A funny thing happened when Edwin Raagas was on his way home after watching his favorite Disney movie performed on Broadway, Aladdin.
He already knew that Adam Jacobs, the lead actor who played Aladdin, was half Filipino.
But as Raagas wrote in Rappler, as he was reading his program on the train he noticed several other Filipino or Asian looking names–Rivera, Dela Cruz and Cao.
Thinking back even further, other Filipinos on Broadway have been cast in parts not specifically written for a Filipino. Adam Jacobs, Ali Ewoldt, and Lea Salonga all played lead roles in Les Miserables. Darren Criss was the lead in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. Godspell starred Anna Maria Perez de Tagle and George Salazar.
Raagas lists goes on. I won’t repeat it all here. What does he make of all that?
You can read his interesting perspective in Rappler.
You can watch a clip of Jacobs talking about his role as Aladdin in the clip below.
