Ann Harada Writes of Her Experiences 'Acting While Asian'

After making her Broadway debut in 1998 as a replacement in M. BUTTERFLY and returning a dozen years later as Marshal of the Court in SEUSSICAL, Ann Harada made a huge splash as the no-nonsense, perpetually engaged social worker Christmas Eve in AVENUE Q, especially when sardonically singing the torchy sentiment that the more you love someone, the more you want to kill them.

Although she's still extraordinarily popular among Broadway fans, her roles since, in 9 TO 5, CINDERELLA and as a replacement Madame Thenardie in LES MISERABLES, have not displayed her talents quite as much.

There are many reasons why an actor's career does or doesn't take off, but although Broadway is celebrating its increased surge of diversity, actors of color still face being part of a large group auditioning for a slim number of jobs available to them, mostly interpreted within a narrow view of how audiences perceive people of various ethnicities.

"I would never be cast in shows like MISS SAIGON or THE KING AND I," Harada writes in her essay "Acting While Asian," published on the website Stage & Candor.

"I didn't fit the mold of what Asian women were supposed to look like: slim, beautiful, and graceful. I remember auditioning to replace Mia Korf in the 1988 off-Broadway production of GODSPELL and absolutely nailing the callback, only to be told I wasn't cast because I wouldn't fit her costume. Hilariously, I recently met one of the producers of that show, who insisted I had been cast in GODSPELL. I replied that I had not. 'Well, if it wasn't you, who was it?' 'You hired Elizabeth Kubota,' I answered, almost instantly."

Born and raised in Hawaii, Harada writes that while growing up she never realized that being Asian would be a hindrance to an acting career. After seeing her play Philia in A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, it was Roger Minami, the Asian actor who made a huge impression on Broadway playing Liza Minnelli's "Arthur In The Afternoon" in THE ACT, who encouraged her to pursue a career in the business.

Click here for the full essay and enjoy Ann Harada singing "No Time At All" from PIPPIN in 2012 for Broadway Sessions.