Asian American theater leaders react to ‘Nightingale’ controversy

“The creative team behind the musical, based on the Hans Christian Andersen story, has assembled a multicultural cast of 12 that includes two performers of Asian descent. Christopher Ashley, the artistic director of the La Jolla Playhouse, said the casting was a deliberate decision to create a mix of East and West, past and present.

“The Nightingale,” which is being presented as a workshop production, has received a barrage of negative comments on the company’s Facebook page and on various blogs. Commenters have faulted the company for failing to include more Asian or Asian American actors in a production in which the characters are Chinese.”

—David Ng, The LA Times

Artistic independence or whitewashing? 

“Asians are the new Mexicans. Our nacho nemesis has morphed into a ramen rival.” — Stephen Colbert http://on.cc.com/M9MToC (-EHu)

OCA Disappointed, Concerned About Pew Study on Asian Americans

“In the report, shallow analysis based on self-report data of Asian Americans propagates the “model minority” stereotype in the very initial stages of its findings…” -Ehu

He tweets funny somethings that put the “wit” in Twitter, and with over 1.6 million likes on Facebook, he certainly puts the “ace” in Facebook. George Takei, the actor who played Sulu on the TV series Star Trek from 1966 to 1969, an irregular regular on The Howard Stern Show and an active member of the Asian American and LGBT communities, has hit a nerve (and all your funny bones) with his social media presence.

It’s only been a little over a year since he’s joined both, yet he’s managed to garner the attention of people from all walks of life, which was what he had hoped to achieve. Takei highlights his two major issues, the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and equality for the LGBT community, through humor, which he calls a “powerful weapon.

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 From “It’s More Than Okay to be Takei”, Hyphen Magazine’s interview with the iconic George Takei.

In the current issue, they discuss his popularity on social media outlets and his activism. -CA