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Jai Lennard
Lea Salonga and Philippa Soo met for the first time for the Hollywood Reporter interview. |
"Stop seeing us as exotic or oriental. Don't see us as foreigners, see us as part of the country," said Salonga.
Soo, in her debut role in the hip-hop musical Hamilton, may be the next Asian/American to win the coveted Tony, Broadway's equivalent to the movies' Oscar. Salonga made history in 1991 when she became the first Asian/American to win the award for her role in Miss Saigon.
Broadway has always had limited offerings for Asian/American performers. This year is unprecedented in its opportunities for singers, dancers and actors of Asian descent. 2015 has had revivals of The King and I, Flower Drum Song and a production of Stephen Sondheim's Pacific Overtures or David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly may be in the offering this year. Those productions coming in the wake of a year-long off-Broadway run at the Public Theater for the Imelda Marcos bio-musical Here Lies Love, the ongoing King and I revival and the Broadway premiere of Allegiance mean that more Asian actors have been consistently employed on prominent New York stages than at any time in history.
RELATED: Hollywood take note - Broadway musicals not afraid to feature Asian artists in leading rolesThe big question now is whether that momentum will continue, with more non-traditional casting like that of Soo as Eliza, Alexander's wife, in Hamilton.
Salonga, meanwhile, will finish up with Allegiance until it ends its Broadway run on Feb. 14. She will appear in the season finale of television's groundbreaking musical sitcom Crazy Ex-Girlfriend during which she will sing. That episode will air in mid-April.
RELATED: Why you should be watching "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend"For more news about Asian/Americans & Pacific Islanders, read AsAm News.
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