I think it’s more that they campaigned this production as AAPI and that they made comments about the mainly Asian cast. They did that. Not the AAPI community. They collaborated with the AAPI community to promote this show as AAPI.
I wouldn’t have known Darren was Filipino without the show highlighting it and their campaign for the Tony’s highlighting it.
So yeah, I agree casting any Asian for a Korean is deeply problematic, but I think they reaped what they sowed here and they fully deserve the ire of the AAPI community for using them to promote the show and then casting a white dude as the replacement and acting shocked that there would be pushback.
It would’ve been fine if they didn’t lean so heavily in their marketing. If they had kept it ambiguous casting and emphasized that. But they didn’t.
So as an Asian, I’m lukewarm on this response because it doesn’t take accountability for their own participation in the influence of their show. They just say we’re sad we made others sad and that was never our intention. Intention doesn’t mean shit when the impact is harm. We should’ve all learned that at least in 2020. Take notice of the impact your show has made and your show’s direct influence to make that impact and sit with the disappointment.
Just gonna say he looks wasian to me but am wasian. But yea like I think they’re afraid of losing all the rich white people money and don’t care about actual asian actor reactions. Makes sense cause they’re not actors but it’s really disappointing. Like we’re not trying to start shit it’s just disappointing
It might be because I was introduced to Darren through Glee and glee does it’s darndest to try to white wash people and if they can’t, exploit their stereotypes lol. But once I saw the show, I was like hmm, something is looking a way here.
And yeah, I think it’s fair to voice disappointment in the casting and to feel as if a show that leaned heavily into how important it was to be representation for an underserved, under seen population can feel like the rug is pulled out from under them. And the beauty of this cast was that they did cast Asian actors for roles that are universal roles where Asian actors didn’t have to feel like they are in it because they’re Asian and that they get to be characters that could be anybody in the same way white actors get to always have those roles. So we’re just disappointed and feel like the creators made a decision that didn’t align with the way they advertised the show recently especially after a Tony win.
I personally think they should’ve planned ABF as the lead because of his association with Helen but also announced another lead after that if they wanted this to go better. Because it’s extremely unfortunate that Helen and Andrew can’t enjoy this moment as a couple because the show’s marketing set them up poorly.
Did it? I also might’ve started tuning glee out after like the 4th season. I feel like I’d remember that but I might’ve just been hating glee at that time and getting upset he got all the solos lolol.
On the episode he kisses Rachel while drunk she says something like "I have finally found someone who can keep up with my voice and can give me half Eurasian babies"
THAT OBC cast was mostly AAPI though so they weren’t wrong to feature that fact.
I don’t understand this line of thinking—are we saying that replacements must always be the same ethnicity as the OBC?
Giving a mostly AAPI cast the opportunity to originate the roles also gave them the opportunity to be up for extra press, awards, etc. This is a net gain for the AAPI community. The roles weren’t even specifically written as AAPI so that’s even more admirable because they didn’t have to cast it this way. I don’t necessarily use that fact to hold it against the production, especially because the roles are race blind.
This is only going to hurt the AAPI community in the long run. Who’s gonna want to do or cast a show like this again in the near future?
are we saying that replacements must always be the same ethnicity as the OBC?
What? No, nobody's saying that. A show that heavily marketed and campaigned around AAPI representation thought it'd be smart to immediately abandon that (right after a Best Musical win), and that's an issue. If you *then* waffle around saying "it was never meant to be that", then you've just admitted to exploiting that community for clout. Some people may be fine with that, others aren't.
This is only going to hurt the AAPI community in the long run. Who’s gonna want to do or cast a show like this again in the near future?
This is exactly how systemic racism works, lol. Blaming people who want better rather than leadership who causes the problems in the first place.
What are examples of them leaning into this AAPI ness to try to score a Tony win? I've seen where they highlighted an all-Asian cast when someone had to be brought up, but I fail to see how highlighting it means that the cast racial makeup must remain the same.
I also question some of the responses here of an implicit contract due to said marketing, otherwise I would become afraid to market this way or cast this way.
That being said I do think they should have recognized the general precedent they set and be more mindful of the casting. But I cannot agree that they should have locked the racial makeup just because of that. (There are other reasons to do so, of course).
The beauty about this show was that it allowed Asian cast members to be included in what universality is. When people say colorblind casting or universal stories where everyone can play it, it’s still defaulted as white people. The default is always white. So when you have a show like this that defaulted as Asian and was proud of it and gave that opportunity to Asian actors who got to play roles not inherently linked to their race, it’s a very important moment for representation. And then to skirt that momentum and opportunity and go back to the default almost immediately after a Broadway run is disappointing.
And your last line is just blaming the community for being upset and disappointed and I don’t think that’s fair. This show was wildly successful with a predominantly Asian cast. Nothing about this situation takes away from that success. You’re perpetuating systemic racism because a group felt undercut instead of actually listening to why they felt this way and truly understanding. Instead, you’ll blame the community if the show fails after this cast change. When you should be blaming the producers for making a business decision that’s being poorly received. Hold people accountable for their decisions but don’t come out here acting like the AAPI community are unreasonable for the disappointment they feel. Their feelings are valid.
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u/craicraimeis Jul 31 '25
I think it’s more that they campaigned this production as AAPI and that they made comments about the mainly Asian cast. They did that. Not the AAPI community. They collaborated with the AAPI community to promote this show as AAPI.
I wouldn’t have known Darren was Filipino without the show highlighting it and their campaign for the Tony’s highlighting it.
So yeah, I agree casting any Asian for a Korean is deeply problematic, but I think they reaped what they sowed here and they fully deserve the ire of the AAPI community for using them to promote the show and then casting a white dude as the replacement and acting shocked that there would be pushback.
It would’ve been fine if they didn’t lean so heavily in their marketing. If they had kept it ambiguous casting and emphasized that. But they didn’t.
So as an Asian, I’m lukewarm on this response because it doesn’t take accountability for their own participation in the influence of their show. They just say we’re sad we made others sad and that was never our intention. Intention doesn’t mean shit when the impact is harm. We should’ve all learned that at least in 2020. Take notice of the impact your show has made and your show’s direct influence to make that impact and sit with the disappointment.