October 28, 2009
By Hedy Weiss
In 1991, when Miss Saigon was headed for its Broadway debut, a huge controversy erupted over the use of British actor Jonathan Pryce, who is white, in the role of the Eurasian pimp dubbed the Engineer.
As audiences are reminded by the ethnically diverse cast in Silk Road Cabaret: Broadway Sings the Silk Road - the intensely personal, continually thought-provoking world premiere revue that opened Sunday at the Silk Road Theatre Project-the mostly American and British geniuses who have penned musicals during the last century frequently gave voice to Asians and other minorities. But when it came to performing these songs, it was rarely the authentic voice that was heard.
Broadway Sings the Silk Road, conceived and curated by Silk Road artistic director Jamil Khoury, is not an angry show. But it is quietly provocative. And as you listen to its two dozen mostly well-known songs-whose stage locales span the thousands of miles of the ancient Silk Road terrain from Japan and China to Italy- you begin to hear them in new ways.
Helping to give them this fresh spin is something more than the sheer presence of actors who are, in most cases, the first-generation children of parents from India, China or the Philippines. Rather, it is these actors’ brief anecdotes about their parents’ expectations for them (which did not include show business) and about the casting process as a whole. It also is about the way in which their interpretation of classic Broadway numbers has far less to do with “selling a song” than with turning it into an interior conversation.
Joseph Anthony Foronda sings “The American Dream” from Miss Saigon (reprising the role that just won him the Jeff Award for best principal actor in a musical). And David Rhee (of Korean heritage) relates a hilarious story about being cast in the Broadway production of Thoroughly Modern Millie, and having to learn to speak in Cantonese, sing in Mandarin and only dream of a role in which he played in English.
Christine Bunuan sings a fervent version of “Something Wonderful” from The King and I but also becomes “any girl” in her adorable take on “I Enjoy Being a Girl” from Flower Drum Song.
Dipika Cherala puts a probing spin on “Are You Sure You Want to Be Famous?” from Bombay Dreams, hinting at what her parents might have asked her. And Govind Kumar, another young actor with Indian roots, relates the identity-shifting story of how his childhood friends thought of his dad as Apu in The Simpsons.
Erik Kaiko sings “Bui Doi” (“The Dust of Life”) from Miss Saigon, and his own biracial roots add another layer to this song about the children of Vietnamese women and American GIs. And Katherine L. Condit (part Hungarian, with an Asian stepdad) relates an ironic tale of reverse racial casting. (She also does a terrific job with “Life Is” from Zorba.)
Director Elizabeth Margolius makes fine use of the reconfigured Silk Road space, where cabaret tables and 80 chairs have replaced the standard seating, and the seven actors move in and around three playing areas. Musical director Gary Powell is the deft pianist throughout.
Incidentally, both Foronda and Kumar (who appeared in TimeLine Theatre’s The History Boys earlier this season) were part of the initial cast of Yeast Nation, now at the American Theater Company, and will be returning to that show for its final week in early November, right after this revue closes.