This pair was protesting and handing out leaflets in front of the
Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society's production of "The Mikado," which
they regard as "Yellowface" and racist. I accepted their leaflets, but
when I took out my camera, they concealed their faces.
<https://www.flickr.com/photos/24844563@N04/14689190055/>
On Monday, a Seattle Times opinion page editor slammed the production,
which she hadn't seen. This was followed by two radio interviews in
which she repeated her charges of "Yellowface" and racism. An Internet
flamefest followed, including calls for a boycott and shutting down the
show. There were fears that the performance would be disrupted, but that
didn't happen Friday night, and only these two showed up.
If you're interested in reading more about what's going on, Google these
words: seattle mikado gilbert sullivan. You'll find all the relevant
stuff on the first two pages.
Full disclosure: Yours truly is not unbiased. I love Gilbert and
Sullivan, I love "The Mikado," and I played bassoon in the company back
in the 1980s. If this were a realistic play with Asian characters being
played by whites and/or mugging offensive stereotypes, I would be
sympathetic to the concerns. But that's not what "The Mikado" is. It's
Brits (or Americans) playing Brits playing dress-up, but mostly acting
like caricatures of upper-class Brits of 130 years ago. Nobody wears
Asian-style makeup, except for Katisha (the fearsome contralto
character), who is made-up Kabuki-style. The G&S Society has a tradition
of color-blind casting. No Asian-Americans auditioned for this show,
there are 38 Caucasians and 2 Hispanics on stage. There are several
Asian-Americans on the stage crew, one in the orchestra pit (a friend of
mine), and one on the society's Board of Trustees.
--Peter
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