If this [musical] was set in Africa, and it was an African king, would you have dared to cast an Caucasian male to play an African king? –actor Cindy Cheung
As a former theatre professional and an Asian American, I’ve been following the controversy about LaJolla Playhouse’s casting for Nightingale, a new musical by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater. Sheik and Sater wrote the music and lyrics for the Tony Award winning Spring Awakening, respectively. (My review of a DC production here.) You can read all the details on Hyphen Magazine’s blog, but I’ll just give you the Cliff Notes version.
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| Actors Bobby Steggert and Corbin Reid in the La Jolla Playhouse’s Page to Stage production of “The Nightingale.” |
Loosely based off Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale of the same name, the creative team of Nightingale reimagines the fairy tale in feudal China. To the dismay of many Asian Americans, the page to stage production at LaJolla Playhouse only cast two actors of Asian descent, out of a twelve. Until the talk back after a public performance, the creative team was dismayed at the Asian American community’s reaction to their decision to cast, among others, a Caucasian emperor of ancient China. The quote above is from a panel discussion between the musical’s creative team and the Asian American community. (Full video here. Quote is at 36:02)
During the video, it’s clear that the musical’s creative team is back pedaling. They claim that their vision included multicultural casting, to represent a mythical world. When Cheung asked that very pointed question I quoted above, they skirted the issue. Cheung contends that they would not have cast a Caucasian male as an African king.
Frankly, I’m disappointed. While I see more Asian faces on television and on the big screen, it’s not enough. The statistics are just as bad for Broadway: According to a study Asian American Performers Action Coalition released earlier this year, only 1.5% of Broadway roles go to APIAs. APIAs have less opportunity than Caucasian performers to play their own ethnicity. It sound implausible to read that right? That Asian Pacific Islander Americans have to fight Caucasian performers for roles of Asian ethnicity.
During my second professional costuming job at a summer theatre (who shall remain nameless) in upstate New York, I worked on a production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific. The musical, a love story between a Caucasian man and a young Polynesian girl, is racist, albeit a product of its time. This summer theatre hired a company of young, mostly college aged actors for their entire 7 show summer season, though they would bring in actors from New York City to play leading roles.
That summer, only two Asian Americans worked at that theatre. Me and my friend, who was the assistant musical director. There were no actors of Asian descent. When dress rehearsals started for South Pacific, the director (or someone from the creative team I can’t recall exactly who it was) approached me. They wanted my help. Would I teach the Caucasian actresses how to “do Asian make-up” for their characters Bloody Mary and Liat. Yes, they did. They asked me to teach white actors how to do yellowface.
As a costumer, I have no say in the casting or hiring process. I didn’t like South Pacific, but as a professional, I treated the costumes like any other productions that summer. I did, however vocalize the ridiculousness and racism in the musical. I guess my opinions about the musical itself and their decision to cast Caucasian women in Asian roles didn’t reach the higher ups.
The staff had no clue how offensive it was that they asked me to teach actors how to do yellowface. They probably still don’t. Still it’s not a good excuse. Just like it’s not an excuse for director Moises Kaufman, who has directed great plays such as The Laramie Project. Obviously this was not a subject matter the Nightingale creative team was familiar with. They should have sought guidance. There are numerous people who would have been happy to help.
Just because the actors didn’t tape their eyes into slits or wear black wigs doesn’t mean it’s less offensive, especially under the guise of “multicultural casting” or being “colorblind.” Jason Chu’s spoken word response to this controversy, titled Colorblind, is more eloquent than I could ever write.
As for those actresses in South Pacific? I laughed at their request and told them how offensive it was. They did it anyway, but without my “help.”