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Lea Salonga, off the bat, will tell you she prefers to “stick to [her] lane” and will (humorously) downplay how she thinks Asian representation in the entertainment world can be improved.
“I don’t have the brains for that. I’m not the person to go to for that,” the award-winning actress and singer quipped in a Rappler Talk interview that aired on January 28.
While the Yellow Rose star will admit that she doesn’t know how representation can be improved, she certainly knows one means for improvement: commercial viability. “That paves the way for more representation. At the end of the day, it’s show business – emphasis on the business,” she added.
“It feels like representation is happening at a glacial pace but I’m glad it’s happening at all,” she admitted.
Lea certainly knows a lot about representation – and the lack thereof. The Filipina, after all, is a pioneer in her field and has paved the way not just for Filipinos but Asian artists.
Her international career began when she was cast as Kim in the debut production of Miss Saigon. The role earned her several accolades, including the first Tony Award won by a woman of Asian descent.
She stars in Yellow Rose, a musical-drama that follows the life of Rose Garcia, an undocumented Filipino-American teen who dreams of making it big in country music. Rose is played by Eva Noblezada while Lea plays Gail, Rose’s aunt.
The movie marks the first time for Lea and Eva to work together, after years of performing together for one-off events. Eva, who also has Filipino roots, played Kim in the first Broadway revival of Miss Saigon.
Lea is the first to emphasize that there’s a wealth of talent all over Asia, especially in the Philippines. “But there has to be support,” she added.
The self-confessed ARMY (that is, a fan of global sensations BTS) cites Hallyu (literally, the Korean wave) as an example of how commerce can push forward representation.
“The industry in Korea has so much government support behind it,” she said.
The Broadway star, who got hooked on the septet in 2020, said she eventually discovered other Korean artists, then went on to watch K-dramas and learn about Korean actors. The next thing she knew, she was learning about Korean culture in general.
“There is so much support, there’s a huge support system for this content to come out…and so many more of us know more about Korea culture because of this wave.”
“Then we have to ask ourselves: what’s it gonna take for us to have a wave like that? It will take support from the government – it doesn’t have to be huge but there should be some,” she added.
In the late 90s, Korean producers pushed for music to be a “cultural commodity” of the country. The government later pushed for the same, passing laws that would devote a portion of the country’s budget to “promote culture industries.”
Today, K-pop alone contributes billions to the Korean economy.
“There should be support for artists [in the Philippines] and I do understand why we’re not the priority. I get it, but it breaks my heart that we’re not,” said Lea.
Representation is also at the core of Yellow Rose, whose protagonist is forced to flee after her mother (played by Princess Punzalan) is taken by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“It’s so easy to label the undocumented as crime elements, as unsavory presences in the United States. But if anybody knows somebody who has been undocumented, they are people who are law-abiding, they are people who just wanted to make a life for themselves in the United States. The stories are varied and diverse. It’s not just one kind of people who have this tag placed upon them,” she said.
It’s an especially important story to tell, just as the US grapples with immigration and race issues and the newly-installed Biden administration begins undoing policies from the Trump era. Lea herself had opened up about how anxious she felt during Trump years as a person of color moving around America.
“Hopefully when people watch the movie, them come in and have their hearts opened up a little bit in realizing ‘oh my gosh, there are people here who would only serve to enhance the United States or whatever country people immigrate to,” Lea added. – Rappler.com
Yellow Rose premiered in the Philippines on January 29 and can be viewed via KTX.ph, iWantTFC, and Cignal and Sky Cable pay-per-view.
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