Where have you been, oh Fairy Princess?
The short answer is that on Dec. 26,2023, TFP became an orphan.
Those of you who have become grown orphans know what that is about, and time to process becomes essential. Especially if you lose parental guidance during the holidays. TFP chose travel and honoring and creating memories above anything else. Liam’s Squidward face says it all.
She did, of course, do her panels at BroadwayCon, which she again will be doing for the eighth year this year – lucky 8! Asians, where you at?
There was also a little thing called the Great Screen Actors Guild strike of 2023 – as SAG/AFTRA members, we were not allowed to promote anything that members of the AMPTP could benefit from. TFP is a SAG/AFTRA member and an AEA member, so unless she was writing about Broadway, she honestly was not ‘allowed’ to write – she was allowed to march – and march she did!
TFP usually blogs to support Asian and Pacific Islander talent, not just on Broadway, but on television and in films. Also – not JUST Asian and Pacific Islander talent, but under-repped people across the board. TFP is known for ‘calling out’ producers, networks, casting – alas if there is no producing, nothing new is going on networks, and therefore…who needs casting?
You see the issue.
A blog, this blog, is not therapy.
A blog, for TFP is the space to remind people that speaking about diversity and agreeing we all need it, is not actually creating more diversity – although it can help to maintain allies and create understanding.
What ‘we’ need – those behind the camera, in front, supporting the whole thing – is small actions that a individual can take that will not cost a ton, is something most people do anyway, which help us understand where we fall in the ‘big picture’.
“We’ all come out when there is an issue, but subtly upsetting the status quo? Maybe, sometimes- if we are able or have had enough coffee that day or…with that said….onward, it’s the little things…
WARRIOR, formerly of HBO (before that Cinemax), has been sold to NETFLIX, which opens it up to a much wider audience. The possibility that people will watch all three seasons about Bruce Lee‘s vision of the Chinese arriving in America in the early days, 1800’s – (Pay attention fans of The Gilded Age, these are the folks building George Russell’s rail roads) and demand a FOURTH season is HIGH. If you #Thread it, fans of the show – new fans – it will come. That is TFP’s belief.
Shout out to Shannon Lee for the vision to take this from the page to the small screen, what a tremendous contribution she has made not just to her father’s legacy, but to the greater community of Asians in America – East, Southeast, South – and to fans, no matter what background – of martial arts.
Need to get Diana Lee Inosanto on Season Four, and the circle will be complete.
Diana is currently killing it on Disney+ in Ahsoka along with Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, and Temuera Morrison. However she is a fierce martial arts combatant and she should be on WARRIOR if there comes a Season 4.
In TFP‘s estimation it has a very, very high percentage to command S4. Most people have a NETFLIX account but do not have an HBO MAX account – which is enormous for the Cast and Crew. Also, there are three established seasons, but nothing is wrapped up. Based on initial response, the team could be heading back to South Africa where it is filmed, in no time at all.
WARRIOR launches on NETFLIX in FEBRUARY 2024. Binge watch it and be wow’ed – then get 5 of your friends to watch it as well.
Phenomenal performances by all the Actors, but of course, because it is his birthday today- special one to Broadway’s Telly Leung, who joins the existing company of Andrew Koji, Olivia Cheng, Perry Young, Jason Tobin, Dianne Doan, Hoon Lee, Joe Taslim, Chen Tang, Dustin Ngyuen, Marc Dacasos, and various other non Asian folks – who, hey – they were here then too.
Telly is playing the 1800’s version of himself, and frankly – TFP was ‘here for it’ when it was on HBO, and she will be ‘here for it” even more on NETFLIX. In her estimation, when the next book is written about Pop Culture in the 2020’s (lookin at you Jeff & the Phil (s)) if there is not an entire section on WARRIOR and it’s potential for changing the conversation about Asians of America and how it made them sexy badasses – first time since Bruce Lee – then TFP will eat her…dumplings.
She will eat all the dumplings and be contrite.
Will not happen though – it is a game changer and being on NETFLIX only means the game will be seen across the globe, instead of a somewhat small group of elite.
Another show on NETFLIX we are super excited about is THE BROTHERS SUN– again, if you already have the service, all you have to do is watch it. It premiered today on January 4th, and TFP must confess, she binged watched it and she was absolutely thrilled to do so.
It is repping Action Asians on screen and behind the camera – as it was written by Byron Wu and Brad Falchuk, and directed by several people but mostly it seems, Choreographer/Director Kevin Tancharoen, who directs 5 out of the 8 episodes. The remaining 3 are directed expertly by Viet Ngyuen.
To paraphrase Phil Yu and Jeff Yang – you will NOT get the ‘rep sweats’ watching this series, it is great.
Cast includes Oscar Winner Michelle Yeoh, Justin Chien, Sam Li, Highdee Kuan, Alice Hewkin, Jenny Yang, Rodney To, Ron Yuan, and a series of cameos by some great LA Asian talent.
The story follows a college age student who finds himself embroiled in a gang war that began in another country and found him all the way in America. There are some fabulous inside LA’s AAPI community jokes that had TFP cracking up, Improv comedy is a running gag, and as TFP also studied at The Groundlings, it made her really appreciate how smart, how specific, and yet how universal this series is.
You could also – if you don’t have a mental health day coming your way – choose to let it run in the background because, hey – numbers are numbers and we need to get THE BROTHERS SUN‘s numbers way up, because a Season 2 is definitely needed.
HUDSON YANG is coming to the Asian Food Network with his reality cooking show, ORDER UP.
Hudson is very geared towards learning all the ins and outs of the restaurant business, while he was still starring in FRESH OFF THE BOAT for ABC, he became an early investor in the restaurant KHONG TEN in West LA, which has since closed. Being a busy college student – he attends Harvard as a sophmore and recently performed in the musical, HEATHERS, when he is not off learning how to cook in Asia.
Sounds awesome. Hudson can sing, so TFP is really thrilled he did HEATHERS at Harvard.
Speaking of Musicals, the composer, lyricist, and book writer of said musical, HEATHERS is Lawrence O’Keefe who alongside his wife, Lyricist, Writer, & Composer Nell Benjamin, co-wrote the music and lyrics for LEGALLY BLONDE, for which they were nominated for a TONY Awards. Nell then collaborated on the musical MEAN GIRLS with Tina Fey, which arrives in movie theaters on January 12, 2024.
Next up for Ms. Benjamin is the stage musical, COME FALL IN LOVE, the DDLJ Musical which featured a heavily South Asian company, and is Broadway bound.
Now, MEAN GIRLS has always had diversity within the show while it ran on Broadway, but in the film has taken it to the next level – Thanks Telsey!
The film musical’s cast has Broadway & Only Murders In the Building‘s Ashley Park as Madame Park, Auli’i Cravalho as Janis, Avantika as Karen Shetty, Mahi Alam as Kevin Ganatra, John El-Jor as Jason Weems, Grant Harrison Mateo as Tiny Boy, Kaylee Kaleinani as Sophie Kawachi, and Amann Iqbal as Rude Girl – that is a LOT of folks who in a current day film have Asian heritage of all kinds. Chris Olsen of Tik Tok fame is even in there – he is of Filipino descent, hangs out with Meghan Trainor, usually brings coffee to celebs? In addition to the film, you can find him on the clock app @chris.
Since it has been a while, let TFP remind you – the issue is money – the issue is, with this widely diverse a cast, are in person movie theaters going to see their box office boom? If it does, then you get to take your kids or your significant other to see images on the large screen where you are represented.
Being represented does not mean ‘this is a carbon copy of my every facial feature and trait’ what it means is, there is someone who looks similar to you in that film universe. When people take that chance and go buy tickets and spend hours staring at diverse skin tones, psychologically they bond with the cast.
That is why there are fans. They attach to one character, or characters – and then when they leave the theater, they perhaps smile at someone the next day who reminds them of their favorite characters. They leave the door open for possibility – so that old Asian people in America can walk down the street and not get attacked for being old Asian Americans walking down the street in America. Heck, while attacks on the elderly were egregious, attacks on Asian American women – especially in New York were violent and sadly, life ending. TFP had to ride the NY subway at the time, she stood with her back to a station pole, as did every other Asian appearing person she caught a glimpse of.
Top L-R Thom Sesma, Ali Ewoldt, Liam Kong looking les miz, Ruthie Ann Miles, Joanna Carpenter, Raymond J. Lee, Director Stafford Arima, Bottom: Erin Quill, Zach Piser – BroadwayCon 2023
Wanting to remind you that most shows, most Broadway shows, even now, do not have a plethora of AAPI talent in them, many times we are found in the dance ensemble and only in the dance ensemble – but SWEENEY TODD, with or without Josh Groban, has a larger than usual amount of Asians in there – led by TONY Winner, Ruthie Ann Miles. Raymond J. Lee who frequently goes on for the Beadle Bamford and Pirelli, Joanna Carpenter, who ‘covers’ Ms. Miles, are both pictured above. Not pictured are Alicia Kaori and Michael Kuhn, which bring the number of performers to 5, and also (very exciting) ASM Plato Seto.
Which makes the current cast of Sweeney Todd the Broadway show with the most AAPIs for a show not set in Asia.
Now, for a moment, let us just ponder that these cast members many times have had to defend their right to even be in the show and battle the microagressions that come with that – however TFP will remind you that Sweeney Todd is set in London in the year 1785.
The first documented Chinese person in Western European books was a Christian monk name Rabban Bar Sauma in the late 13th century. The next to be documented, this time by a painting, was Michael Alphonsus Shen Fu Tsung, which was painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller which was commissioned by King James II, and presented in 1687. It hung in the King’s bedroom till he died.
So yes, there were Asian people in London – perhaps not in huge numbers, but they were there because what does TFP always say? Port cities had a transient population and world travelers – and where there are men and women, there are babies at some point. In fact, for a show not set in Asia, the cast has a huge number of Asians, and thank you to The Telsey Office.
Therefore please stop remarking to the very excellent cast members that they ‘do a good English accent’ or that you are ‘surprised’ to see them – they are doing their job, and excellently – move on.
Where a bar of excellence has been set, others will follow – which is why we were all delighted to hear that there is good news on the horizon for a transfer.
In fact, Ms.Miles who announced on TFP’s panel this past summer, that the show she headlined at City Center – LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA is currently looking for a Broadway theater.
TFP could not say enough good things about that production, directed by Chay Yew, she was ecstatic to see that having diversity behind the table, which led to ‘inside jokes’ that only minority folks could understand. Like the choice he made to have all the Italian characters be played by Latinx actors. He ‘took back’ what had been done in the past by Hollywood and Broadway, where they frequently let Italians play any person of color, without regard to even trying to find actual Latinx or Native American people to inhabit those roles, flipped his thing down and reversed it.
Playwright Larissa FastHorse in addition to her wildly popular Thanksgiving Play, has re-written the book for Peter Pan, the beloved children’s book about a boy who will not grow up and fairies that die without applause.
This new version began at the Ordway and will tour the nation. Lonny Price is directing – and, if it comes near to you, and you have the means, perhaps go and see a story that had a portrayal that needed updating. Like, really needed it.
Finally, TFP want you to know that Hudson Yang is not the only one in show business in the Family . His father, Jeff Yang, journalist, book writer, and podcaster co-wrote his first film, A GREAT DIVIDE with Jean Shim and Martina Nagel.
Directed by Jean Shim. Starring Ken Jeong, Jae Suh Park, Emerson Min, Miya Cech and MeeWha Alana Lee, aka The Lee Family, who leave the Bay Area for a fresh start in Wyoming.
(What could possibly go wrong?)
Born out of the awareness of the violence against AAPI People during the pandemic in America, we became aware of how, even now, the question of tolerance is really often one of white forbearance. Which can be rescinded at any time, depending on mood.
This film is currently on the film festival circuit – so if it hits yours in your area – please buy a ticket.
There we are Folks, very simple, not costly ways to help contribute to the change of perception of Americans in this country. You can turn on your internet streaming device, you can go to the movies, or the theater, or a film festival – and your numbers make a difference. The conversations you can begin from seeing those works are all part of TFP‘s master plan to make sure Americans of Asian descent are seen as Americans, and not as something to be othered.
Bring us MORE in 2024!
TFP out. (But she will be back)
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