Cover image via aliewoldt.com
It's that time of the year again for Broadway's Phantom of the Opera — and the first ever Fil-Am will join its cast!
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Make way for the half-Filipino and Broadway alum, [Ali Ewoldt] (https://aliewoldt.com), as she joins Phantom of the Opera's lair as Christine!
As Mary Bonds in McCarter Theatre's "A Christmas Carol" with Michele Tauber and Graeme Malcolm.
Image via T. Charles Erickson
"I Feel Pretty" on the 1st National Tour of West Side Story with Kathryn Lin Terza, Dea Julien, and Lori Ann Ferreri
Image via Ali Ewoldt
Image via Ali Ewoldt
Two days ago, Amanda Hess of the New York Times [wrote] (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/29/movies/asian-american-actors-are-fighting-for-visibility-they-will-not-be-ignored.html?_r=1) about the issue of erasure, whitewashing and [racebending] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racebending) in [film] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitewashing_in_film), [television] (http://www.swirlnationblog.com/blog/2016/3/19/whitewashing-tv-and-movies) and theater
Hess featured Asian-American actors who are fighting for visibility and equal treatment, saying: "It's never been easy for an Asian-American actor to get work in Hollywood, let alone take a stand against the people who run the place. But the recent expansion of Asian-American roles on television has paradoxically ushered in a new generation of actors with just enough star power and job security to speak more freely about Hollywood's larger failures."
Image via Pop Sugar
Even Salon.com posted an [article] (http://www.salon.com/2013/12/09/whitewashed_tv_isnt_just_racist_its_boring/) about the issue saying that it's not just racist, it's boring!
Ewoldt will be the first person of color to play Christine.
"It's wild," she told [Broadway.com] (http://www.broadway.com), "that people are now willing to talk about things they weren't ten years ago, in terms of having real representation of the world we live in on stage."
Ewoldt not only embraced this momentous happening in her life, but she took the spotlight to share her view on the whitewashing issue that has been going-on for decades.
She wanted to ensure that these kind of conversations continue.
"Hopefully someday, everything will be open and people will have truly equal opportunities, and we can say it doesn't matter anymore. For the moment, the key is to show young people that it's possible to be a storyteller," she told [Broadway] (http://www.broadway.com/buzz/184973/ali-ewoldt-jordan-donica-will-join-the-phantom-of-the-opera-on-broadway/).
"**I want to be able to represent all the other people of color who aspire to play Christine someday**," she added.
Image via Ali Ewoldt
The [Phantom of the Opera] (http://www.thephantomoftheopera.com) is a timeless and haunting love story full of seduction and despair by French novelist, Gaston Leroux. It is also Broadway's longest-running show that must not be missed!
If you happen to visit New York, you can check out Phantom of the Opera's schedule [here] (http://boxoffice.broadway.com/CalPoh/Index?pOrderID=104894509&pXref=E76D5A01-C5F0-4EEA-80FC-CD455AE0E244) or get the latest updates about the musical [here] (https://www.facebook.com/Broadway/?fref=ts)!
Image via Ali Ewoldt
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