From its embrace of yellowface to its caricatures of East-Asians, there’s a debate whether it is a timeless classic or an ancient relic. Deborah Kerr is excellent as Anna Leonowens, a no-nonsense feminist teacher up against a major-macho royal egoist. A NSW Department of Education spokesperson said the school does not encourage the use of black and yellow face in theatre productions. He added sympathy and likeability to a ruthless character, and he somehow managed to both infuriate and humour the audience. It can bring new subtext to light through modern understanding, like the recent revival of Oklahoma, or it can bring better understanding to older ideals, like The King and I. Starring Rosalind Russell and Alec Guinness, it deals with cultural and generational differences as a Jewish woman and a Japanese man develop a friendship. Take a look: Luise Rainer in The Good Earth (1937) Know your rights: How to deal with the police on campus, Will Nancy be voted out? The orchestra was incredible, the show opened with a long overture, a great way to transport the audience into the historic, foreign land of Siam. The King and I Miss Saigon South Pacific Thoroughly Modern Millie . The makeup in that movie was pretty bad. .ticker-item a {color: #fff;} Undercover Asian: Multiracial Asian Americans in Visual Culture, blogs about diversity in casting at "The Fairy Princess Diaries.". The Asian frats donning blackface is a classic way of "identifying up" while "slumming below.". And we see now, with, say, Norm Lewis as the first African-American Phantom of the Opera, or Ann Harada as the evil step-sister in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, or John Cho as the romantic lead in the new show Selfie — these are examples of colorblind casting where talent came in and won at the expense of "what was expected." We need to develop archives and repertoires that create infrastructures for this long-term work. My favourite character was Lady Thiang, the King’s Head Wife (Cezarah Bonner). For many, The King and I will always be associated with Yul Brynner, the Russian-born caucasian actor who played the King in the 1956 film version and thousands more times on stage. And it’s not just “classic” works that are a problem. Again, read the full conversation here. However, this most recent production has made a clear effort to stray away from orientalism. TCHEN: Agreed, the default still and always will favor those most powerful in any industry and institution. TCHEN: I've been working on an exhibit at the New York Historical Society about the history and legacy of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Coincidentally, the controversy comes as a Broadway production of the same play will feature an all-Asian cast in all the Asian roles. It gives me hope to see how many young Asian-American artists are creating their own representations. The King and I is a musical by Richard Rodgers (composer) and Oscar von Hammerstein II (lyricist). Iconic as it is, The King and I is a controversial and problematic musical. Thanks to all our participants. OPERA: Lakme Madama Butterfly The Mikado Nixon in China The Pearl Fishers Turandot . However, the use of yellowface in recent years has been more publicly criticized in the theater community. The majority of Asian-Americans are now foreign-born, which reverses the trend for Asian-Americans for most of the last century. The logic of colorblind casting seems to be that the casting director "don't see race." Batteries and bioethics: Is sustainable tech too good to be true? Yellowface is the practice in cinema, theatre and television where East Asian characters are portrayed by actors of other races while wearing make-up to give them the appearance of an East Asian person, often including epicanthic folds (the skin fold in the inner corner of the eye, a common East Asian feature). Don’t expect to be able to do it first go.”. It is taking an aspect of the show that has always been accepted. Yellowface -- and its illegitimate cousins black-, brown-, and redface -- carts a long and dishonorable history. ‘Alone, unsupported, disposable’: UoM abandoned disabled students in switch to online learning, A new normal? From its embrace of yellowface to its caricatures of East-Asians, there’s a debate whether it is a timeless classic or an ancient relic. Protests have been smaller in number, not as militant and not as visible. Well-intended she may be, but she’s just as problematic as the other characters. That, for example, Laurey is a blond Caucasian, and saying, "We all know this story well enough that we can make an adjustment that the audience will likely go with, which will not derail the story, and which will ultimately add to the audience's enjoyment of it — because we have a diverse audience." We need more writers, playwrights, actors, producers, editors, performers, etc., while also continuing to dissect and critique American traditions and frameworks premised on colonial and Eurocentric assumptions. Well, no yellowface here, as the surnames in the playbill — Lim, Panmeechao, Oh, Ozeki — attest. Though dated, I appreciate the effort made to politically modernise the musical. Whitewashing: Verb; Definition from Merriam-Webster: Casting white actors as characters who are non-white or of indeterminate race Whitewashing and yellowface commonly go hand and hand. and more via online cultures. However, I'd hesitate to draw a direct line between larger numbers and less stereotyping as "the Other." White actors could dress up as Asian but not as African-American, for instance. I picked the brains of three people who've focused on depictions of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders (AA/PI) in the media. hide caption. Those are pretty different things, but what makes them different, exactly? .ticker-item {margin:0px 10px;}/* ----------------------------------------- */ And I think that it may not have been contested in a way that reached the mainstream press, but it's certainly been something talked about (or maybe railed against) within Asian-American communities. We need to build on what's good and liberating but also take to task on a variety of levels the crude crap and the more refined crap that is still omnipresent. /* View slug: latest-news-ticker - start */ King Mongkut (Brunner) is portrayed as barbaric and feeds into the stereotypical “yellow peril” trope. I think Cloud Atlas is a good example of how "colorblind casting" still seems to follow racial rules. However, I was impressed by the continued perfection of the musical. White History Month Volume 4; It’s like police officers are trying to make people hate them Iconic as it is, The King and I is a controversial and problematic musical. After seeing this production on the West End, I worried I’d be dissatisfied by a touring version. The changing demographics within the U.S. only mean so much as long as the class issues are not also addressed. I'm hoping that people are outraged by yellowface, then search for other kinds of more affirming, complicated and multidimensional images. Occasionally it is a little less offensive; there’s at least an attempt to portray the minority character benignly. It seems like making fun of people's accents and language ability (which, of course, is linked to race) is still socially acceptable. The King and I is a musical masterpiece, and I’d definitely see it again! and more via online cultures. Even when those in the fraternity were saying that they were dressing up in blackface because those sensitivities around race were over, they were using race to reinforce their own social position. Yellowface: Noun; Definition from Oxford English Dictionary: Make-up used by a non-East Asian performer playing the role of an East Asian person. Please contact us directly to enquire about our process, rates, and availability. The costumes (Zuber) were a stand-out of this musical: Anna’s dramatic purple ball-gown was simply divine and a great piece of nostalgia for anyone who’s seen the classic films. The ensemble had largely the same cast as the West End production, so they’d had plenty of time to perfect their roles. One of the things we've touched on throughout this discussion is the idea that AA/PIs have been so frequently treated as the ultimate "other." Robert Teranishi and I did a College Board-supported study on AA/PIs in higher education. She is the co-screenwriter of the indie film The Mikado Project, based on the play of the same name. What's happened in the "Middle East" and the new Western awareness of Central Asia now must become part of our critical concern and cultural/historical work. Xabi Alonso: Can a great player become an even greater coach? schools?" Now, kids can go to Broadway and see much more racial diversity. QUILL: In my speech for LA Stage Day, I did touch on that AA/PIs have the largest disposable income of any group, and yet they do not attend the theater in numbers enough to make artistic directors program for them — and why would they if they cannot go to the theater and see "themselves" on stage? ĠENN: on the ‘ĠENN’-eration of bands making music during lockdown, EP ‘Liminal’ and what is ‘Mackerel’s Funky Mission’? Every few months, there's a renewed discussion about "yellowface" — when people wear makeup or clothes in an attempt to look more Asian. The eponymous King, most famously played by Yul Brynner onstage and onscreen, was played by Jose Llana. Examples of yellowface mainly include the portrayal of East Asians in American film and theater, though this can also encompass other Western media.It used to be the norm in Hollywood that Asian characters were played by white actors, often using makeup to approximate East Asian facial characteristics, a practice known as yellowface. AA/PI critique has also gained a critical mass more recently, less in the traditional and mainstream venues of the older cultural forms (newspapers, theater, film, television, etc.) KAT CHOW: Is it that there's been more yellowface, or are we just more aware of it? But could it also have become a hit if a Southeast Asian or Thai actor had been cast as the King? In my own experience, the kind of anger I see directed toward people who have English as their second language is appalling. NISHIME: I think, as Erin said, the participation of Asian-Americans online, as much as their larger numbers demographically, has really changed the tenor of the conversation around yellowface. Yellowface is the practice in cinema, theatre and television where East Asian characters are portrayed by actors of other races while wearing make-up to give them the appearance of an East Asian person, often including epicanthic folds (the skin fold in the inner corner of the eye, a common East Asian feature). As she puts it, these photos are her own unique way of correcting the yellowface. O’Hara is ‘Broadway’s undisputed Queen’ (The Times), yet, thanks to Beechey’s equally angelic performance, I quickly stopped comparing the two. Tags: broadway, King and I, Manchester Opera House, touring, Copyright © document.write(new Date().getFullYear()); The Mancunion Powered By Spotlight Studios, THE KING AND I by Rodgers and Hammerstein’s, UK ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR -DAVID SIEBERT, SETS -MICHAEL YEARGAN, COSTUMES -CATHERINE ZUBER, LIGHTING - DONALD HOLDER, Manchester Opera House, 2019, Photo: @Johan Persson, Theatre Editor. “Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts has not performed either Hairspray or The King and I since 2015. In Conversation with Bryony Shanahan, Artistic Director of the Royal Exchange, A Tough Act to Follow: In conversation with Jony Sios. The logic of colorblind casting seems to be that the casting director 'don't see race.' "The King and I" was criticized because the main actors were not of Asian descent (Yul Brynner was born in in Russia), and it shows a growing awareness of how "yellowface" was as present in early films as "blackface." Beechey was the understudy for Kelli O’Hara on the West End, who won a Tony Award for the role on Broadway. : An Archive of Anti-Asian Fear, with Dylan Yates. Llana’s performance was grand and royal. TCHEN: I believe we are now in sufficient critical mass to intervene on a number of levels at the same time, and we need to understand these efforts as interrelated. Box or binge: Is BBC Three’s move back onto television really necessary? .ticker {background-color: #fdb828;color: #fff;padding: 7px 20px 2px 20px;} The King and I is a visual feast and Yul Brynner is magnificent as the King of Siam. Ditto for the movie. "But with yellowface, it's still up for debate. Her book, Undercover Asian: Multiracial Asian Americans in Visual Culture, came out this past year. Given the increasing hostility toward foreigners in the U.S. and the continued xenophobia of many in this country, I'm not sure greater numbers is going to equal better awareness or even interest in the concerns of Asian-Americans. How societies are coping with Covid, Revealed: 39 Fixed Penalty Notices issued by Manchester Police to students. (Asian-Americans are, of course, at the way bottom of representation on Broadway in terms of leads — but that too, will change.). Corpuz’s King and I co-star, Daniel Dae Kim, shared a similar sentiment. But its a long haul. LeiLani Nishime, a professor at the University of Washington, focuses on representations of Asian-Americans in the media. Yellowface is the practice in cinema, theatre and television where East Asian characters are portrayed by actors of other races while wearing make-up to give them the appearance of an East Asian person, often including epicanthic folds (the skin fold in the inner corner of the eye, a common East Asian feature). Colorblind casting is not using race as an excuse not to hire people. And when they had people of color dress up as white, they did not use the kinds of prosthetics that you see in the portrayal of Asians. Yul Brynner and Gertrude Lawrence in stage musical The King and I. Posted in Theatre. "And it felt sooooo good," she admits. Annalene Beechey shone as the main character Anna. ... Colorblind casting was enacted as a phrase and as a practice to help minority actors and actresses get seen for parts that they were "right" for at a talent level, but that they may not have been the right "color" for. The Asian American Performers Action Coalition is protesting a decision by Dallas Summer Musicals to cast a white actor as the lead in the classic The King & I, reports Broadway World. /* ----------------------------------------- */, #NancyOut Campaign stage sit-in at the University of Manchester. That East West Players is still going strong is a testament to the need to see AA/PIs on stage and hear their stories. “A […] I suppose, in a way, there is "less," but what there is makes a bigger impact — because we can all see it. But we have heard this amazing soprano who is not — but she can do a heck of a job as Laurey, so that is who we are going to cast.". majority of Asian-Americans are now foreign-born. Yellowface on Stage "Yellowface" portrayals date to at least 1767 in the United States, when Arthur Murphy's theatrical work The Orphan of China was presented in Philadelphia. The text below is the TL;DR version, edited for length and clarity.). Those on the top want to promote their agendas without necessarily wanting nor being willing to identify with the historic working-class communities that were first encouraged to migrate or recruited for manual labor. She blogs about diversity in casting at "The Fairy Princess Diaries." Erin Quill, an actress and screenwriter, was part of the original Broadway cast of the Tony-winning musical Avenue Q. NISHIME: I'd agree that this is nothing new. NISHIME: Jack, that's a great way of phrasing it. I believe we have to continue to open up what being "Asian" means and link our understanding to deeper and larger frameworks. Her memoirs have long been known to be sensationalist, and questions over their accuracy come up … They had a diverse company for Chess last year that had everyone talking, and that kind of thing is the future — at least in theater. Based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon, the story illustrates the clash of Eastern and Western cultures by relaying the experiences of Anna, a British schoolteacher hired as part of the King's drive to modernize his country. Beechey did not disappoint with the classic songs ‘Getting to Know You’ and ‘Shall We Dance?’, the latter of which received a roaring applause. Several productions of The Mikado around the nation drew very public criticism, even leading to the cancellation and re-imagination of productions in New York City and the Bay Area. Whilst the song has been removed from other productions for being offensive, this production presented it as Lady Thiang and the wives sticking a middle-finger up to Anna’s cultural colonialism. So I would not say there is "more" per se, but before we had the Internet and the ability to get righteously indignant over these blatant and repeated portrayals, we just all individually had hurt feelings. Why not an exhibit about the 120 students from China who were supported by missionaries to study in U.S. We wanted to dig into why it seems like we're seeing so much of this phenomenon lately, the differences between "yellowface" and "colorblind casting," and about how the phenomenon of yellowface relates to the ugly history of blackface. (You can read our full conversation here. QUILL: Colorblind casting is, for example, saying, "We have, say, Laurey in Oklahoma!, and Laurey is played by a soprano. But given existing power relations, that ends up favoring white actors and actresses. (And now, HBO's show Jonah from Tonga is sparking a similar discussion on "brownface."). But I've also seen things shift and get "better" in some ways where the racism has become more subtle and nuanced, and the stakes are taken more seriously. ''The King and I'' was originally created to be a star vehicle for Gertrude Lawrence. 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