Caucasian Actor in ‘Miss Saigon’ Role Stirs Furor

The choice of a white actor for the lead in the play “Miss Saigon” has angered Asian-Americans who say the Broadway role should go to an Asian.

“It’s ridiculous to have a Caucasian actor with taped eyelids play an Asian,” Tony Award winner B. D. Wong told the Daily News for a story published today.

Jonathan Pryce, the actor chosen for the role of a Eurasian pimp, also did the role in London, and received rave reviews and an Olivier Award for his performance.

“Miss Saigon” puts the “Madame Butterfly” tale of a military man taking an Asian lover in a Vietnam War setting.

“I thought the yellowface days of Charlie Chan and Fu Manchu were dead,” playwright David Henry Hwang said, complaining about the choice. Hwang won a Tony for “M. Butterfly.”

Scheduled to open on Broadway in April, “Miss Saigon” already has $10.5 million in advance sales. The musical was written by the team that created “Les Miserables.”

“Personally, I think actors are actors, and shouldn’t be criticized for playing members of another race,” said Geoffrey Johnson, a casting director for “Miss Saigon.”

The Committee for Racial Equality of Actors’ Equity met June 28 to discuss the controversy and Equity President Colleen Dewhurst said, “Everybody should be in an uproar . . . because whoever does this role will become a star.”

Cameron Mackintosh, the show’s producer, and Johnson said they saw hundreds of auditions in San Francisco, Manila and New York but were not able to find an Asian actor who fit the part.

Wong, Hwang and other Asian-Americans are urging Mackintosh to reconsider.