Six AAPI Broadway stars joined some of their fellow artists to encourage people to make a difference by casting their ballots in the Midterm Elections on Nov. 6.
The AAPI artists are Vishal Vaidya (Groundhog Day), Diane Phelan (The King and I, School of Rock), Celia Mei Rubin (Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812, Matilda), Marc de la Cruz (Pacific Overtures, If/Then), Kimberly Immanuel (Heartbreak House, Pacific Overtures) and Arielle Jacobs (Aladdin, In the Heights, Wicked).
They were joined by former Saved by the Bell star Mario Lopez, who starred in the revival of A Chorus Line on Broadway and hosts Extra to provide the call to action to vote this November.
They performed “Enough Already!” from the musical, The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, based on the satiric 1920s F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novella of the same name. It was originally written as an anthemic epilogue about a story that’s almost 100 years old. Only recently, did the relevance of the message to the current highly-charged political climate emerge.
The other performers are: Daphne Rubin-Vega (Rent, Anna in the Tropics, The Rocky Horror Show), Lauren Molina (Rock of Ages, Marry Me a Little, Desperate Measures), Caesar Samayoa (Come From Away, Sister Act), N’Kenge (Motown the Musical, Sondheim on Sondheim), Reji Woods (Rocktopia), Kristy Cates (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Finding Neverland, Wicked), Sumayya Ali (Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812, The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess), Brooke Moriber (Threepenny Opera, Follies, The Wild Party, Parade), Jelani Remy (The Lion King, Smokey Joe’s Cafe) and composer Seth Bisen-Hersh.
Earlier this month, Elsie Fest co-founder Darren Criss lent his support to Show Up 2018, encouraging young people to register to vote at Elsie Fest 2018, in New York City’s Central Park. Criss, a Filipino American, won an Emmy this year for playing Andrew Cunanan in TV’s American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace.
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