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 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 watched the news in abject horror the past few weeks – I mean, I know ‘Haters gonna hate‘ but they seem to be going for the Gold Medal.
Hold on a minute, Russia….just so we are clear….this is what you are famous for….(Artistically famous, not, you know, bombs and torture, killing the Tsar & his family, and cold war ‘cross my line and I blow crap up‘ famous)
Dear Russia – wake up and smell the caviar…you stink. And if you don’t take my word for it – you have been condemned by GERMANY! (Article)
GERMANY is looking down on you!
Germany, who is never ever going to be able to stop apologizing for THIS guy….
Ain’t NOBODY got time for that – Right, Sweet Brown?
The Fairy Princess can no longer indulge in a dirty martini! She could, yes, switch to gin – but she has seen the crazed orgy scene in The Wild Party too many times for that!
Oh well….back to whiskey….grrr.
This whole thing is ridiculous and tilted her tiara.
So The Fairy Princess is going to write about some GOOD THINGS that happened the last few weeks….get ready!
1. AVENUE Q celebrated it’s 10th year of running on a stage in Manhattan. It should be stated that from an Asian American perspective, Avenue Q provided the only ‘new’ Asian American character our Broadway stages have seen since…ummmm…Throughly Modern Millie in 2002 and since then there has been….ummmm….NEVERMIND – GOOD THINGS!
HERE are some of the lovelies that have played the part of Christmas Eve –
L-R: Lisa Helmi Johansen, Sala Iwamatsu, Ann Harada, Erin Quill, Hazel Anne Raymundo, Ruthie Anne Miles
And…as Creator Bobby Lopez said about this photo “The scary thing is that there are so many more”
So Congrats to the Creators, Producers, Crew and Cast Members of Avenue Q – The Fairy Princess was very proud to ‘live’ there as part of the Original Broadway Company and just so’s ya know…July 31st was declared AVENUE Q DAY by the City of New York!
2. The FuManchu Complex which will run in London at The Oval House from Oct 1-19th, 2013 has been fully funded through Kickstarter!
Normally, The Fairy Princess DOES NOT give to Kickstarter – and here is why – and ARTISTS, I want you to pay special attention to WHY I normally do NOT give to Kickstarter and why I DID give to this one.
The Fairy Princess believes that if you want her to invest in a film, or play, or project of any sort, then present me with an investment package. I want to see that if I am an investor in your project, then there is some small hope of return on said investment. (The Fairy Princess is not DELUSIONAL, she KNOWS that there is little to no hope of return on investments in Artistic projects, but let’s have RESPECT for the investor)
I do not believe in, in general, asking people to just give money for artistic endeavors because, in the olden days, when I started – if you wanted to fund your own work….you got a job and saved money.
You produced your show yourself, you saved, you borrowed, however you wanted to do it, but you did not expect your friends to pony up money so that you could be saved the hassle of saving.
Then you invited people to buy tickets to your show.
THAT was how friends showed support. They bought tickets. They bought CDs. They came to see the project when completed.
The Fairy Princess is NOT a fan of ‘oh this will be good for my career, and I have fans or friends…I’m just going to ASK them for it, but I will reap any and all benefits and then I will not have to pay back anyone“.
NOT a fan.
I have seen too many Kickstarter funded projects that wound up not actually coming to fruition, and the money – which has no ‘if the project is not completed this money is returned to you‘ clause – went to pay someone’s credit card bill or for a fancy trip abroad.
Now that celebrities are using the fans to pay for projects that they could have found funding for on their own, because they ARE Celebrities with fans…The Fairy Princess was ‘stick a fork in Zach Braff done‘ DONE with Kickstarter.
The NY Times agrees with The Fairy Princess – celebrities using Kickstarter is not quite ethical…(Article)
EXCEPT for FuManchu Complex and HERE is why –
They needed two thousand pounds.
To put up a PLAY.
For 19 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I gave them money because I know – I KNOW that they are not going to run and pay an old bill, they are not going to go on a fancy trip – they are renting a space and they are building a set. Obviously, no one is getting paid- they are doing it for themselves but they are ALSO doing it to help keep alive the British East Asian Theater presence and so…I chose to give them money, even AFTER they reached their goal…because you know what?
The Fairy Princess is unable to attend the show due to it being in another country – so she cannot buy a ticket – Kickstarter, in this instance, was the way she chose to raise a glass and salute them. Bon chance, you feisty British East Asians!
And if anyone reading this would like to also send them some $$$ so they can perhaps go to the pub after opening night – here is the link:
And Bless your hearts if you do! All Hail Daniel York and his buddies for continuing to rail against the dying of the light…it’s a damn hard thing to do.
UPDATE FROM DANIEL YORK:
‘One thing I should point out though is that the actors (five East Asians) WILL get paid the Equity rate and that’s one of the things we needed the money for because the Arts Council would only fund us if we raised a certain amount ourselves, the £2000 is barely 5% of the budget but it’s crucial in that sense. I have, however, waived my writer’s fee completely because I want the play to go on and I want East Asian actors on stage in work by an East Asian writer because I want us to have our own foundation rather be relying on the mainstream to chuck us a bone when they wanna put on a China play PLUS the cast we have is just about the most diverse group of Asians ever and we need to be seen as that. Diverse.’
OK – ACTORS GET PAID!!!!!!!!!!! That is even MORE awesome! Well then I’m glad I gave money to such a great cause and The Fairy Princess wishes she could be there to see it. BRAVO ahead of time, you British East Asians!
3. Kristina Wong is the next great thing that happened in the past couple of weeks, because she took on that hideous offensive mess that was the video Asian Girlz and she answered it back with a witty video of her own:
Kristina Wong is a Performance Artist that The Fairy Princess is glad to see on the great wide Interweb. How wonderful that a strong Asian American Woman took a stand against racism, sexism, and stupidity- this is a fabulous thing.
Let’s all get excited about this and watch the video more than a few times and tweet it etc, so that she might get paid the literally hundred of dollars (no, not a typo) that you can make on YouTube if your video is viral.
She is a Performance Artist….she needs the $$$!
4. Kevin Burrows is the next great thing to happen in the past week.
You might not know Kevin and his work if you are not a Broadway afficianado, but Playbill.com certainly should have when they decided to highlight Broadway ‘show-mances’ that lasted and lasted. You see, Playbill.com decided to highlight more than a few of them, but failed to include any LGBT Broadway couples. (Article)
Say what?
Ummmmm, is Playbill.com under the misapprehension that theater in New York City is only inhabited by ‘straight’ people?
One assumes that Playbill.com has actually BEEN to a Broadway show or two or twenty and has done only approximately thousands of interviews WITH Broadway people…where they may have noticed some LGBT couples.
But…when you assume…oh FELIX UNGER…..
Anyway, Kevin read the article, got fired up, and responded with his OWN article entitled “Till There Was US” on The Huffington Post. (Article)
Here is why this is awesome – because Mr. Burrows took on what is, really, institutional prejudice, and won with placement of his own article in the NATIONAL press.
Well played, Mr. Burrows, well played. A righteous parry & thrust!
Playbill.com is, of course, designed to help sell Broadway shows – therefore, they may have decided that the people reading Playbill.com tended to be consumers more than theater practitioners. They may even be right.
However, just because facts may upset someone who has an ability to buy a ticket, but an inability to acknowledge the right to live and love whom you want, as any consenting adult should be able to do – does not make it right to leave out couples who are part of the very reason there are tickets to sell in the FIRST place!
THIS. IS. NEW. YORK. CITY. and to leave OUT LGBT Couples who make UP a huge part of the Broadway Community is flat out, dead WRONG to do.
‘Mad props’ to Kevin Burrows for standing up for his own relationship, and the visibility of LGBT relationships in the Broadway community!
Encore! Encore!
5. HERE LIES LOVE is looking to transfer to Broadway! (Article)
The Fairy Princess saw this musical by David Byrne & Fat Boy Slim down at The Public Theater and truly, truly enjoyed it. This may be the first ‘new’ All Asian American musical to make it to Broadway in the next year, so this blog in particular, wishes the show well
And THOSE are FIVE things that were kinda awesome the past few weeks….and they are a reminder that even though you can feel like you are stuck in a Sh*t storm without an umbrella……
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