Addendum

Addendum

         During an early attempt to voice my concerns to the faculty, I was told that the show could never be changed because “everything is already printed.” I would just like to make it perfectly clear that this is not an excuse. Saying that we should continue to go down a path that is racist simply because it’s more convenient is wrong on every level. It is offensive and it is lazy. The values that I’m crusading for aren’t matters of convenience; they are rights that I and every other student in this program are owed. The ability to be perform free of any concerns over the integrity and ethics of our work is worth a few sheets of paper.

         I’d also like to address another point here that this incident brought up. This is not an issue that is going to be debated over. While I am trying to facilitate a discussion on race and diversity in show business, I am not trying to start a debate over whether or not we should cancel the show. The answer to that debate is very clear: the ethical thing to do would be to cancel Miss Saigon because doing a show that requires a predominately Asian cast at a predominately white school is racist. Either we’re racist and do the show, or we do the right thing and cancel it. These are really the only two outcomes to the situation.

         It is my sincerest hope that those involved in the production will recognize the error of their ways. I see that their intention is not to be racist, but they’ve crossed into a sensitive area and have created a situation where by going forward they will be being racist. The only happy ending of this story is the one that doesn’t involve Miss Saigon.