So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#1
Posted: 3/25/16 at 4:25am
Don't get me wrong. I was bored, so I figured to read the synopsis of Miss Saigon on Wikipedia just to kill time. To my surprise, I found the Engineer is actually a French-Vietnamese (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Saigon) . Does this give a free pass for them to cast white Engineer replacements in the revival?
Updated On: 3/25/16 at 04:25 AMSo Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#2
Posted: 3/25/16 at 4:42am
The first one was White and won a tony for it
"
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/5/14
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#3
Posted: 3/25/16 at 4:57am
Did you check the controversies section of that wiki article?
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#4
Posted: 3/25/16 at 5:04am
Yes, I heard that the ALW would of pulled the show if the unions had his way.
Updated On: 3/25/16 at 05:04 AM
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#5
Posted: 3/25/16 at 5:36am
It was cameron mackintosh, not ALW.
In "The American Dream" the Engineer says he's half French, but a half french half asian person would still have asian features. The ideal Engineer should be someone like Kevin Gray.
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#6
Posted: 3/25/16 at 5:45am
the engineer at the Broadway by the Bay productions is pretty good
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#7
Posted: 3/25/16 at 5:48am
imeldasturn said: "It was cameron mackintosh, not ALW.
In "The American Dream" the Engineer says he's half French, but a half french half asian person would still have asian features. The ideal Engineer should be someone like Kevin Gray.
"
I'm thinking of Darren Criss. Not that he could pull off this character, or who knows, but his ethnic background could fit the role well.
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#8
Posted: 3/25/16 at 6:06am
Pryce killed in the role.
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#9
Posted: 3/25/16 at 8:06am
Half french, half Vietnamese. That means every white or asian male can be considered.
I'm glad that Cameron always chose the best person. Regardless of skin color or country of origin.
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#10
Posted: 3/25/16 at 8:44am
imeldasturn said: "It was cameron mackintosh, not ALW"
Wow, ALW is not a producer, cam Mac produces ALW's phantom and I think all ALW shows. Cam Mac produced miss Saigon, but the writers were the people from Les miz
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#11
Posted: 3/25/16 at 8:53am
Andrew Lloyd Webber also produces under the mantle of his company, Really Useful Group.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Really_Useful_Group
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#12
Posted: 3/25/16 at 8:56am
Does the Engineer have to be male? I was thinking about Margaret Cho.
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#13
Posted: 3/25/16 at 8:58am
Alw does produce via his company RUG, which is half the problem with him. Interesting that his most successful shows have been produced by cameron. I think Cameron has only produced Cats and Phantom of AlWs. But that's just off the top of my head, there may have been others
The role of the engineer doesn't really have to be played by vietnamese actor as the show makes his background clear. I think part o the controversy with pryce was (from memory) they altered the shape of his eyes to look more Asian
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#14
Posted: 3/25/16 at 9:31am
I saw an Irish-Japanese guy as the Engineer back in 1993.
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#15
Posted: 3/25/16 at 11:04am
Dave19 said: "Half french, half Vietnamese. That means every white or asian male can be considered.
I'm glad that Cameron always chose the best person. Regardless of skin color or country of origin.
"
Where in the script does it say he's half-French?
All that we know of his parentage is that his father was from Haiphong and that his mother was a prostitute. The only reference to the French is the line "selling your mom is a wrench / perfume can cover the stench / that's what I learned from the French" which while about his mother doesn't say that his mother is French, it's just referencing French control of the region (much like the lesson he learned from the Yanks in the next verse).
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#16
Posted: 3/25/16 at 11:11am
Kevin Gray, God Bless him was such a wonderful talent and amazing in the role. He probably did physically best resemble the description of the character as French-Vietmanese.
And I do interpret from his line "that's what I learned from the French" -- that his mother was a French prostitute; apparently common in the Indochine in the 1950s
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#17
Posted: 3/25/16 at 11:37am
And I do interpret from his line "that's what I learned from the French" -- that his mother was a French prostitute; apparently common in the Indochine in the 1950s"
Well from my vantage point that line refers to the French customers of his mother and not his mother directly. He refers to the customers as "monsieurs" who covered the stench of his mother with perfume.
Either way, there's no direct evidence in the script that he's Eurasian. I'm also no expert on citizenship laws, but if his mother was French that may have given him immigration rights without the need of an American visa.
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#18
Posted: 3/25/16 at 11:44am
To be perfectly honest, I think the point that the character was "Eur-asian" was likely invented later to justify the casting of the non Asian Jonathan Pryce. But it has since become the story of the creative team that the character is 'bi-racial' and they are sticking to it.
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#19
Posted: 3/25/16 at 12:05pm
"would've" or "would have"
"would of" literally has no meaning
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/15/14
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#20
Posted: 3/25/16 at 12:27pm
Here we go again on this topic........
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#21
Posted: 3/25/16 at 1:40pm
Doesn't his new Bangkok boss say "get to work, half-breed!"?
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#22
Posted: 3/25/16 at 2:35pm
Is this a troll post?
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#23
Posted: 3/25/16 at 2:54pm
It seems clear to me that, because of where the story is set, the Engineer should look like he's indigenous to the region as opposed to, say, from Milwaukee. But I'm kind of spinning on the Margaret Cho idea. I think she actually sings well enough to get through the vocals.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/21/06
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#24
Posted: 3/25/16 at 3:56pm
The Engineer is a Bui-Doi, hence he is considered an outcast. Mixed race people can look like more of one than the other but physical characteristics of both still show through.
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/4/04
So Engineer in Miss Saigon doesn't have to be (traditionally) Asian?#25
Posted: 3/25/16 at 4:02pm
Darren Criss is Asian?
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