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| There's a crazy, rich talent pool of Asian-American actors | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 12:33 am EST 01/01/19 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 12:22 am EST 01/01/19 | |
| In reply to: re: so I had to look up what you meant - lowwriter 02:34 pm EST 12/31/18 | |
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| I'm not sure why it would be such a huge challenge. The recent productions of, say, ''Soft Power.'' ''Here Lies Love,'' ''Allegiance,'' etc. (not to mention the N.Y. revivals of ''Miss Saigon,'' ''The King and I'') have showcased lots of Asian-American talent. Plus, if Encores did ''Flower Drum Song,'' it would only run for a weekend. That might even entice some Asian-American names who might welcome such a short-term commitment. | |
| Link | Red Bucket Follies 2018: Celebration of the 60th anniversary of 'Flower Drum Song' |
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| re: There's a crazy, rich talent pool of Asian-American actors | |
| Posted by: lowwriter 10:27 am EST 01/01/19 | |
| In reply to: There's a crazy, rich talent pool of Asian-American actors - WaymanWong 12:22 am EST 01/01/19 | |
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| I was criticizing the lack of Asian talent in leads at Encores, not the availability of Asian talent willing to work for them. | |
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| re: There's a crazy, rich talent pool of Asian-American actors | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 01:46 am EST 01/01/19 | |
| In reply to: There's a crazy, rich talent pool of Asian-American actors - WaymanWong 12:22 am EST 01/01/19 | |
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| I think lowwriter was just complaining about Encores! rarely casting Asian actors despite the fact that there is no shortage of talent and skill. | |
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| re: There's a crazy, rich talent pool of Asian-American actors | |
| Posted by: lowwriter 10:22 am EST 01/01/19 | |
| In reply to: re: There's a crazy, rich talent pool of Asian-American actors - AlanScott 01:46 am EST 01/01/19 | |
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| Yes, Alan Scott got what I was saying. After seeing the National Asian Artists Project of Into the Woods, I dare Encores to cast one Asian actor in a lead in Encores this year. | |
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| re: There's a crazy, rich talent pool of Asian-American actors | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 09:04 am EST 01/01/19 | |
| In reply to: re: There's a crazy, rich talent pool of Asian-American actors - AlanScott 01:46 am EST 01/01/19 | |
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| While the score of the '58 version of Flower Drum Song is generally considered to be very good, the book has long been regarded as patronizing and/or condescending to Asian Americans. It's rarely done in regional theatre. In fact, I've never seen a production. I may be totally wrong, but I took lowriter's post to mean that many Asian actors may not want to be involved in a revival of the original version. In addition, given Encores poor record at casting Asian actors in the past, they might have difficulty finding enough performers for a show that may require a cast of around 45. |
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| re: There's a crazy, rich talent pool of Asian-American actors | |
| Last Edit: AlanScott 11:54 pm EST 01/01/19 | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 11:54 pm EST 01/01/19 | |
| In reply to: re: There's a crazy, rich talent pool of Asian-American actors - BroadwayTonyJ 09:04 am EST 01/01/19 | |
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| Can you or someone else explain to me why the book of the original FDS is considered by some to be patronizing or condescending? Virtually no one I know feels that way about it, and I certainly don't feel that way. I'm not saying it's 100-percent authentic in every way, but I see nothing patronizing or condescending in there. It's a light musical comedy, written in a light musical-comedy style, with charming characters, all of whom speak in grammatically correct English almost all the time. The only characters who occasionally don't are Mei Li and perhaps Dr. Li. They are recent immigrants whose first language is not English and so it's only realistic that they occasionally make errors, but even they mostly speak in perfect English. I read somewhere someone objecting to the whole mail-order bride aspect of the plot (which is not in the novel), saying this was some kind of myth, but it wasn’t a myth. If the characters are stereotypes to some degree — and they are — they are standard musical-comedy stereotypes, not specifically Asian ones. I know people look at Mei Li and think of her as a stereotypically dutiful Asian young woman, but the whole Mei Li-Linda Low contrasting pair of leading female characters is just very musical comedy. How many musical comedies feature the demure girl and the brassy girl? Countless. And although there are differences in the musical from the versions of those two characters in the source novel, the essence of both is pretty much the same. I’ve said this all here before, but not recently. One more thing that, forgive me, I've said here before: I think some of what some people find objectionable is stuff that comes directly from the novel, and does anyone think that C. Y. Lee didn’t understand what he was writing about or was being condescending or patronizing to his characters? |
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| re: There's a crazy, rich talent pool of Asian-American actors | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 11:03 am EST 01/02/19 | |
| In reply to: re: There's a crazy, rich talent pool of Asian-American actors - AlanScott 11:54 pm EST 01/01/19 | |
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| I don't know if the original resolved Mei Li's plot like the film, but there is some business with her saying her "back is wet", off of a term she overheard on tv, the original term which is probably offensive to some; that could be rewritten. Otherwise, I rather agree with AlanScott -- when I've seen the film the characters just seem like different types of Americans and the two emigrants, though refreshingly not with the usual Caucasian faces one saw in American films. It always seemed rather charming and very tuneful, and a wonderful showcase for singing actors. | |
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| re: There's a crazy, rich talent pool of Asian-American actors | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 06:18 pm EST 01/02/19 | |
| In reply to: re: There's a crazy, rich talent pool of Asian-American actors - PlayWiz 11:03 am EST 01/02/19 | |
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| The show's final scene is identical, or nearly, to the film's, as is the scene where Mei Li sees that scene from a movie on television. The woman in the film says that she's a wetback, which leads Mei Li to say, "My back is wet" in the final scene. I suppose someone might find this patronizing but . . . isn't it timely? OK, she's cutesy saying "My back is wet," but if someone is offended by that . . . I just don't know what to say. Oh, I do. It's a musical comedy. | |
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| re: There's a crazy, rich talent pool of Asian-American actors | |
| Last Edit: PlayWiz 06:46 pm EST 01/02/19 | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 06:42 pm EST 01/02/19 | |
| In reply to: re: There's a crazy, rich talent pool of Asian-American actors - AlanScott 06:18 pm EST 01/02/19 | |
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| There are people who seem to get off on being offended nowadays. Or who make a meme or hashtag about it. A good deal of what they are calling out is warranted, but some people seem to actually seek out and get a perverse sort of high from being offended and capitalizing on the attention they get for calling attention to themselves for being offended, it seems. | |
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| re: There's a crazy, rich talent pool of Asian-American actors | |
| Posted by: lowwriter 10:25 am EST 01/01/19 | |
| In reply to: re: There's a crazy, rich talent pool of Asian-American actors - BroadwayTonyJ 09:04 am EST 01/01/19 | |
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| No, I was not implying Asian actors wouldn’t want to be involved with an Encores Flower Drum Song. The original book can be reworked but not as severely as the work of David Henry Hwang. | |
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