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Contemporary Latino/Asian Theatre began in the 1900s and is still around and influences various cultures to this day. Who/what made it all possible? How did it influence culture and how does it still continue to do so today?
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West Side Story is "not only a classic musical, but it is also one of only a handful of landmark shows that fundamentally changed the form of musicals." (www.loc.gov). West Side Story is often considered a modern Latino version of Romeo and Juliet and held 732 performances in its first Broadway run, but it didn't become very popular until a few years later, when the film of the play was created. Today, it is performed over multiple countries with over 250 domestic productions annually. -
According to www.americantheatre.org, a man in 1965 named Luiz Valdez and some of his co-workers wanted to educate to people the need for a union, so they created "El Teatro Campesino", the first theatre of its kind. At this time, the people who performed were actual "campesinos", not actors, and educated to people about unions through skits or "actos". Overtime, it eventually became a place for tours and even a place where contemporary Latino theatre began to be performed and still is today. -
East West Players is a theatre company that was created in 1965, and ever since has been successful in performing many Asian American plays and spreading its culture. "Since 1965, East West Players has been a home for deeply authentic Asian American stories and creativity. Founded by nine pioneering actors and theater artists breaking away from the narrow scope of roles in 1960’s Hollywood, our theater has endured as a haven for artists of color to create without limits (eastwestplayers.org)." -
Born in Berkeley. California in 1940, Frank Chin was a pioneer in Asian American Literature and Theatre and is considered the 1st American to be widely recognized for his work and contribution towards Asian American culture. According to worldliteraturetoday.org, he began his playwright career in 1970, founding and opening the Asian American Theatre Company today. Throughout many of his works, he has influenced many Americans, and they continue to do so today. As of now, he is still alive today. -
Zoot Suit is said to be the first Chicano play on Broadway, first performed in 1978 and written by Luiz Valdez. According to pbs.org, it represents "the story of a real-life murder trial and the so-called Zoot Suit Riots, set amid rampant discrimination in 1940s Los Angeles." Such Contemporary Latino theatre was helpful in spreading awareness of equality and culture in America. Today, Zoot Suit continues to be a contribution to Latino theatre and to various parts of the world. -
David Henry Hwang is often considered to be the most successful and most well-known Asian American Playwright because of his contributions to not just Asian American Theatre, but also through films. "Commonly touted as the most successful Asian American playwright in history, and the only Asian playwright to have ever won a Tony Award, Hwang doesn’t take his position in the culture casually. (playbill.com)" He is still alive as of now and continues to be an icon for Asian American theatre. -
María Irene Fornés was born in Havana, Cuba in 1930, became a U.S. citizen in 1951, and was a contemporary Latino theatre playwright, writing more than 40 plays. According to archive.theatrewomen.org, a quote from her states "I was awakened to the work of Irene during the summer of 1980, embarking on my first producing job at Theatre for the New City". She had contributed much towards contemporary Latino Theatre and was voted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 2018, when she unfortunately passed. -
M. Butterfly is a play that was written by David Henry Hwang and was first performed on Broadway in 1988. According to a work by Dorrine K. Kondo that was found at www.jstor.org, "A close examination of M. Butterfly has profound implications on our assumptions about identity". The story involves a French Diplomat who fall in love with a Chinese opera singer only to find that the singer is a male. Such an assumption proves that we should be aware of cultural differences before we assume. -
Octavio Solos was born in EL Paso in 1959 and is a contributor towards contemporary Latino Theatre. According to www.unitedstatesartists.org, 'Solis’s work overturns stereotypes and questions what it means to be American in an increasingly diverse country". Such a mindset was crucial for developing a wide variety of cultures to be normal in America. His playwright career began in 1989 and since then has written 18 plays, all of which have been produced around America and eventually the world. -
"An Asian American playwright who protests yellowface casting in the blockbuster musical “Miss Saigon,” only to mistakenly cast a white actor as the Asian lead in his own play (pbs.org)". The Yellow Face play was performed on Broadway in 2024 and is one of David Henry Hwang's most recent works. It is a semi-autobiography play about David himself who has explored and had real life experiences of the complexities of racial identity and representation in theatre.