American guy to win an acting Tony since ... B.D. Wong in ''M. Butterfly'' in 1988. That's almost 4 decades ago!
If only Leading Actress in a Musical went to 6 nominees, like Leading Actor in a Musical, I bet Helen J. Shen (''Maybe Happy Ending'' ) would've gotten in.
#13Could the Tonys mark a breakout year for Asian-American & Pacific Islander performers?
Posted: 5/1/25 at 10:06am
Don't forget Neshat and Ashe. Iranian-Americans.
Wayman_Wong
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#14Could the Tonys mark a breakout year for Asian-American & Pacific Islander performers?
Posted: 5/1/25 at 11:31am
No offense was meant toward Neshat and Ashe, whom, alas, I did not get to see in ''English,'' but my original post concentrated on Asian-Americans whose ancestry was from East and Southeast Asia and the Asian Pacific.
However, I wanted to follow up on a point that binau made in an earlier posting about the significance of Asian-American performers who are being recognized for roles that are not race-specific. In the past, Asian-American actors were largely limited to race-specific parts, if they existed at all.
In 1998, I had the great pleasure of interviewing Mako for The Sondheim Review, and I asked him what he would've said if he won the Tony (in 1976) for ''Pacific Overtures.'' Mako said: ''I wasn't going to accept it. I was going to refuse the Tony. Why? Asian-American actors have never been treated as full-time actors. We're always hired as part-timers. That is, (producers) call us when they need us (for only race-specific roles). If a part was seen as too ''demanding,'' that part often went to a non-Asian. ... I didn't feel I could accept the Tony as long as we were not treated (as equals) in our profession.''
In 1990, when I broke the N.Y. Daily News story about the casting controversy over Jonathan Pryce in ''Miss Saigon,'' Alvin Lum, a Broadway pro in ''City of Angels,'' said good Asian roles are scarce: "We fought [yellow face] 20 years ago. Non-Asians get the lead roles, and we get the crumbs."
What a difference 35 years makes. In 2025, Abe Lincoln can be played by a Filipino-American actor on Broadway, and Norma Desmond by a Hawaiian.
#15Could the Tonys mark a breakout year for Asian-American & Pacific Islander performers?
Posted: 5/1/25 at 1:25pm
What's even crazier, and more exciting, than the nominations, is that there's really a chance there will be multiple wins among them on Tony night!
"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008
Wayman_Wong
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#16Could the Tonys mark a breakout year for Asian-American & Pacific Islander performers?
Posted: 5/2/25 at 11:25pm
I still think Conrad Ricamora should've gotten his first Tony nomination for playing Filipino leader Ninoy Aquino in David Byrne's brilliant ''Here Lies Love.''
Who could've guessed this Filipino-American actor would get it instead for playing another doomed politician, Abe Lincoln,'' in the madcap ''Oh, Mary!''?
(Below: Conrad's cute reaction to his first Tony nomination)
https://www.queerty.com/conrad-ricamoras-reaction-to-his-first-tony-nomination-is-absolutely-adorable-20250502/
Ke3
Broadway Star Joined: 6/25/20
#17Could the Tonys mark a breakout year for Asian-American & Pacific Islander performers?
Posted: 5/3/25 at 2:28pm
I am perhaps jaded but it's my experience that "breakout" years for people of color often end up looking like a trend once you put them in the rearview mirror. I'd love for it to be true but nothing about the history of being a minority in entertainment makes me believe it's true.
Wayman_Wong
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#18Could the Tonys mark a breakout year for Asian-American & Pacific Islander performers?
Posted: 5/5/25 at 11:31am
''I am perhaps jaded but it's my experience that "breakout" years for people of color often end up looking like a trend once you put them in the rearview mirror. I'd love for it to be true but nothing about the history of being a minority in entertainment makes me believe it's true. ''
I know and understand what you're saying, but history and context are important. I first got into theater because I saw the Broadway cast of ''Pacific Overtures'' in 1976. I had never seen a stagefull of Asian-Americans singing and dancing. Heck, at that time, you also rarely saw Asian faces anywhere: on TV or at the movies. It would take ANOTHER few decades for the next Broadway cast of all-Asian-Americans in a musical: ''Flower Drum Song'' in 2002 and a revival of ''Pacific Overtures'' in 2004. And it would take 2022 to bring ''KPOP'' and then in 2023, an all-Filipino cast in ''Here Lies Love.''
Look, maybe this season of 7 Asian-American Tony nominees is a fluke. But it's still a landmark achievement worth celebrating and shouldn't be taken for granted, especially since there have never been more than 2 Asian-American actors ever nominated in the same season. Even with ''Here Lies Love,'' which had an all-Filipino cast, it got 4 Tony nominations, but none for any of its Asian artists and contributors. Daniel Dae Kim makes history as the first Asian-American man to be Tony-nominated for Leading Actor in a Play in Tonys' 78-year history. I trust it won't take another 78 years for the next one. A glass ceiling has been broken. It proves Asian-American actors can do more and deserve recognition ... if and when they get the opportunities.
P.S. Here's a video of Tony winner Lea Salonga celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May, and gushing about how many Filipino-Americans, in particular, are crushing it on Broadway: Darren Criss, Nicole Scherzinger, Eva Noblezada, Conrad Ricamora ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNpjk127nmU
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