The Fairy Princess, continuing in her quest to bring you bring you all things ALLEGIANCE, as it heads to it’s big Broadway Opening on November 8th, has a very special treat for you now, Hunties….that’s right…five minutes with Ms. Lea Salonga!
Lest you have been living under a rock since the 1990’s, let’s break it down for you – she is the Original KIM in MISS SAIGON in both the West End and Broadway productions, for which she won THE OLIVIER AWARD and THE TONY AWARD,
she is the singing voice of Disney’s MULAN and Jasmine in ALADDIN,
she has appeared as both Eponine and Fantine in LES MISERABLES,
she headlined the Broadway revival of FLOWER DRUM SONG with the new book by David Henry Hwang,
she’s done concerts worldwide, been an mentor on THE VOICE in The Philippines, recordings, films, countless stage shows – it’s probably too endless to type out – and YET…and YET…with all of that, she still was kind enough to take a photo for TFP holding up a “Hi ____” sign, for one of TFP‘s students…in short…fancy – and nice.
So here we go –
TFP: We are sitting here with Ms. Lea Salonga to talk about ALLEGIANCE – don’t worry, the questions will be fun.
LS: Ok. (smiles)
TFP: Well, hopefully – where were you when you first heard ALLEGIANCE was going to Broadway?
LS: Crud, I can’t remember. I think I was in Manila, probably doing The Voice.
TFP: (silently giggling that Lea Salonga said “crud”) What were your thoughts when you heard the news – immediate reaction?
LS: “OH…FINALLY!”
TFP: Right? No kidding. Who was the first person you told?
LS: (smiles) The Husband.
TFP: What is the thing, as an Asian performer, that you want the audience to take away from this show the most?
LS: There’s a lot to take away from this show – there are so many things we ‘hit’. The Japanese American Internment was such a dark part of American history. I’m hoping what people can take away from it (is) that, despite the darkness that happens, despite the rifts that take place within families, it is never too late to get a second chance at finding closure and finding happiness again.
TFP: What is the first big gift you bought yourself with your Broadway ALLEGIANCE money?
LS: The first rehearsal check I just put in the bank.
TFP: Oh, you are so Asian.
LS: (laughs) It goes into the bank, I didn’t splurge on anything. I’m waiting for big occasions like Opening Night.
TFP: I get that.
LS: I’m giving myself a video game console, probably, because there are all these cool games coming out!
LS: I want to play the new Assassin’s Creed so bad!
TFP: I did not see that coming.
LS: Then for Christmas, we’ll probably get more gadgets because…we’re Asian. (laughs)
TFP: You are totally Asian, I don’t know if you know that, but wow, yes you are!
TFP: Last question…it’s not about ALLEGIANCE per se, but it led up to ALLEGIANCE, so..it’s about MISS SAIGON…
LS: (raises eyebrow)
TFP: You know that with recent productions of MISS SAIGON, there have been protestors, there are petitions, and the are starting to get a reaction in some spots. Myself, I’m not for the protesting -my thoughts are, in theater, if you don’t want to see something, no one is forcing you to see it, don’t go.
I think if you are looking at MISS SAIGON and only see prostitution, you are completely missing the point.
LS: You are missing the point.
TFP: So I wanted to ask YOU, because no one has asked you what your thoughts are…
LS: The pickets and the demonstrations and all of the rallies taking place, that’s not anything new. I mean, I remember being in Previews at The Broadway Theater and there were demonstrators that blasted into the mezzanine, and while we were doing scenes from the show -happened to be doing DREAMLAND – which is the opening of the show, where all of the girls are in their skimpiest and we could hear people screaming from the mezz and screaming at us.
I looked up and went “What the hell is going on, I’m trying to do my job here!”
The thing is that the portrayal of the prostitutes is such a small part of the musical – it’s there to set a scene. We don’t see prostitutes for the two hours and twenty minutes that the show is going on. We see where this girl comes from, we see where this guy comes from. And then we have to be invested in what happens to these two – that’s really it. Yes, there are prostitutes but they are there for what, 10 min?
TFP: I agree, and the fact is, we do not see German people out protesting CABARET, we do not see French people out protesting LES MISERABLES, or GIGI, or English people out protesting OLIVER…
LS: Right. You see “Lovely Ladies” (from LES MISERABLES) and what do you think they are? Just because they happen to be Asian Prostitutes? You’re protesting? If you are going to protest prostitution, then you have to protest things like THE LIFE.
LS: You have to protest other shows that portray that – ummm SWEET CHARITY. You have to keep going…so if you are going to protest one, you have to protest everything else… If it’s a generalizing this ‘looking down on the portrayal of women‘, then you have to go to each and every show that portrays prostitution then and protest that.
Because if you are focusing on the Asian prostitutes, ok – what makes the Asian prostitutes different from the Western?
The oldest profession is the oldest profession, no matter where it is performed.
TFP: Exactly.
LS: You have to see the forest for the trees, and some people just don’t.
TFP: Thank you, Ms. Lea Salonga – and there you have it!
Library is closed, we can all go home now – Break Legs on Opening Night and here is to a long and successful run.
The Fairy Princess was able to pop by famed NY Restaurant, SARDI’S and interview a few members of the #ALLEGIANCE family. As the show opens on November 8th, and it is currently November 4th, she thought she would put forth a series of interviews, one a day, leading up to their Broadway Opening.
ALLEGIANCE is notable for many reasons, but primarily, in TFP’s opinion, for showing us a story that falls within the American purview – it is the story of Asian Americans within America. Much like MEMPHIS or RAGTIME or 1776 showed us glimpses of America’s past with song and book- ALLEGIANCE is the first musical on Broadway to bring to light America’s incarceration of it’s own Citizens during wartime, based on nothing more than their heritage.
That being said, Americans have historically displayed xenophobia to immigrants and their generations, be they Irish, Jewish, Italian, African American, Muslim, and so forth, but the Japanese American Internment stands alone as a particularly dark period in the American story.
ALLEGIANCE and the struggles of it’s characters against injustice is a universal tale.
The following is an interview with Actor, Greg Watanabe, who plays the role of Mike Masaoka – who was a real person – and whose actions directly affected the Asian Americans that were incarcerated. Mr. Masaoka is a controversial figure to some – in fact the JACL has issued a statement protesting the use of him as a dramatic character in this piece, but Mr. Watanabe already answered that in this blog.
TFP:We’re here with Greg Wantabe, from ALLEGIANCE – these are some easy questions, so relax, here we go: where were you when you learned you were going to Broadway?
GW: I found out I was going to be in it actually in the room in NY, at Telsey and Company. I went and did the callback and then they said “Hey can you hold on and if you have something else to show us that would be great.” I was like “OK.”
Other people came in and they said “OK, we have cameras by the way, but you’re not going to audition we are just going to ask you some questions.” So with that, I walked into the room with the entire creative team there, and then they were like “What are you doing this summer?” I’m like “I don’t know, looking for work?” and they said “How ’bout being in our Broadway show?”
TFP: That’s awesome!
GW: Yeah, it was totally cool. I probably did not play it off as well as I could have. I didn’t have very good game face on. I was kind of stunned, I was just like “Really? Cool”
TFP: Did you get out of the room and do a victory dance?
GW: I didn’t. I was probably stunned for like, a good month. It was also several months coming, so it’s like…there’s that too. It was just stunning, the whole thing was kind of mind blowing.
TFP: Who was the first person you told?
GW: I think I called my Mom.
TFP: Like a good Japanese son, you called your Mommy!
GW: (Laughs) Yeah, and then I called my Girlfriend. I think I called my sister – I may have texted my sister, and some other friends.
TFP: But Mom was first?
GW: Yeah, Mom was first, I mean, you know…yeah, Mom’s first (Laughs)
TFP: Mom’s always first. I have a boy, Mommy’s always going to be first.
OK, as an API what is the thing you want people to most take away from this show?
GW: As an Asian American and as a Japanese American, I hope that people take away a sense of the importance of social justice, and I know that sounds sort of pretentious. But one of the most important things for me as a Japanese American about the Japanese incarceration experience in World War Two is that is that no one stood up for the Japanese American community – very few people did. The ACLU backed off, the JACL say they did their best but in many ways they did not support many people who were taking constitutional stands. The Quakers were the only ones who said “We’ll provide you safe harbor and some resources” and things like that.
No one else helped us at time when all of this was happening. I think that is the biggest lesson from the incarceration experience itself, that we have to show solidarity and you have to stand up for social justice, you have to keep the Government accountable to it’s own ideals. If our play can do any of that, then that would be the best thing that could happen for me. Not only would other Asian American feel that, but that the wider audience would feel that.
I think that the fact that this particular story has never made it’s way to Broadway – despite the fact that there have been many books and films and regional plays – that it’s never been to Broadway – is sort of a testament to the fact that sort of our– exclusion might be too strong a word – (but it’s lack of attention) from the mainstream storytelling stream media- I hope people see it and feel like “Hey, we can participate” as storytellers on this level and at this scale.
Those two things, that would be what I want people to take away.
TFP: That’s a great answer.
First present you bought yourself with your first Broadway check?
GW: (Laughs) Wow, That’s tough to say. I have to say, I’ve been trying to be frugal, but I always fail. And one of my big weaknesses is just going out and buying food all the time.
TFP: New York has really good food.
GW: Yeah, New York has great food. So I’m like how many purchases have I made that have been like “F##k it, I’m on Broadway!”
TFP: Right? I can get that $8 coffee, I’m on Broadway! Dude!
GW: Yeah, $30 for lunch, sure…why not? (laughs)
TFP: What’s a ‘must have’ that you must have in your dressing room?
GW: One of the things I really like having, and this sounds strange, but I really like having my coat and scarf with me so that when I go lay down somewhere I can lay down on the floor, in the balcony or on a chair or…
TFP: So you’re saying you’re in a Broadway show, but you are laying down in the balcony to catch a nap during tech?
GW: Yeah, well….
TFP: I did that during that during my tech too! No, I totally did that!
GW: (laughs) And between shows! Previews are so grueling, I had no idea how long of a process, how intense it is.
TFP: So that is my last question – you come from 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors sketch comedy and a ton of straight plays where you have gotten awards and nominations – and now you are in a Broadway musical – what is the biggest difference, hardest adjustment for you?
GW: Probably the first adjustment was underscoring. So much of my stuff is exposition that happens in between or as parts of songs – and so I’m really not used to having to start on a beat and end on a beat – even if I’m not singing, that’s still part of my job. I really had to get used to that, that was one of the hardest things.
TFP: It’s hard.
GW: The other aspect was, and I don’t have a huge role, but you know it’s an important role…
TFP: You have a pivotal role. (Greg plays JACL Leader at the time, Mike Masaoka, who was a real person during this time period)
GW: Yes, I have a pivotal role – in fact I’m going to steal that.
TFP: Yes, that’s right, you have to steal that – pivotal role.
GW: The other aspect (to adjust to) was the amount of time to do the choreography and the songs, and all the energy – almost all of it goes to that. So, you don’t do the table work like you do in straight plays, you don’t do the kind of exploration – there is just not the real estate for that, once I got used to that…It gave me a lot of freedom to be able to explore things…Stafford is the coolest director ever, the nicest man and the most accommodating, and if I ever needed anything I could always ask for it.
TFP: In musicals it’s kind of like they just trust that you are a grown up and you are going to do all that on your own and then bring it to school.
GW: That’s right., and then they’ll see about it. I just said “Well, I’ll just make a choice and we’ll deal with it later, or I’ll get a note” (Laughs) But being given the freedom was great, because of that I’m having a great time.
TFP: And I am sure we will all have a great time watching you, Congratulations!
The Fairy Princess woke up this past Friday to find herself on a “little list‘ put together by Playbill.com – she was totally flattered to be on the list of “useful” women in theater who utilize social media.
Who would not want to be any list that included Kate Shindle (@AEAPresident), Jennifer Ashley Tepper (@JenAshTep), The League of Professional Women in Theater (@LPTWomen), Audra McDonald (@AudraEqualityMc), Lia Chang (@LiaChang), Sydney Lucas (@SydneyLucasNYC), The Kilroys (@TheKilroys13), The Interval (@TheIntervalNY), and from the UK, West End Wilma (@WestEndWilma) ?
Certainly not TFP – she totes wants to be on that list, and she thanks the…ummm…The Playbill.
One likes to be thought of as ‘useful’,
must be America’s Puritan Work Ethic trickle down…but TFP certainly enjoyed being included.
Many thanks to Laura Heywood aka @BroadwayGirlNYC and Cary Purcell aka @PlaybillCarey for reading what TFP wrote, and thinking that it mattered to not just API Theater lovers, but to the community in general.
One often imagines that one’s writing is sent out to the Universe and gets left in the ether for aliens to come and find it – they would find it and and then decide it was good that they came in and took over since we cannot quite get it together here on this planet.
It was honestly thrilling to wake up and see oneself tagged by Playbill in an article, and in such a nice way.
This is perhaps the first blog post by TFP where she did not have to tell someone to Kiss Her Fan Tan Fannie at the end of it, and that in itself is a remarkable thing – since TFP usually has to be ironically enraged to do so…mayhap this will lead to a kinder, gentler TFP?
Probably not.
Lest one thinks that TFP was the only API on the list, TFP was very happy to note that the lovely Lia Chang, @LiaChang,
was lauded for her consistently excellent work, and this was an even bigger example of how the face of theater in New York and around the country is changing.
A sincere thanks to Playbill for noticing TFP‘s blog and for the encouragement….
TFP wakes up every day hoping she will not have to be quite as useful…but until that day comes – she will soldier on!
Also HAPPY OPENING to the play, WE KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE being produced by The Finborough Theatre in London – it looks like a wonderful piece and it also gives TFP hope that things will continue to change.
The Fairy Princess on a daily basis gets frustrated with young women in the public eye.
She says that not because she is angry or unhappy about them being in the public eye, but because so often, they ones that wound up in the public eye at a young age have missed some supplemental education because value is placed on other things – things like singing and dancing and acting.
Don’t go crazy, it is TFP’s opinion based on observation.
While TFP knows that singing, dancing, and acting does NOT prevent one from ‘thinking the big thinks‘ – if one does not realize the value of them, those ‘big thinks‘, then one can so easily laugh them off – the collective value of the big thinks.
Case in point – FEMINISM
Now, TFP is of the opinion that every woman in the United States today is a feminist.
This is a loaded statement – and people will ‘come’ for TFP, but WHY is she saying that?
TFP says that every woman in the United States and a large portion of Western Countries are Feminists because they stand, we stand, on the backs of the women that came before. We, the Women of the World, are, as is said in The Joy Luck Club – like ‘steps through time” – one after the other. We, the Women of the United States, are afforded freedoms and choices because of Feminist principles and activists, who fought for us in the past.
With each age, women strive to come forward a bit more. Yes, we continually have to ‘prove’ ourselves – that we are smart, that we are useful, that we are good mothers, that we are ‘just as capable‘….yes, it is exhausting. This is not new, but it is a constant battle that we wage, secure in the knowledge that at least some of it, has backing in legislation.
Women today have choices now that their Grandmothers could not imagine. Some women have choices that, given where their Mother came from and how she grew up, that their MOTHER could not imagine – and that is AWESOME!
DANCE PARTY!
Which is why TFP was so disheartened to read this quote in the New York Times by Vanessa Hudgens,
who will be starring in the Broadway Revival of GIGI.
Regarding her own feminism, “I used to be on the fence about it, “she said “Just because I feel like it gets to a certain place where it almost has the reverse effect, where it is so overpowering and so aggressive that it’s like rather than just standing up for female pride and female rights, it becomes, like, “I am the man’.
Out came the giggle, like a lace fan. “But now I feel like there’s this new wave of feminists coming up that are truly about equal rights for women. I mean, Beyonce is, like, killing the game, and I love her.”
You have been ON THE FENCE about Feminism because you think it is aggressive and makes you like a man?
ON THE FENCE?
You mean that fence that they used to use to keep women from voting, keeping their wages, deciding how many children to have, deciding to pursue education, and deciding to have the ability to start a business that was not based solely on selling their vagina to the highest bidder?
THAT is the fence you were on, Miss Vanessa?
NO.
Not good enough.
Look, TFP rarely responds to young actresses speaking about Feminism – Cayley Cuoco gave a doozy of a statement when she told REDBOOK Magazine (when asked was she a Feminist)
“Is it bad if I say no? ….I cook for Ryan five nights a week and it makes me feel like a housewife; I love that”
TFP thought….
Ms. Cuoco later had to apologize because she is a multi-millionaire who has made her living in one of the most color biased and gender biased businesses in the world, a world she resides in because of an uber amount of privilege and timing…and she made the rounds spouting that age old Publicist ‘cure-all’ – ‘My words were taken out of context.’
No, they weren’t. Vanessa’s were not either. They were not taken out of context because, as is quite clear – because you have to know what the context IS, to be taken out of it. These young women of privilege and position have NO IDEA what Feminism is, and what it has given them, and so…they are talking out of their ass.
Yes, TFP said “talking out of their ass’ er…’asses’.
While TFP generally ignores things that silly women say – ONLY BECAUSE SHE KNOWS HOW MANY BRILLIANT AND SAVVY WOMEN ARE OUT THERE IN THE WORLD– she cannot ignore it when a person of Mixed race says them.
So Vanessa,
under the bus you go, because Hapas are not allowed to spout this idiocy.
There are SO FEW of us out there that EVERY time one of us gets an opportunity they have to, by default, be a role model.
Yes, it is exhausting. Yes, it is a pain in the ass. But what is so tragic is that 11 year old Hudson Yang is paying more attention to his words, as one of the stars of ABC’s FRESH OFF THE BOAT,
than you are, as one of the FIRST Hapas to be headlining a Broadway show at 26 years old!
You are a GROWN ASS WOMAN….and you should know better!
“We”, the Hapas of Broadway have the leads in ALADDIN, and YOU – that’s it.
If Nicole Scherzinger comes in with CATS, that will be FOUR.
Now and in the foreseeable future….
If we were to add the supporting roles of those in King & I, it would bring it up to SEVEN. (Much respect to Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, and Ashley Park).
SIX lead roles played by people of mixed Asian descent out of 32 shows on Broadway. With a possible 7th coming in.
So no, Miss Vanessa…when we are only dealing with one out of six, one who has legions of teenage female fans, you do not get a pass when you give a quote that posits onlyBEYONCE as an ‘acceptable’ Feminist.
BEYONCE!
Beyonce has a great gift with a ‘lick’ and is an amazing performer, but are her songs feminist thought inspiring?
If Ya Liked It then ya Should’a Put a Ring on it?
Beyonce lives as a Feminist – she owns a business, she has her own money, she gives to charity, she is a mother, she votes , she expresses her opinions and is not mocked for them – all those things are benefits of Feminism. Yes, she lives her life as a Feminist, as all women in this country do – but her songs- they usually revolve around a man. She ‘owns’ her own sexuality, and that is a component of Feminism of course, but TFP does not really think of Crazy In Love as a rallying cry for Feminism.
No tea, no shade, no pink lemonade – it is what it is.
TFP likes Beyonce and her music – but looking for lessons of Feminism from the lyrics?
Whitney Houston, now? Madonna? Lady Gaga? Pink? Those would all be yes.
TFP is now going to tell you why, YES VANESSA…you ARE a Feminist – in case you are asked again…
1. You get to vote
in 1920 – a mere 95 years ago, via the 19th Amendment, women were allowed to vote in elections in the United States
“During the early history of the United States, a man virtually owned his wife and children as he did his material possessions. If a poor man chose to send his children to the poorhouse, (to repay his debts) the mother was legally defenseless to object. …Equity law had a liberalizing effect upon the rights of women in the United States. For instance, a woman could sue her husband. Mississippi in 1839, followed by New York in 1848 and Massachusetts in 1854, passed laws allowing married women to own property separate from their husbands. In divorce law, however, the divorced husband kept legal control of both children and property.”
As a young woman, not only would you be the ‘property’ of your Father, you would have to turn all monies earned, if you were ‘allowed’ to work by him, you would turn it all over TO him, because your money was NOT your own.
And if your Dad was Tom Cruise…it would have been…..
3. You are not the property, should you choose to marry, of your Husband – this was ‘coverture”.
Under coverture, you would turn over any and all property to your Husband as soon as you were married – you would have no say in it’s administration or disposal, and had no legal repercussions if he mishandled the funds. Likewise in the case of a divorce, the courts would favor dispersal to the husband with a small ‘jointure’ perhaps given to the wife at the dissolution of the marriage. Maybe.
You may be familiar with this as the basic plot of DOWNTOWN ABBEY – remember? The Earl has mishandled the funds his wife brought to the marriage which saved Downtown, but cannot be passed on to Lady Mary because….you guessed it – coverture!
4. You can have a ‘line of credit’ aka “a credit card’ in your own name.
That law happened in 1974 – and it was called the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Yes, Vanessa – 1974 was when women in America could get their own credit card! Do YOU have a credit card? Then you should thank those Feminists, male and female, who worked together before you were born, to make sure you could drop into any store you like and buy whatever you want.
5. If you do get married, and you suffer spousal rape, it is now a crime.This law was passed in 1993. You may even have been born, Miss Vanessa – prior to that, if your spouse was in the mood and you weren’t, too bad.
6. You can run in the Boston Marathon…something that women could not do until 1972.
7. You have access to birth control without being subject to ‘decency laws’ or risk being thrown into jail for lewdness.
8. You can get a divorce (if you chose to get married) without having to prove anyone was ‘at fault’.
Prior to 1967, it was rather hard to get a divorce in this country because one needed ‘grounds’. Like, for example, if the Husband was beating the wife all day and night, and he didn’t want her to be able to divorce him, he could (through attorneys and the law at the time) deny that there was a ‘reason’ for the marriage to dissolve. The wife could move out of course, but legally, he was still her husband.
However, it was shockingly easy for a Husband to put aside a wife, because grounds like ‘adultery’ can be given – even if none occurred, and the court in general, found ‘for’ the Husband. Because of course, who would want to live with a cheating wife?
No Fault Divorce has many for and against – even Feminists are divided, however the fact is, if a woman or man is ‘trapped’ within an untenable situation and they want to walk away – they can.
FYI, should you be getting married any time soon whilst on Broadway, it is worth noting that New York State was the last state to ratify No Fault Divorce – in 2010.
9. You do not have to wear a religious or state sanctioned outfit that inhibits your freedom of movement – you have a right to wear whatever you want to wear. You can thank Feminists of the 1960‘s for modern inventions like the miniskirt and so forth.
10. You have the right to star on Broadway in a show about a young girl of 14 who is sold, by her Great Aunts, to an older man in his at least, late 30’s, who is then sooooo overcome by her youth and zest that he ACTUALLY MARRIES HER!
Instead of, as was the custom in the era in which the show is set, signing a contract with her Family as to how many dresses, spending money, carriages, what kind of house she was to have, what the care and feeding of any children resulting from their sexual congress would be, and which gave HIM the ability to terminate, at any time, his support of a woman who was for all intents and purposes ‘ruined’ in the eyes of society because she was no longer a virgin. Also in the contract would likely be how many times per week she was to expect to receive his ‘attentions’, and perhaps even the times with which she must wait up till, before she could make the determination that he was not coming, so she could go to bed.
After her Swain was done with her, and the contract was terminated, she would have to find another ‘protector’, as long as she still had her looks. If she was lucky, she would receive a ‘settlement’ with which she could invest, if not perhaps she would be able to get enough ‘gifts’ that she would then be able to sell as she aged and became less desirable to wealthy men. This would continue until she succumbed perhaps, to one of a host of venereal diseases while all her former lovers were married to ‘respectable’ women and had long and productive lives. She would be left in ‘genteel’ or abject poverty till her death.
Thatis what happened to Courtesans – if you do not believe, TFP, go and ask Fantine, she is a few theaters down from you.
That this current version of GIGI is being produced by women who have updated and changed the ages and have made this Gigi more palatable, (according to your Director, Eric Schaeffer “We had to get the perv factor out of it“), to modern tastes… is a result of Feminism.
Because….de facto – you have Women in power positions on this production, addressing concerns modern women might have with the show – which is the direct result of people laying down in marches and protests, burning their undergarments, going on hunger strikes, marching, legislating, and in general, trying to assure that you, as a 26 year old woman of today, would never have to go through what women in the past have gone through.
Do the freedoms given to you by women of the past alleviate your concerns that people might think of you as angry or aggressive?
Are there any that you would like to give back?
The reason that we are all able to stand up for ourselves and decide for ourselves is because those are rights that were won before we even got here on this planet, by Feminists, also call Suffragettes, also called Interfering Women, also a slew of derogatory names as well as ‘Too smart for their own damn good”. Not all of them were women, either.
The women of the past have paid it forward to us, and now it is our job to continue to encourage young women to embrace being Feminists, to embrace thinking, to embrace striving, not to scare them by denying what it actually is – which is equality in all things. It is striving for equality – struggles that still go on today.
If one is going to be in a show about a Prostitute…
(which, don’t get TFP wrong, Musical Theater LOVES us some Prostitutes, they get ALL the best songs!)
….who is fighting for her right to decide her own future – then does it not reason that the star of that show should EMBRACE FULLY AND COMPLETELY THE NOTION OF FEMINISM AS IT STANDS TODAY?
You do know that the French Monks who invented Champagne by accident were actually not thinking of Happy Hookers and their Swains when they invented the bubbly beverage, right? Lerner & Lowe just made that up?
Look let’s not drag this on and on and on because here is the short list:
You are Feminist if you have ever begun, as a woman, a sentence with “Well, I think….”
You are a Feminist if you have ever stated, as a woman, “I don’t like that….”
You are a Feminist if you, as a woman, have expressed your option to not have sex with a man who requests it
You are a Feminist if you have, as a woman, encouraged a little girl to dream about her future, and dream big
Those are four VERY SIMPLE examples of how one can be a Feminist.
For equating Feminism with trying to be a man, and denying that you yourself are the recipient of the benefits of Feminism – TFP sentences you to 20 whacks with the wand, a wonderful Opening Night, and a reading of The Personal is Political by Carol Hanisch, which you should then talk about with the very brilliant Ms. Thomas with whom you work!
The next time someone asks you – and they will again, TFP would appreciate it, as a person of Mixed Asian descent and as a WOMAN if you would simply reply
“I would not be where I am today without Feminism. Next question.”
After Midnight, the kickass Broadway show that takes the audience on a ride through the music of Harlem’s well known Cotton Club, has announced it is closing – far quicker than originally planned. Originally it was in August, and now, it is June 29th.
Shows close, that is the nature of the business, but one of the great things about After Midnight was that it brought some of the living legends of the African American singing community to Broadway – some for the first time…
Patti LaBelle & Dule Hill
some Broadway veterans who had been there before – and all were incredible.
Vanessa Williams
Fantasia & the men of After Midnight
However because of this early closing, there are some that were announced who will, sadly, not make their Broadway debuts….like Gladys Knight and Natalie Cole.
While it was fantastic that some of these Divas appeared on the TONYS…
not everyone did.
This, also, is very sad – both for those Artists and for their fans – but mostly for their fans because….wait for it –
There is no Cast Recording of AFTER MIDNIGHT!
SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!
Nor, apparently, are there solid plans to record one!
Which is a huge loss. Many of these artists did not, ’tis true, make their names singing the type of music that is in AFTER MIDNIGHT, but they grew up on it.
Which is to say they are making it their own in ways that is almost too delicious to contemplate, and which, given how often Broadway embraces the music of that era (Black & Blue, anyone?), may be the last time we get to see some of them sing it.
I mean, BLACK AND BLUE was celebrating the Renaissance in Paris!
AFTER MIDNIGHT is celebrating the Harlem Renaissance right here in New York City!
The women who are guest starring in the show, save for Fantasia, have a connection to this music that is visceral, because they are within one generation of being the first people to hear that music – and that kind of thing makes a difference.
The Fairy Princess feels lucky to have seen this show as soon as it arrived on Broadway, but now that it is closing – in part due to ticket sales, she wonders if enough of ‘the kids‘ have seen some of these Divas for it to be an inspiration?
She remembers how lucky she felt as a child, to live in New York, and to see some performances that stay with her to this day. However, being Eurasian
she did not have the opportunity to look at a show and say, “Not only do I love it, and I am inspired by it, but those people up there look like me, maybe I can do that too!”
Because there just…ummm….were no Eurasians actively starring in a Broadway musical back then. (Just as it is now, as a matter of fact. Hmmmm…..)
She wishes she could have had a moment to be THAT kind of inspired – she thinks everyone should have it at least once in their lives – to see one’s own people, all different ages, all different experiences, telling their stories through dance and song – come on, that has to be a magical thing.
From left, Desmond Richardson, Phillip Attmore, C. K. Edwards, Christopher Broughton and Daniel J. Watts
When The Fairy Princess saw AFTER MIDNIGHT she was juggling concerns of her day and thinking about other things, as one does, until the lights came down and the first notes of a bygone era started playing – The Jazz at Lincoln Center All Stars – on Broadway! Then she just sat back and enjoyed it all – forgot about everything, it is that good a show.
The singers, and the dancers, and the costumes – it was 90 minutes of amazement, laughs, and pathos
Karine Plantadit
– and it has not been given a Cast Recording.
In an era where any ding dong can whip out a phone and launch embarrassing moments on to the Internet for all to see – how is this show, which has been the recipient of so much love from the Broadway Community and the vehicle for so much talent across the generations – how is it not going to have a Cast Album?
It’s criminal. It’s a crime against theater. If this Cast is not recorded, then you know who loses?
We all do. Young kids – who should be being bused in for the last dozen performances as a public service by the big record labels so that they get to see and hear their history – are going to lose.
We of the Broadway are going to lose – think about it – to NEVER be able to hear the sultry voiced Carmen Ruby Floyd sing “Creole Love Call” again in your life?
CRF in Carmen Marc Valvo at The TONYS
Not to hear the Master Class that is Adriane Lenox sing her numbers?
Adriane Lenox
Criminal.
Total loss.
Not to mention that Divas who were booked until the show was scheduled to close in August now will not be able to make their Broadway debuts. Which is a shame, because no matter how big a singer you are, no matter how many stages you have performed on in your life – there is nothing like stepping on a Broadway stage and singing for those crowds.
If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. Even if you have ‘made it’ somewhere before, it is still like nothing else.
The Fairy Princess does not know who to ‘talk to’ about getting AFTER MIDNIGHT recorded,
The Big O? Anyone have her number? Or her checkbook?
Clive Davis? Who could call Clive Davis?
but someone needs to start talking – because once a show closes, and the Cast scatters to new jobs….that will be that.
Truthfully, it should be a double album, because of the Guest Stars, singing, perhaps, not just what they sang in the show, but songs that perhaps were cut from the show or are ‘of that era’? That would, The Fairy Princess believes, be a huge seller – and, wouldn’t it make sense to record this cast if rumors are true, and there is a tour being talked about?
Just a thought.
Thank you, all the Cast of AFTER MIDNIGHT – you were breathtaking – and The Fairy Princess hopes you have sell out crowds and standing Ovations for the rest of your run – y’all danced and sang your butts off.
Dennis is a writer, a director, and most recently, was one of the Writers for Fashion Police with Joan Rivers, on E! We have been friends for a ton of years, and I find him outrageously delightful. He also has two books I heartily recommend – Screening Party and MisAdventures in the (213)
The Fairy Princess appeared on Global Village Broadcasting, on the show, Cabarabia, Hosted by Director/Producer Clifford Bell. Clifford directed me in my very first cabaret show, They Shoot Asian Fosse Dancers, Don’t They?, so it was great to catch up with him.
AND…just to wrap up, she found this really fun little clip from when she went on the Frank DeCaro Show on Sirius, Jim Colucci was hosting, and she talked about the 10th Anniversary of Avenue Q.
The Fairy Princess has had a terrible bout of food poisoning, shared by her toddler. Recommendations include never, ever eating again at a mall in Glendale. Even if you have successfully eaten there in the past.
The Fairy Princess is recommending to just say no, or if you are, as an actor, going to eat at a mall in Glendale, do it before Pilot Season because then you will be almost the exact rate beloved by television execs everywhere, which is about 30 per cent under the recommended daily weight for your personal height.
The Fairy Princess vows to not eat at a mall in Glendale till next January at least. And then she hopes to book a series regular. Other than that, this bout of food poisoning is totally wasted on me.
Although, I must say, my collar bone looks fantastic right now.
A singer who moves well, after several days of food poisoning….just LOOK at my collar bone! IT. IS. GORGEOUS!
So to say she was feeling a bit ill, was, honestly, gilding the lily at this point – but I should have suspected that it would not be long before I was feeling like I was witnessing gilding the TIGER LILY, because then I read an article from Playbill.com on who should be the next King in the as yet, not officially announced, (but every Asian American Actor knows it’s been coming since War Horse was going to move), production of Rogers and Hammerstein’s The King and I. At Lincoln Center.
Who doesn’t love The King & I?
Ummm, from what I hear tell, people from Siam. (Now Thailand). The film was banned because it was disrespectful. And likely, people from Burma. (and you have to hiss when you say Burrrrma, because that is how it is done in the show) (Burma is now Myanmar).
Of course there are all sorts of reasons for that, but the musical is based on a book by Anna Leonowens (who was, actually Eurasian of mixed Angl0/Indian descent born in India) which posits Anna as the great white savior-ess of the poor, befuddled, savage-adjacent King of Siam. So already, you know you are in for a bit of white-washing, ahem. There are all sorts of historical errors in the book, but you know, it was a ‘memoir’ technically, so if that’s what she remembered…?
Did you know that Tuptim was later reported to have actually married Chulalongkorn, who had 36 wives, so…no death by beating? History is so tricky, right?
But people in the United States love The King and I, and truly, The Fairy Princess loves The King and I because it was my first big ‘gig’, playing Lady Thiang, first wife, opposite Debby Boone as Mrs. Anna. (I had very good quotes, even though we tend to say we do not read reviews, actors love good quotes about the work)
With Debby Boone & Julie Garnye @ Jim Caruso’s Cast Party
But this is whatis made me thing my food poisoning was making it’s return:
Playbill.com playfully tweeted “who should be The King and tweet us your answers‘, and people of the general public gleefully avoided ‘nominating’ anyone that was Asian American!
NOT. A. ONE.
NOW THAT IS AN EFFIN’ PUZZLEMENT!
EXCEPT for Asian American Musical Theater Actors who actually took the question seriously and gave real answers based on both star power and those who had played the role before, some several times.
So LET’S SEE who the General Public picked which was PUBLISHED by Playbill.com as viable choices that should potentially be considered to play The King in the next up and at ’em production of The King and I:
Hugh Pannaro – who starred as both Raul and The Phantom on Broadway was chosen by a Twitter Fan
Three Twits chose Michael Cerveris from The Who’s Tommy and Titanic – possibly because of the hair?
And a Twit chose Raul Esparza who is currently on NBC’s Hannibal, but who also starred on Bway in a number of shows including Company and Leap of Faith
Paulo Szot who earned a TONY Nomination for 2008 ‘s South Pacific
These four gentlemen are, yes, all brilliantly talented.
The Fairy Princess has seen each and every one of them live and in digital form, and they are Musical Theater Masters, each in their own way. So, to a certain extent, she does understand the General Public ignoring one glaring fact about any of them taking the iconic role of The King, because they are Broadway Superfans and fans tend to, you know, be FANS, and ignore things like –
NONE OF THESE TALENTED MEN ARE ACTUALLY ASIAN HERITAGED MEN.
Which, in this day and age, does make them ineligible to play The King of Siam. On Broadway.
Because we of ‘The Broadway’ do not find this:
acceptable.
The Fairy Princess was dismayed, to say the very least, that an esteemed theatrical news outlet like Playbill.com would actually publish Caucasian faces as ‘potential’ Kings for The King & I. The reason she is so dismayed is because Playbill.com has been covering the change, in the last two years, of the way ‘yellowface’ is regarded in the Industry.
Change you say? Oh yes, The Fairy Princess gave a speech about it at LA Stage Day
Playbill.com has, actually, been covering the changing attitudes in Casting, and doing a very good job of it, for the past two years. For example: They covered the uproar at La Jolla Playhouse over “The Nightingale‘, they covered the protests at the last “Miss Saigon“ tour, they have even quotedThe Fairy Princess!
(Which, btw, I was very moved by, because I read it all the time)
As one can see it is not as if Playbill.com was unaware that Caucasians playing Asian is, thankfully, turning into a big ‘no no’.
So, they are familiar with me, and let’s face it, It is not like I have ever refrained from saying this:
So if you are aware, Playbill.com, of the changing attitudes why publish this list as you did?
Wouldn’t it be a stronger editorial choice to say “look, yes, there are superfans that tweeted names that are not Asian American, and that is all well and good, but let’s concentrate on promoting and sharing potential Kings who have both the resume and the heritage to make this ‘tweet contest’ a list that Casting could look at seriously.”
Because if, say, there were going to be a revival of, oh, I don’t know, an August Wilson play, and someone tweeted you a photo of Tom Hanks – would you publish it?
Would you, Playbill.com?
The Fairy Princess is being serious.
Because of all publications, Playbill.com is in the best position, better than almost any, to know the percentage of Asian Americans on Broadway, and to know how rare it is to have a show that can encompass a mostly API Cast, and what potential that has for us, as a group.
With all the coverage when there is a bi-lingual West Side Story, or of All The Way, which focuses on Civil Rights, or After Midnight, which so gorgeously highlights the music of an era and a people, why, when it is Asian American, is it ‘ok’ to publish a list that includes Caucasian faces?
The Fairy Princess doubts that you would do that to any of those shows, Playbill.com
The Fairy Princess is willing to bet that this was a light-hearted attempt to get everyone excited about a revival of a show that is a Musical Theater staple, as most Twitter things are, but there needs to be editorial responsibility.
While The Fairy Princess is grateful for the coverage that Playbill.com has given to Asian American representation on Broadway, and the various Casting issues that have arisen over the last two years, she does think that in this case, they could have done better. They could have drawn a line in the editorial sand and said “we are going to stand with Asian American performers because it is the right thing to do’.
Because Asian American Performers who are delighted that they may get a chance to audition or be in the new cast of The King & I did not need to flip through that list, and see that General Viewing Public would be just as glad to see this revival if there were no Asian American faces in it.
We did not need to see that.
We see that every day.
We read Playbill.com all the time, and we rejoice for any and every friend and acquaintance that has mention, and we get delighted for any and all coverage on musicals because we love them so much – but we did not need to see one of ‘our’ industry ‘papers’, ‘zines’, etc, etc, etc, throw up NINE potential “Kings’, with FOUR of them being Caucasian.
C’mon Playbill.com – you published it. Which is…kind of endorsing it, doncha think?
We did not need to see that.
We see that every day.
The Fairy Princess does not want to get into a hashtag war with Playbill.com – there is no point to it, they do good work, and she is sure that there is a way to fix this.
In fact, she has thought of one:
The Fairy Princess thinks there should be a ‘revised’ list by Playbill.com reporters – who take into account the last time the show was in The West End, on Broadway, Regionally, who amongst API Actors started in Musicals and perhaps have gone on to popular television shows, things of that nature. They should compile this list and publish it.
Publish THAT list.
The Fairy Princess thinks that Playbill.com should lead the way in enlightening the General Musical Theater Going Public as to HOW MANY Asian American candidates there are for The King – and if there are 10, or 20, all the better.
The Fairy Princess is not going to debate who, now, should be the once and future King in the revival in 2015. Mainly because she knows most of them, and no matter what order they are put in, or how they are listed, she will hurt someone’s feelings.
She is going to trust that Casting, the real Casting Directors, will do their job wonderfully well, and put together a new and inspiring production of this show.
She wishes all of the potential Kings well – may the odds be ever in your favor.
Look, to quote the show, “Every day I do my best for one more day”– so come on, let’s just do a bit better
The Fairy Princess has observed people having a bad week or so – and she wanted to take a moment and publicly state that she stands firmly, in regards to the issues of the last two weeks, behind Jeff Yang, Phil Yu, Kristina Wong, Calpernia Addams , and Greg Watanabe and the positions they have taken.
There is no need for any community of any kind, that acknowledges in fact, that they are a community, to turn on one another and try and destroy it based only a need to be ‘right’.
Maturity can admit mistakes, in as much as immaturity cannot be self- aware.
On to #GoodThingsThursday – here is what is going on:
1. The Fairy Princess is Co-Hosting Celebrity Doodles this coming Saturday, April 5, in Palm Springs with this handsome fellow –
International Magician of Mystery, Matthew Dowden
Celebrity Doodles is an Art Auction/Fanciest Cocktail Party you have ever been to, type thing, and it is a blast! This year, they are honoring Suzanne Somers and Alan Hamel, Taylor Dayne is singing, and the artwork is amazing. Click here for more information. There ARE still a few tix left.
Special THANK YOU to The Frank DeCaro Show on Sirius XM Radio for having me on to talk about Doodles and all sorts of other things – Frank and Doria Biddle run a great show, broadcast around the Globe, that focuses on Pop Culture, LGBT Issues, News and it is always a fun time. If you have not gotten a chance to hear them, you can click here for more information.
2.YELLOW FACE, the play by David Henry Hwang, is having another go-round in London! The last time it ran, just a few months ago, it had a four star rating. It will be at The Park Theater – and I encourage you, if you missed it the first time, to run off and view a great display of British Talent.
May 21 – June 16th. Break a leg, Everyone!
Gemma Chan & David Yip in DHH’s YELLOWFACE, re-opening in May 2014
Is anyone else ‘trippin’ just looking at this artwork?
4. Tiananmen, a new musical, under the aegis of director, Stafford Arima (who also directed Allegiance), made it’s NY Concert Debut in the best room in town – 54 Below.
Cast of Tiananmen, the musical, backstage
5. The API’s of the new Broadway musical, IF/THEN made their Red Carpet Bows:
The lovely Ann Sanders
IF/Then Cast Members Marc DelaCruz, Pearl Sun, and Charles Hagerty
Alongside these Superstars –
LaChanze, Anthony Rapp, Idina Menzel from the Cast of IF/Then
Speaking purely from a Diversity standpoint – this show looks to be a standout. This is one of the more diverse casts I have seen, the show is set in New York City, this is exactly what Diversity means.
The Fairy Princess says YES, this IS what New York City looks like!
Good job, Telsey + Company!
6. This next one is pretty exciting – especially if you were one of those who were sad to see the end of the TV show, NIKITA – Maggie Q, one of the most bankable API’s on Television, is back in a new pilot by Kevin Williamson.
Meet ‘Detective Beth Davis” from the new pilot by Kevin Williamson
In addition to that, Maggie Q is also in the DIVERGENT Trilogy and a bunch more stuff. The Fairy Princess is particularly partial to Hapa Actresses whose surnames are Irish and start with Q, so many congrats to her.
7. And finally – a shout out to BD Wong, who appeared in a comedy sketch on The Colbert Report.
To put a period at the end of the Great Hashtag Wars of 2014.
Thank you, B.D. Wong,our only Asian American TONY Award Winning Actor.
And there you have it – seven (or 8, you can count HLL 2x if you want to) things to feel good about as we wend our way out of Pilot Season and into Broadway – Happy Thursday, Folks!
I am writing an Open Letter, not to confess anything, or reveal shocking details, or even to kvetch about the weather, which of course, every New Yorker holds Al Roker personally responsible for….
Al Roker from The Today Show
Just kidding Mr. Roker, we love you…after all, The Fairy Princess knows (from having met you during a prank Matt Lauer pulled on you) that you are a huge afficianado of the show tunes! And anyone who loves Broadway musicals enough to sing a few bars while working on what turned out to be a fake photo shoot, is good enough for me!
Sparkly Jacket? CHECK!
But that is what this open letter is about, oh Today Show dwellers…because I have a quick question –
why when Il Divo comes to perform they get to do it here:
Oh where are they? oh right – INDOORS!
But when Broadway’s new musical, BEAUTIFUL, the Carole King Story came to The Today Show, they performed here:
?
This was yesterday, February 27, 2014. That’s right, and what was the weather like yesterday?
It was around 39 degrees Fahrenheit, on average. Which, can be considered fairly cold. It’s a bit cold for performers who do 8 shows a week, and have to maintain their health in order to continue to work to be singing and dancing in their show clothes OUTSIDE with NO COATS!
The Anchors are outside in down coats, hats, and gloves – they know it’s cold. We all know it’s cold. Even if you did NOT know it was cold because..well, who knows why you would not know it was cold outside if you were in NYC but hypothetically…I suppose it is possible. So even IF you did not know what the weather is outside…
Let’s face it, you could have asked this guy who, you know, works for you…
Is this thing on? The jacket? Yes.
You had the cast of AFTER MIDNIGHT out there in their scanties on January 21, 2014.
On January 21, 2014 it averaged 33 Degrees Fahrenheit!
But when Tony Bennett came to see you on October 9, 2013, he was here –
Legendary Tony Bennett on the TODAY Show
Inside.
When WICKED showed up on October 30, 2013 they were….
Now, it is obvious that Broadway and The Today Show go together like a time step and a glittery hat, but enough is enough! There is a polar vortex going on, and you have trained performers going out in this horrible weather almost nekkid for enough minutes that they could come down with some serious bronchitis – and that is not ok.
I know that lots of other performers sing outside – you have your Country stars, and your Rock stars, and so on – but they dress themselves, and in general, they seem to dress for the weather. (And if they don’t, that is their own damn fault because they have a choice).
Show People have no choice in what they wear because it is set – that is what it means when we say that the show is frozen – all costumes, lyrics, books, music is set into place for the run of the production. If they are promoting their show, which they ARE and THANK YOU, TODAY SHOW for that, it is really the best reason to tune in for me, when a Broadway show is going to be on – they have no choice in what they are wearing.
By the time they get to you, their show is frozen – now they are too.
It ain’t right, Today Show – it ain’t right!
The Fairy Princess is requesting that you move all these highly trained, beautiful people INSIDE until Spring. (And not just, you know, beginning of Spring, like WAY into Spring – LATE SPRING)
Please?
There is a room that’s full of heat, I want to go there when I sing….
You have the studio space – you let other people use it…..
Look, everyone from Broadway who performs for your TV audience and for your live crowd wants them to come see them in their theaters, and they want to give the best performances they can. Broadway people do not want to call out for illness, they want to hit the stage in their high heels and give y’all a fabulous damn show!
But how can they do that with viral pneumonia?
Whaddaya mean NO COATS?
The Fairy Princess finds it hard to concentrate on the performances being given when all she is thinking is ‘DAMN, they must be FREEZING!”.
You with me KINKY BOOTS? Say Yeah for moving The Broadway indoors in winter!
They were in June, look how happy they are!
Perhaps you will not listen to The Fairy Princess…(after all, I’m just a blogger with over 55,000 views) but you do have ONE person on staff who may advocate for showtunes and those who dwell there –
From you to me, Kathie Lee
C’mon Kathie Lee! Would you want YOUR show out there with no coats on? I think not.
These are people I know, these are people I admire, and these are people who deserve a little respect…and, heat.
Finally, I thank you TODAY SHOW for shining the light on amazing performances all year around, you do a fantastic job that lends credit to your Staff and your show – it is seeing Broadway performances on your show that brings people to New York and puts their tushes in theaters!
Doing all you do it can not be easy, but it CAN be indoors….just till Spring.
– after all, it has been a year since the British East Asians had their dust up with The Royal Shakespeare Company, an anniversary chronicled quite nicely by Anna Chen in her Madame Miaow blog.
It had been several months since her speech at LA Stage Day, chronicling why Yellowface in theater should meet its untimely end…here it is, in case you missed it.
There have been endless panels on diversity, on co-opting experiences and on whether or not empathy is key to bringing us all together (Which, btw, The Fairy Princess was j‘accused of having none of, but now, now….I do,it’s just reserved for dolphins in The Cove, LGBT people who live in places like Russia and Nigeria, and orcas trapped in captivity- that kind of thing ), so she kinda thought that we were done!
That she could toddle off to book signings…
Yes, that is Debra Monk signing my copy of NOTHING LIKE A DAME by Eddie Shapiro
And to see good friends in shows where she could meet Actors that she admires….
ALL THE WAY is one of the best plays I have seen in a long time, limited B’way run, DO NOT MISS IT!
The Fairy Princess relaxed! She did! She thought that her message had been heard – after all, VARIETY even reiterated her points about Diversity = Dollars! VARIETY!
The best part was that they mostly deal with Movies and Television, therefore The Fairy Princess assumed the message had moved on from theater, to more lucrative hills alive with the sound of commerce. But you know what happens when you assume? Felix?
The Fairy Princess thought that American theater had gotten the message – that Asian American Actors are plentiful, and even if there is not a large percentage in your own city, if you require them because you are choosing to use their culture to set your play, you can put a casting call out in a city like New York or Los Angeles – where MOST ACTORS ARE (we do not just store API Actors on the Coasts, we store almost all of them regardless of ethnicity on the Coasts), and they could do this amazing thing that Actors do….travel.
Who doesn’t love a good, singing Howard Keel? The man was magic!
However, The Fairy Princess was WRONG – the Fairy Princess has been GOBSMACKED by the City of Brotherly Love’s Lantern Theater.
(No, I do not want to hear theories on who you thought wrote it, it’s My Boy Bill for the historical credit)
Which, The Fairy Princess enjoys – she does love a good rassel with morals and iambic pentameter as much as anyone who has attended a Conservatory training program. She does not even mind when you move the settings around, or place the play in ‘another world’ to shake things up a bit- after all, it’s not like we haven’t seen it, now is it? She even loves diversity in Casting, oh how she LOVES Diversity in Casting.
So why then is her tiara clamping down on her brain?
Not because they cast this guy – who would protest casting this guy in anything? He’s handsome, he’s talented, and he’s a TONY nominee….no, it’s not the casting of this guy or anyone else in this play – they are all likely, very talented….there’s a bit of a, hmmmm, element though that is bothering The Fairy Princess….
TONY Nominee Forrest McClendon as Caesar
Why, oh WHY could The Fairy Princess, who advocates for including Asian American Actors in shows where their own heritage is being used as a setting, WHY could she be upset about The Lantern’s Caesar?
Well, here is a quote from Playbill.com about the show “Influenced by the aesthetic and philosophical similarities of feudal Japan to Shakespeare’s Rome, set, costume and sound design incorporates conceptual elements such as Shoji screen architecture, traditional Japanese warrior clothing and music performed by Philadelphia’s Taiko drum band ensemble, Kyo Daiko“
Influenced.
Right.
They know that Japan is a real place, right? It’s not just a place to grab a robe and a california roll from and call it a day, right? Japan is a real place, with real people who look a certain way. Their DNA makes them look a certain way….
No, not everyone looks like actor, Ken Watanabe…but we can dream, can’t we?
Ummmm….perhaps I am slow, but perhaps we’ll just ask the Assistant Director to explain it to us:
(UPDATE: the above video DID exist and was prominently featured on both The Lantern Theater’s website and on their Facebook page. Since this blog first appeared a few days ago, and since it has been viewed by well over 1,000 people – largely theater people I am assuming, the AD’s at The Lantern Theater chose to take down the video after the resulting internet kerfuffle.
WHAT WAS IN IT: In the video they had the Asst Director of the Production in question talking about why they chose the setting they did. They looked and they thought that Feudal Japan had the most in common with Rome of Caesar’s time, and given that in Shakespeare’s time actors would probably have appeared in doublets etc, they wanted to change the costuming. They were not eager to have everyone in togas. It had been done before, so they needed a NEW Concept. Therefore they changed the setting from the Ancient Rome we have come to expect and they created a new one- this was/is now a Rome that had been invaded by Japan.
At the time of this play as now set at The Lantern Theater, the Japanese have LEFT Rome, but very thoughtfully left all their culture and trappings behind them, which opens up this show to include shoji screens, kimonos, armor, fighting styles, and taiko drums. )
As we CANNOT watch the Assistant Director explain it anymore, please click (HERE)for an interview with the Director from the Philadelphia Metro.
I see.
So…just so we are clear – the show is set in Rome, but a Rome that has been conquered by Japan.
However the Japanese have now left…
BUT THEY TOOK EVERY LAST PERSON OF ANY ASIAN HERITAGE WITH THEM AFTERTHEY CONQUERED ROME?
Well yes, I guess they DID take every Asian person! Photo – Mark Garvin
They took every last Asian heritaged person that would have been there after what would have been a series of battles that would have extended over years? All the children that would have been created by the soldiers as they raped and plundered their way through Rome, they were all Russell Crowe about it?
They just…LEFT?
THEY LEFT?
They left behind their clothes, customs, war tactics, weapons, shoji screens, and taiko drums, but left not even ONE person – not one courtesan, not one general, or lowly foot soldier, or peasant – they rounded them ALL up and put them on a giant boat back to Japan…well I guess that explains why they left all the clothes, they did not have room on the boat!
Well of COURSE you couldn’t get a Shoji screen in there!
Does that seem somewhat RIDICULOUS to anyone else?
Has anyone at the Lantern Theater actually looked at, well, a history of Japanese invasions from, well…the beginning of time, and examined HOW they handled wars and invasions?
His Japanese Contemporary, was Emperor Sujin (in fact, here is a list of ALL his contemporaries). Now, there is not much known about Emperor Sujin, however….he and his sons were able to fend off the Mongols, led by Ghengis Khan. At the same time, he was invading Korea and establishing the Japanese regency.
A regency. Like, a royal thingy – not in their own country. They didn’t leave. They brought stuff with them and they left people there to watch it. People with swords and armor – because they were an invading nation.
They would not, you know, go into only THE MOST POWERFUL WESTERN NATION OF THE TIME AT THAT TIME AKA ROME and conquer it and then turn around and go “ok boys, pack it up, we just wanted to prove a point that we could, and now we are off to figure out how to torment Korea for the rest of time, so…yeah, put everyone in the boat, no, no, leave the screens…we’ll just make more“
So what IS this then? This is just one more production to add to the seeming ENDLESS list of productions where the Director chooses to purloin the culture of an Asian nation, and then, instead of doing the LOGICAL thing, like casting Asian Americans to be in this ‘mythical Rome-pan‘ to show that they had been invaded and conquered, he decides nope.
No Asians in Rome-pan.
Jered McLenigan as Anthony – Photo by Mark Garvin
Rome-pan only has the dress, the settings, the weapons and the drums of “Mythic Feudal Japan” but not the people. (Although, technically, the dress of Japan at that time, actually mirrors Chinese fashion, so probably mythical Rome-pan may have it’s own glitches in authenticity)
Now, The Fairy Princess is of mixed heritages – one of them being Irish. As an Irish person, or rather, a person of Irish Heritage who has read books and so on, she knows that when a country, for instance in her particular case – Ireland, gets invaded, there are things that happen during that time period.
Like rape, and killing, and intermarriage, slaves taken, slaves left, fortresses built, languages shared, languages merged, and what does this mean? Well…it means that you know, we have different hair color that is unusual in an island nation. It means that red hair in Ireland comes from the invading Celts, and black hair possibly from ancient sea routes through Spain, and that kind of thing. Vikings, Gaels, Normans, all have been to Ireland, which was a sea going nation.
It means, that if one is invaded and conquered, the mark of the conqueror is not just in the fact that they bring their ‘stuff’,it is in the DNA they left behind.
WHICH MEANS that in 44 BC ‘Rome-pan’, there should have been some Asians or Eurasians cast up in there!
At the VERY least. WHICH MEANS that the Director was probably not thinking, as the Asst Dir now pundits (and I am not quoting here, I am pundit-ing) that Rome was overtaken by Japan etc, etc, etc….
Paolo Montalban as the King
The Fairy Princess thinks that he was thinking more along these lines – I really, really want to shake it up and use Japanese stuff, because I think it will look fresh and I think people in Philadelphia will think it is exciting to have taiko drums in Ancient Rome.
Which is…kinda lazy, isn’t it?
I mean, if you are going through ALL THE TROUBLE of making up ‘Rome-pan’ and trying to sell it to audiences in a city that embraces tolerance and Quakers and well – brotherly love – wouldn’t you think that it would be nice to show some to those Asian American Actors who regularly do Shakespeare, and who would have enjoyed a fresh take on Julius Caesar?
Honestly though…it’s not really, hate to break it to you, Philly, a ‘fresh’ a take on Shakespeare…cuz there is a little play we Asian Americans like to do called…wait for it….SHOGUN MACBETH
“What? Can the devil speak true?”
(Obviously that is Lady MacBeth, and this is the wrong quote for that moment, but…)
While The Fairy Princess wishes the actors in this production well, again, they all seem quite talented, she cannot, cannot in good conscience stop her magic wand from applying several well placed whacks to the tushes of Director and Artistic Director, Charles McMahon, the Assistant Director and Education Director, Joshua L. Brown (who SHOULD HAVE figured this out and said something prior to Casting), and…The Lantern Theater of Philadelphia.
The production is up and running now – but this HAD to be said – particularly because there are EXCELLENT Asian American Shakespearean Actors and Actresses and yet AGAIN, they have been ‘white-washed’ from partaking of an expression of their own ‘mythical – which is a total cop out because Japan is a real place with real people’ history.
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