After the Controversy, Opportunity

Tara Rubin (casting director) After Jonathan Pryce, who was absolutely brilliant in the role, there was never another Caucasian person who played the part in this country. We knew that the Asian-American acting community had an incredibly good point, and it was the beginning of a huge shift in the way we think about casting. And I can’t help but wonder if the increased opportunity has helped increase the number of Asian-American actors who enter the field.

Manu Narayan (actor in second national tour) With all the trouble they had had — and rightfully so — casting Jonathan Pryce, the total turnaround they then did to make sure Asians were cast in the roles going forward is a testament to Cameron Mackintosh. It doesn’t negate what happened, but a lot of people wouldn’t have seen that error. In 1995, I had gone to New York for a wedding, and in Backstage I saw an open call for Chrises and Johns, so I went and stood in line and danced on the Broadway stage. I was cast in the ensemble for the national tour and stayed for four years.

Raul Aranas (actor in multiple productions) I can safely say I’ve done over 2,000 performances as the Engineer — I did it for the first national tour, and then they moved me to Broadway, and then Cameron offered me London, and then I pinch-hit on Broadway and did a few venues that were not as large. And after this, I did “The King and I”; I did “Pacific Overtures”; I did “Flower Drum Song”; and I did “Oliver.” “Miss Saigon” enabled me to save enough money to have a nest egg, start a family and find a home, and now I’m retired — another thing “Miss Saigon” enabled me to do is have a great pension.

Margaret Ann Gates (actress in multiple productions) I heard that they were looking for actual Asians to be in the show — not people who were face-painting, and I went into the ensemble a month or two after graduating from college. Then they offered me the role of Ellen (an American woman who marries a returning G.I.) in 1998. I was the first Asian to hold the role, and when I started, people were like, “That’s not right! Ellen’s supposed to be white!”, which of course is ridiculous — just because somebody is American doesn’t mean she has to be white.



Ethan Thoi (actor in Australian production) I couldn’t believe there was a musical about Vietnam, where I was born. I was born in 1973, and my mom had some involvement with a Western guy at that time — her pregnancy was not accepted, and she had to give me away. In 2007, when the show came to Sydney, I was lucky to be in the ensemble. I did the whole national tour (in Australia) — about 14 months — and every night I was crying at the part where she sings, “I’d give my life for you,” and crying at the part where the refugees are climbing up the walls, because I was also a refugee, from Vietnam to Australia.

