Could the Tonys mark a breakout year for Asian-American & Pacific Islander performers?

Nitpicking here, but can the mods please get rid of that quotation mark/parenthesis glitch???

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. 

"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

 

Updated On: 4/29/25 at 02:50 AM

Would Maybe Happy Ending be the first best musical nominee written by an Asian writer and to originate in an Asian country?

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

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.

Updated On: 5/1/25 at 09:51 AM

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.

Updated On: 5/1/25 at 11:31 AM

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/

Updated On: 5/2/25 at 11:25 PM

''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

 

Updated On: 5/5/25 at 11:31 AM

And for anyone who hasn't seen Patrick Adiarte, here he is with Gene Kelly, who directed him in ''Flower Drum Song.'' Kelly calls him ''a mighty fine dancer'' who could be ''the next Fred Astaire.'' They' appeared on ''Omnibus,'' comparing tap styles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwiVcgEzHW4

Updated On: 5/15/25 at 04:13 AM