Playbill celebrates Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month with a timeline of artistic milestones.
BY DIEP TRAN
MAY 21, 2024
May is Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month. To celebrate that, Playbill has put together a timeline of all the times Asian and Asian Americans have made history on Broadway.
But first, a caveat: Theatre history can be murky. So much of it went undocumented, especially the history of BIPOC artists on Broadway. Many artists in the beginning of the century did not openly identify as Black, Indigenous, or as a person of color, due to the negative impact it could have on their careers. That is why the history of who is “first” on Broadway can be unclear at best.
But below, Playbill has created a somewhat comprehensive timeline of Asian representation on Broadway, from onstage to backstage. This shouldn’t be considered a complete look at Asian American theatre history—you can read more about that in this textbook or at Asian American Theatre Revue. Suffice it to say there are many artists who have not made it to Broadway and whose contributions to theatre have been immense, such as Frank Chin, Velina Hasu Houston, Qui Nguyen, Lauren Yee, and many others.
And many of the artists named below are also continuing to make waves in the theatre (such as BD Wong, who is currently starring in What Became Of Us Off-Broadway at Atlantic Theater Company, or David Henry Hwang, whose Yellow Face will get its Broadway premiere this fall).
It’s important to remember that as the industry continues to become more diverse and inclusive, history continues to be made every year.
