The show examines the effect musicals had on fans who adored the Jazz era performances. The musical is a play-within-a-play and has a mix of comedy, parody, and romance with cliche and gimmicks from the golden age of musicals. The musical has been extremely well received, having been nominated for multiple theatrical awards\ winning five Tony Awards and seven Drama Desk Awards. This award-winning Broadway musical comedy debuted in 1998 at The Rivoli and opened on Broadway in May 2006. On February 28th, 29th, and March 1st, BHS will be premiering the musical The Drowsy Chaperone. Yunioshi to Drowsy and recent remarks made at this year’s Oscars, the entertainment business has clearly demonstrated how little it cares about us, and how little progress we’ve made in the anti-racism movement for Asians.Senior Kaitlyn Humani takes the stage as the Drowsy Chaperone No one takes you seriously and white people dismiss you and non-Asian People of Colour alike because they don’t think your struggles are valid. And that’s a lot like what fighting racism as an Asian is like in Canada. I was somewhere between wanting to cry, vomit, and start screaming at everyone either involved or just sitting there and laughing. I’d been laughing up until that point but in a room full of people, I had never felt more alone in my entire life. By the time the emperor appeared, they were howling. As soon as the Asian-sounding music began, they were chuckling. The number was inessential to the plot of the musical, and could’ve been replaced by literally anything else.īut as uncomfortable as the number made me, the more unsettling thing and the reason I nearly walked out of the theatre was how hilarious the audience seemed to find it all. A brief mention of China’s long history by the main character, Man in Chair, is not only insufficient for facilitating a discussion about a topic so complex, it’s not even relevant to the stereotypes presented in the song. Maybe they weren’t comfortable playing those roles, but then again, maybe this song should never have been included in the first place.Īfter McMaster School of the Arts’ decision to put on Lady in the Red Dress this year, a play that highlighted the racism Chinese-Canadians face specifically, it seems a glaring oversight to have consciously kept this number in the production. If you’re wondering, yes, this does make it more offensive. Instead of having the few Asian cast members play Asian characters, white people were selected. The song began with terrible accents and ended with references to Chinese foods and replacing ‘l’ sounds with ‘r’s once the emperor, played by yet another non-Chinese cast member, waltzed on stage. I would like to know how he and the production team handled this with the “utmost care,” and how he thinks “Message from A Nightingale” will “provoke discussion rather than offense.” More importantly, how he thought he, as a white man, was in any way qualified to speak on the complicated and varied experiences of Chinese people.Īs the red lanterns and cheap dragon kite descended from the ceiling, I figured it couldn’t get any worse, but then they started singing. If you read the program, you’ll see that the director chose to respect the source material rather than the actual minority group he would be hurting. The number featured two white cast members in traditional Chinese qipaos (dresses) and chopsticks in their hair, something Chinese people don’t actually do, and another white cast member in a plain green dress and a rice paddy hat.Ī musical meant to parody musicals in the 1920s - racism and all - written in 1998, and still performed to this day, does little to actually spark discussion about racism towards Asian people. I was not prepared, however, for just how offensive it would be. Having already read the notorious play’s Wikipedia page beforehand, I was somewhat prepared for the song, “Message from A Nightingale” going into the show. I recently had the pleasure of watching McMaster Musical Theatre’s production of The Drowsy Chaperone.
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