“The Little Mermaid” musical is currently running as part of Broadway Across America’s Tour of the Disney classic. But the stage actress playing the role of Ariel could not hold herself back from responding to critics speaking against her race, The Huffington Post reported.
Theater actress Diana Huey is currently the pride of Asia because of her stellar performances for the musical tour of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.” The Seattle-based talent is Japanese-American, according to her official website.
She might be playing the lead role, and taking herself under the Broadway spotlight, but critics have criticized her because of her ethnicity, The Huffington Post said.
In her Facebook post, Huey fired back at the critics saying that it is difficult not to take them personally. The original article was posted on Buffalo News.
She wrote on Facebook that nobody should feel that they are insufficient because of their skin color, eye shape, or just any element beyond their identity. “As I tour around the city playing Ariel as an Asian-American, I hope that this will inspire hopefuls who believe that they can also be part of a production based on their talents,” Huey’s post stated.
Equality matters
Buffalo News reported that Diana Huey has been performing on stage as Ariel since November. The report said that the “Little Mermaid” tour started in Seattle. She added on her post that seeing a small Asian girl in a space where Asians are minorities, it reminded her of the importance of diversity, equality and open-mindedness.
She believes that all of these matter.
The Japanese-American actress emphasized how she wanted to see the world where no bigotry and racism exists. She wants to hold on to the belief that equality is achievable, saying that the performing arts are a great place to begin, according to Buffalo News.
Best singer
The director of the musical tour Glenn Casale told Buffalo News that he cast Huey into the lead role because she is a great singer.
He believes he made the right choice when he cast her to be part of the musical.
The article noted how people were a bit apprehensive of this choice, but Casale said that several things have changed since the last presidential election. He said that people are freer to say what they want now than before. Broadway Across America’s Tour of “The Little Mermaid” will have performances on August 15 to August 20 in New York, the article noted.
