The New York Times: Two and a half years ago, the playwright David Henry Hwang approached the composer Jeanine Tesori with an idea for a show. Mr. Hwang had seen a recent revival of “The King and I” at Lincoln Center, which got him thinking about how much he loved that classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical (the songs, the story, the moment the king dies, which never failed to make him cry), and yet, how much he didn’t (the play’s history of showing a mostly white cast in yellowface, its implicit racism).
3 comments:
I love this concept. I have been thinking about this topic pretty often since the beginning of the year (I might do my PTM newspage class about this topic)-- of Asian American content made by Asian Americans-- but especially since Liz’s thesis presentation in our PTM class last week. When she started out by saying that she wanted to do a thesis on Asian American stage managers, but had not found enough respondents to create an appropriate sample size, I immediately thought “I am glad that even if our DPASA (Design and Production Asian Student Association, an informal association) is small, I am glad that we have each other, and that we have found even a small community to which to be a part.” In the wider industry, it is clear that Asian Americans do not see the same representation that Caucasian and African American people do, though we, too, make up a significant part of the American population. Our representation is often relegated to small parts filtered through the white gaze, creating yellowface stereotypes. I am sick of it, and I am glad that we have writers such as Hwang that are willing to lead change.
Ok this is simply amazing. While reading the article, I felt like this idea was so complex and weird that it would not work but I trust these playwrights and I am so excited to see this almost satirical piece on America, democracy, the election, and cultural appropriation. I hate that Asian americans are so often portrayed as "exotic" - a word I also despise - and foreign. I can count on one hand the number of movies, tv shows, and plays where I have seen an asian character be able to speak fluent english with no accent. There are thousands of Asian Americans who were born here and identify more as american than asian so it seems almost ridiculous to me that we are not portrayed as just Americans. When I watched the video in the article, I almost had chills. I have never seen so many Asians in that context before, as the main characters, as the frontrunners, and as americans. I am also a part of the informal DPASA and am happy to put my hope and trust in playwright Hwang.
David Henry Hwang’s works never fail to mesmerize me, thrill me, or even offend me, which I appreciate greatly. As an Asian himself, he has a clearer understanding of Asia than many western playwrights who are obsessed with orientalism; sometimes perhaps too clear that he reveals things ruthlessly. Hwang’s Asian characters are never helpless as Kim or naïve as the King; instead, they are whole as human being.
Broadway had been lack of a correct Asian representation for a long time; Hwang is definitely one of the person who is helping to change the situation. I am in love with M.Butterfly, for it is such a powerful story that really digs into the East and West conflict and shatters the illusion of orientalism and exotic fantasies. As for Flower Drum Song, I loathed the original R&H version because the far too obvious racism. But I found Hwang’s version interesting in the way he changed the story and added his own critical thoughts on cultural revolution, which made me uncomfortable to face my country’s stain. Anyway, I admire the way he respects Asian history, culture, and values.
I’ve heard a lot of positive reviews on Soft Power from my Asian friends. Hope I can see it soon.
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