The decision to use yellow face casting is offensive and unacceptable to us and we demand a public explanation. In a multi-million dollar production which made use of public funds, you chose to employ a predominantly Caucasian writing, music and producing team who deemed it appropriate to give a Caucasian actor the principal role of the Grandmaster, “Lone Peak.” As the archetypal wise elder who is the keeper of ancient Chinese secrets and the father of “Little Lotus,” it is clear that he is intended to be an Asian character–or should be. It makes little effort to humanize or add nuance to the Chinese American characters, but instead, relies on stereotypes for characterization. Your production appropriates Chinese culture, mixing it with western pop influences, relying on the most reductive tropes of the kung fu genre while providing no cultural context. We have heard several complaints from our members who saw your production of Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise at The Shed. “We are a coalition of theatre artists and Asian American advocacy organizations around the nation. The AAPAC along with several theatre companies and Asian American advocacy groups recently released an open letter to the artistic leadership of The Shed, the new multi-million dollar cultural center in Hudson Yards, Manhattan. Not surprisingly, White actors, who secured 80% of the roles, were the only ethnicity to over-represent compared to their relative population size.Īsian Americans were the only minority group to see their numbers decline over the 5-year period. African American performers filled 13% of all available roles, Latinos/Hispanic American actors were represented at 4%, and Asian American actors were 2%. The pop artist Sia wrote the music.Ī recent report conducted by AAPAC looked at casting on Broadway over the last five years. Asian American actors have a similar problem getting parts on Broadway.Ī recent production of the musical Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise drew protests from the Asian American Performers Action Coalition along with other Asian American community groups when it cast an Asian character with a non-Asian actor.ĭragon Spring Phoenix Rise tells the story of a secret sect in Flushing, Queens, that possesses the magical power to extend human life, and the twin brother and sister caught in the struggle to control it. The practice of whitewashing and yellowface isn’t just a problem in Hollywood. A production number from a new musical ‘Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise.’
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