CMU School of Drama


Monday, August 14, 2017

For 'Little Mermaid' star, a rude awakening in Middle America

The Buffalo News: Diana Huey doesn't seek out negative social feedback. But too often, it finds her.

That's what happened one recent day in Memphis, where Japanese-born Huey was set to perform the role of Ariel in a touring production of "The Little Mermaid" at the historic Orpheum Theatre.

Before the show, scrolling through Facebook, she came across outraged comments from Disney fans criticizing the casting of an Asian American in a role they expected to be played by a white woman. That's despite the fact that the character is based on an animated film featuring a mythical creature who cavorts with singing crustaceans.

1 comment:

Shahzad Khan said...

This article highlights maybe one of the more ridiculous cases of racism in theatre. Not only is it clearly biased against the fact thats she's Asian, but it send a message of intolerance all across America. The article says it perfectly when it says that she is It's a "friggin' mermaid".Though theatre is at the forefront of social issues, this shouldn't be one. This is simply the casting of an asian actor playing someone that isn't even human. This really goes to show that minorities, no matter what their field is have to work twice as hard, have three times the luck, and will still be criticized for it.