| Darren Criss' journey as an Asian-American artist | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 01:55 pm EST 11/25/24 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 01:40 pm EST 11/25/24 | |
| In reply to: re: Darren Criss is Asian - kidmanboy 08:23 am EST 11/25/24 | |
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| Darren Criss first burst into TV stardom as Blaine in ''Glee' in 2010. Blaine's ethnicity was never an issue in the show, so folks just assumed Criss was white, but he's always been proudly Asian-American. He became more vocal about it when he came to play Andrew Cunanan in ''The Assassination of Gianni Versace'' on FX. A major reason why Ryan Murphy cast Criss was because Cunanan also was biracial and half-Filipino. Criss' uncanny resemblance to the mass murderer and his acting tour de force earned him an Emmy, a SAG Award and a Golden Globe, which he accepted by profusely thanking his Filipino mother. (In 2020, Criss did another Murphy miniseries, ''Hollywood,'' in which he played a biracial director who passes for white.) By the way, it was Criss who suggested Jon Jon Briones, the Engineer in the 2017 Broadway revival of ''Miss Saigon,'' to play Cunanan's fiery father. Murphy was astonished by Briones' performance and wondered why he had never heard of this gifted actor. Criss had to point out to Murphy that Briones faced the plight of many talented Asian-American actors: They rarely get the starry roles that showcase them. That lack of opportunity was at the root of the ''Miss Saigon'' casting controversy in 1990. The show defended its yellowface casting of Jonathan Pryce, in part, because it said it couldn't find any Asian male stars to play the Engineer. Which is a Catch-22. How do Asian men become stars if they're not cast in starring roles? ''Miss Saigon'' also misled the public in claiming to hold a worldwide search for such an Asian actor, when it DIDN'T, and that's also shameful. Which brings us back to modern-day Broadway. Next year will mark 35 years since the ''Miss Saigon'' casting controversy, and in all that time since, the sad reality is that Broadway has failed to create many Asian-American stars. Just look at the recent ''K-POP'' and ''Here Lies Love.'' The number of Asian-American men who've been Tony-nominated for Best Actor in a Musical, I believe, can be counted on three fingers. And none have won. So when it came time for ''Maybe Happy Ending'' to find an Asian-American male musical star, of a certain age, with some name recognition, the list probably wasn't extensive. They could go with an unknown Asian-American female lead (Helen J. Shen), but they needed an Asian-American guy to bring in mainstream audiences. Enter Criss. Also, unlike ''Here Lies Love,'' which promoted its historic, all-Filipino cast, ''Maybe Happy Ending'' isn't selling itself as an Asian-American show. I haven't had a chance to see it yet, but I'm really rooting for it to succeed. I hope Criss' charisma and its rave reviews eventually lead it to the ''Happy Ending'' it deserves. |
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| Link | Talkin' Broadway: My twisty history with 'Miss Saigon' and 'Yellow Face' |
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