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New York Daily News - July 14, 1998



Funny, They Don't
Look Jewish

An all-Asian cast revives
a musical about N.Y. Jews

By SALLIE HAN
Daily News Staff Writer

nly in America would it be possible to tell the story of a father, his boyfriend, his ex-wife, his former psychiatrist (who's also the ex-wife's new husband) and his bar-mitzvah boy — and cast it with Asian-Americans.

At first glance, it looks like an unlikely match. But Welly Yang, who plays the boyfriend in the revival of William Finn's "Falsettoland," says there is a logic to having a nontraditional family played by a nontraditional cast. The National Asian American Theater Co. presents the Tony-winning musical, which opens Thursday at the Vineyard Dimson Theater on E. 15th St.

"I'm not going to say it's not weird when a bunch of Asian-Americans walk in wearing yarmulkes," admits Yang, whose Broadway credits include "Miss Saigon."

"But if you can believe this blue background on the stage represents the sky," he says, "then you can believe these Asian-Americans are Americans who are Jewish."

Cast member Christine Toy Johnson finds that portraying half of a Jewish lesbian couple is certainly less of a stretch than playing a 19th-century Thai lady in "The King and I."

"I look at these two people and they're about love and healing people with food. We have that in our background, too," says Johnson, a Chinese-American actress.

"My mother grew up on Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn. I grew up in Scarsdale and went to Sarah Lawrence College," she says. "This is something I know."

"This is not an Asian version of 'Falsettoland.' Not a word in the show has been changed," says Alan Muraoka, who is directing this production with the personal go-ahead from Finn, the show's composer, lyricist and writer.

Nontraditional casting goes at least as far back as the late 1960s, when Pearl Bailey led an all-black cast in the musical "Hello, Dolly!"

In the last few years, Whoopi Goldberg ("A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum") and Vanessa Williams ("Kiss of the Spider Woman") took star turns as well.

Despite such successes, nontraditional casting continues to kick up controversy. The black playwright August Wilson has voiced opposition to the idea of color-blind casting.

But Mia Katigbak, artistic director and founder of NATCO — which was started in 1989 to present Western plays performed by Asian-Americans — claims nontraditional casting benefits underrepresented minorities in the theater. "Doing the classics is really important for the craft," Katigbak notes.

Beside "Falsettoland," NATCO has mounted productions of "You Can't Take It With You," "Long Day's Journey Into Night" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

"If you are an actor, you want to be able to do Shakespeare," Katigbak reasons. "Otherwise, it's like telling Yo-Yo Ma, 'Why play Bach? Play only Chinese music.' It would be everyone's loss."

Jason Ma, who plays Marvin, the central character in "Falsettoland," has appeared on Broadway and around the world. But outside of a production like this one, he admits: "I wouldn't even get an audition for this particular role."

"Falsettoland" plays thru Aug. 4. Tix, $15. 212-505-3003.