Posted: 7/29/25 at 1:18am
When Asian performers are still having firsts (Tony for Best Actor in a Musical) and seconds (first Tony for Best Actress in a Musical since Lea Salonga) in 2025 (and also the veteran Francis Jue finally getting his due), it’s quite obvious that it’s not an even playing field and that opportunities for Asian performers that aren’t ensemble, understudy, or replacement tracks are few and far between. The Asian theatre community was over the moon to celebrate a white-passing performer who has been problematic about his Asian identity in the past, so that’s saying something. I know there are going to be people who feel inclined to list a bunch after they read this statement, but Asian men are rarely considered for leads (especially romantic leads) in any form of media. And when people throw out statistics about the percentage of Asians there are in the country, I would say there’s a higher percentage of Asian performers in the pool of NYC talent, which should mean more would get hired, but this isn’t the case. That and seeing this whole MHE situation (among so many other things) would dissuade a young Asian man from pursuing the arts. And that’s why Conrad, who has achieved success in the industry, is paying it forward. He knows how hard it was to be considered for the roles he has gotten. He is one of very few Asians who has had some Hollywood exposure after notable stage appearances. I would argue that he got those opportunities because someone took a chance on him in a plumb role in a theatre production, much like what is happening with Helen J. Shen.
Yes, Asians are not a monolith and every culture is diverse from each other. There are so few opportunities for Asians to play their own heritage that they are all lumped into the same few roles. If there were enough to go around, maybe it could be more selective, but the AAPI theatre community usually celebrates any Asian performer who gets prominent roles. It is a joyous, passionate, accepting, respectful, loyal community. And anyway, we collectively accepted Kelli O’Hara playing Italian.
If there were more Asian producers/creatives on this team whose opinion on casting mattered, I don’t think we would be in this situation because the backlash would have been spotted miles away, and also they probably wouldn’t have considered anyone non-Asian in the first place. I honestly don’t think the casting director, who helped cast the Asian-only understudies, would have put anyone non-Asian on potential replacement lists for the creatives to consider.
There are so many talented Asian actors who have not been given leading man opportunities. It’s not for lack of talent. It’s not for being bad at auditions. They don’t get hired as often in general and therefore don’t get the experience or the chance to work their way up to being a principal actor. So what’s the solution other than just to cast them? I don’t know. This scholarship will make sure there will be some great options for Asian performers down the line. They will be prepared and ready. I sincerely applaud Conrad for creating this fund. He is someone who is using what little privilege he has for good.
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