Why are race descriptions in licensing materials being erased for school productions?

Recently it was brought to my attention that a high school in FL had performed Miss Saigon last year with a practically all-white cast. While the promotional material from King’s Academy (which there was A LOT)would make any Asian performer raise an eyebrow and perhaps outrage more than a few parents, it might surprise them to know that not only is Miss Saigon available to schools but that the race descriptions of its characters are completely erased for the school edition.

Such a move creates a loophole for schools to completely whitewash this production. Which they do, over and over and over again.

Other creative teams of musical properties have made the move to ensure that BIPOC characters are portrayed by BIPOC performers. So it’s bewildering why the team behind Miss Saigon hasn’t made the change yet or why they allowed this to happen in the first place.

For those who don’t know the plot of the show, it takes place during the Vietnam War, Chris, an American soldier, and Kim, a Vietnamese girl, fall in love and marry but are distressingly separated when Saigon falls.

The setting and race of these characters are integral to the story and therefore should be cast as written. Every professional production of the show has followed this rule. However, the licensing material’s subtle edits give free rein to school directors to cast this show as they choose.

Case in point, when looking at the licensing materials for Miss Saigon. The character description for Kim is listed as such,

“A young and naive, but strong-willed Vietnamese girl who becomes Chris' lover. She is an orphan and has been forced to work at a local club.”

But in the school edition, her description is changed to, “A strong-willed orphan who has come to Saigon in search of work. She falls in love with Chris.”

Notice how her race is completely eliminated. Some might argue that the latter would imply that Kim would be Vietnamese, but without it being explicitly stated(as it was originally) it allows for freedom of interpretation. An interpretation that has led to a Google search of “Miss Saigon High School” that is nothing short of cringeworthy.

But Kim isn’t the only character to have this adjustment between the original and school editions. The Engineer and Gigi Van Tranh’s race descriptions are erased in the school edition. In fact, Gigi’s last name is removed entirely which further opens up her casting to any racial background.

There isn’t even a statement from the creative team that stresses, instructs, or encourages schools to cast this show racially appropriate.

On a separate note, even in the school edition, Gigi and other characters are still listed as strippers. I don’t know about you but that, along with a lot of other elements in the show, makes me wonder how/why this is available to schools? That must be an interesting conversation in the homes of these students.

“Hey, Mom! I’m a sophomore and I got cast as a stripper in Miss Saigon where I’m going to perform a song called “The Heat is on in Saigon” that has been barely edited from the original version! Sure, I don’t sing about my thighs but the soldiers still tell me that I won’t get up off the floor! Now, will you buy an ad in the program?”

But Miss Saigon isn’t the only show that erases its characters’ race in their school edition, Once on This Island does it too with the character of Ti Moune.

In the show’s original licensing, the character is described as “A peasant girl who has been adopted, she is a dark-skinned island girl with much curiosity and energy.”

But in the school edition, any mention of her skin color is eliminated. Instead, the emphasis is put on the talent required for the role rather than who portrays her.

It reads, “Ti Moune is the focus of our story and is featured in solo songs and dance. The actress performing the role should have an excellent voice and be an excellent dancer. The music Ti Moune sings is written in a pop style; make sure the actress can sing this style of music. She must be able to drive the energy of her scenes. Ti Moune performs a pivotal dance solo. If you are considering an actress who is a wonderful singer and actor but not a strong dance, don't worry. This dance isn't as much about choreography as it is about storytelling.”

And these aren’t the only two shows that eliminate race requirements and descriptions for school productions, West Side Story removes the fact that Anita and Bernardo are Puerto Rican for its school edition.

It should also be mentioned that RENT has no race requirements or descriptions for its characters in both its original or school editions. Other shows such as Aida and Ragtime do feature race descriptions and requirements for both editions.

So why does this happen? There is a multitude of reasons. One is of course money. Given how popular some of these shows are, it makes business sense to make changes to open the possibilities of the piece being performed globally.

But some have made these changes on purpose, especially to allow for education in other cultures. With In the Heights, both Lin Manuel-Miranda and Quiara Alegria Hudes have stated in the past that they have no problem with white, black, Asian, Indian, or any other race playing Usnavi and Vanessa in school productions.

In 2013, Miranda stated the following during his interview with THNKR,

“I believe when you’re in high school, you should be able to play whatever role you want.”

Many directors agree, which is why they are using these loopholes to cast these shows with white students. Many of these directors choose these shows despite the fact that their schools don’t have nearly the diversity to cast them. King’s Academy for instance was only a reported 5% Asian, yet the director picked a show that is based in Vietnam and would normally feature a largely populated Asian cast.

So why pick the show at all? You wouldn’t produce Hairspray in a practically all-white school, so why are you producing Miss Saigon?

The answers are usually the same - ignorance, arrogance, or both. I’m not saying this was the case at King’s Academy, but it makes me wonder given the size of the Asian population at the school and the resulting cast.

Speaking of Hairspray, it had the same loophole. There were no race requirements/descriptions of its characters which led to a massive amount of all-white productions or one where Black characters were cast with non-Black performers.

When I pointed this out to the creative team, they quickly adjusted it and eliminated the loophole. Given how important these characters’ identities are to the stories of these shows, their entire identities should be considered when casting them. I implore the creative teams to work with MTI and other licensing organizations to include the same race descriptions and requirements in both the original and stage editions.

Given that 2020 has been a call to action for better representation and respect for BIPOC stories and characters, it is on the creative teams to make sure that their shows who feature them are told consistently on all stages. Otherwise, this opens the door to erasure and further marginalization of BIPOC performers in high school theatre.