POSTPONED: Asian American Perspectives on "Miss Saigon": Stereotypes, History and Community

Overture Center for the Arts is postponing the dialogue, Perspectives on Miss Saigon: History and Community, originally scheduled for this evening. Dr. Ed Holmes, Overture’s Sr. Vice President for Equity and Innovation coordinated the event for Overture. He said, “We determined that we have a misunderstanding with the people that we were collaborating with for this dialogue. It appears that we were not all on the same page as to our goals, objectives and the purpose for tonight’s event. This is uncharted territory for us. And although we were not able to proceed this evening, this is an important conversation for us to have, one that we will not shy away from. Our goal was to ensure that all voices were heard. As of this morning, we felt that we were too far apart on the purpose of the panel. We are working on rescheduling. An added benefit of discussing these issues at a later date is everyone will have the opportunity to see the show and be more informed about the content, which is the central focus of our anticipated discussion.”

Overture Center will announce the new date as soon as it has been identified and secured.

press release: Overture Center for the will host  two audience engagement events in the coming weeks:

• Asian American Perspectives on Miss Saigon: Stereotypes, History and Community on March 27
• American Veterans: War, Music and Memory on April 1

Both events are free and open to the public.

“Overture Center believes art is intended to be the vehicle that creates opportunity for critical, courageous conversations on our current sociopolitical concerns, cultural issues and beyond,” said Sandra Gajic, President and CEO. “Our goal is to use Overture as a gathering point that brings people together around dialogue that fosters a greater understanding of our similarities and differences.”

Asian American Perspectives on Miss Saigon: Stereotypes, History and Community

“There has been some controversy about portrayals of Asians in the Broadway show Miss Saigon, which is coming to Overture April 2-7, “ Gajic said. We aspire to have an open conversation about these issues.”

Timothy Yu, PhD., Associate Professor, English and Asian American Studies at UW-Madison and several of his colleagues met with Overture Center staff members and are helping to facilitate a panel discussion on how Asians are depicted in Miss Saigon.

“We met with Dr. Yu  to talk about how to address these issues,” said Ed Holmes, Overture’s Senior Vice President for Equity and Innovation. “It is critical that we provide a platform for multiple perspectives that gives voice to diverse communities about how they are represented in the arts.”

Asian American Perspectives on Miss Saigon: Stereotypes, History and Community

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC - registration is not required

Wednesday, March 27, 7 p.m., Promenade Hall

Opening Comments:

Timothy Yu, Ph.D., Professor of English and Asian American Studies, UW-Madison

Ed Holmes, Ph.D., Sr. Vice President, Equity and Inclusion, Overture Center for the Arts

 Panelists:

Moderator: Leslie Bow, Ph.D., English and Asian American Studies, UW-Madison

Panelist: Josephine Lee, Ph.D., English and Asian American Studies, University of Minnesota

Additional panelists are anticipated and will be announced upon confirmation