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In her groundbreaking book, Performing Asian America, Josephine Lee meets a formidable challenge. How does one go about describing and analyzing the cultural production of Asian Americans, a group just beginning to make their complex political and social positions more visible? Lee approaches her specific subject, how Asian American playwrights depict race and ethnicity onstage, from the perspective that theatrical performances and dramatic texts can tell us much about these contemporary dynamics.

In this book, Josephine Lee looks at the intertwined racial representations of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American theater. In minstrelsy, melodrama, vaudeville, and musicals, both white and African American performers enacted blackface characterizations alongside oriental stereotypes of opulence and deception, comic servitude, and exotic sexuality. Lee shows how blackface types were often associated with working-class masculinity and the development of a nativist white racial identity for European immigrants, while the oriental marked what was culturally coded as foreign, feminized, and ornamental. These conflicting racial connotations were often intermingled in actual stage performance, as stage productions contrasted nostalgic characterizations of plantation slavery with the figures of the despotic sultan, the seductive dancing girl, and the comic Chinese laundryman. African American performers also performed common oriental themes and characterizations, repurposing them for their own commentary on Black racial progress and aspiration. The juxtaposition of orientalism and black figuration became standard fare for American theatergoers at a historical moment in which the color line was rigidly policed. These interlocking cross-racial impersonations offer fascinating insights into habits of racial representation both inside and outside the theater.

While most discussions of race in American theater emphasize the representation of race mainly in terms of character, plot, and action, Race in American Musical Theater highlights elements of theatrical production and reception that are particular to musical theater. Examining how race functions through the recurrence of particular racial stereotypes and storylines, this introductory volume also looks at casting practices, the history of the chorus line, and the popularity of recent shows such as Hamilton. Moving from key examples such as Show Boat! and South Pacific through to all-Black musicals such as Dreamgirls, Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk, and Jelly's Last Jam, this concise study serves as a critical survey of how race is presented in the American musical theater canon. Providing readers with historical background, a range of case studies and models of critical analysis, this foundational book prompts questions from how stereotypes persist to “who tells your story?”

Beginning in the late 19th century, Chinese immigrants arrived in New York City with hopes of more opportunity for better lives. Once confined to a few streets in downtown Manhattan, the Chinese people gradually moved throughout the city. Their rich cultural traditions contribute to New York's vibrant multicultural community. New York City's Chinese Community captures the people, culture, history, businesses, events, and neighborhoods that have defined this community from the early days to more recent times. Historic photographs highlight details from the life and experiences of the Chinese population in New York, including their deep-rooted heritage and their new American ways of life.

"The Japan of Pure Invention not only sheds new light on a seemingly familiar sold chestnut,' it raises new possibilities for understanding the endurance of orientalism in relation to both whiteness and blackness."-KAREN SHIMAKAWA, author of National Abjection: The Asian American Body Onstage --

In memory of Grace Chen - When a touch of your smile rises Professor Phil Hsieh When a touch of your smile rises Among the “blue sky and white clouds” It blossoms into dimples Taking the pose Of sublime lotuses. Your life’s energies diffuse Like the fragrance of a flower. Always cheerful With an enormous heart, You talked and sang To spread the seeds of Love at every Corner of the world, Bright and dark alike. Your thirty-six Years of shortened But brilliant life Turned into touching Memories in our minds, Episode after episode And time after time. The impermanence of sufferings Made marks on your body And yet you still Faced it with smiles. O you the flying Apsara Please, as you wished, come back soon, While humming the tunes of Love. 【推薦文】 The story of Josephine and Grace, mother and daughter, has inspired many people. Through their example and their strong faith, they have answered many people’s questions about life and comforted people as they face fear of death, transforming their pain and sorrow to achieve great love. －Stanley Yan, Chair of The Alliance Cultural Foundation Grace was not only my patient, she also brightened up my life with her radiance, becoming an unforgettable person in my life. Through its description of Grace’s extraordinary life, I hope this book will help readers rethink the purpose of life and find the true meaning and value of their own lives. －Dr.Yen Yun, Taipei Cancer Center Convener at Taipei Medical University After Grace received her Juris Doctor Diploma from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, CA, she immediately passed the bar examination in California and became a lawyer. She decided to work for Ernst & Young Global Limited, one of the largest consultant companies in the world. As a law consultant, she helped other large companies establish and regulate rules and regulations for employee benefits at their companies. In addition, she volunteered at the Tzu Chi Foundation, USA, as a law consultant. Growing up in a kind and humble family, Grace followed principles calling for a life free of conflict and competition and to be loving, giving, and selfless. －Dr.Rey Sheng Her, Deputy CEO of Tzu Chi Foundation; Associate Professor of Tzu Chi University; Associate Scholar of Harvard University, FAS, CAMLab.

The result is a unique and authoritative study of the nation's efforts to achieve an appropriate civic architecture."--BOOK JACKET.

Tracing the various changes in Washington's architectural character from the Revolutionary War to the post-World War II era, the authors survey the major public and government buildings, monuments and memorials, residential buildings and neighborhoods, parks and recreational areas, and commercial and industrial centers. Over 360 photos, drawings, and maps.