Listen to this articleBy Oasis Hu | China Daily Global
Musical highlights contribution of Chinese people to development of US, encourages understanding, Oasis Hu reports from Hong Kong.
Bringing a Chinese story to the stage of the United States’ mainstream theater is no easy task, but the team behind the musical Railroad! has done just that, after persevering for nine years.
Railroad!, which presented at an of — of — Broadway studio in New York City on June 9, is set in the mid-19th century and focuses on the forgotten narrative of how Chinese immigrants contributed to the construction of railways in the United States.
A cast of 16, including six Asian actors, drew applause from an audience of more than 40 industry insiders that included Broadway composers, musicians, and journalists.
Some gave the performers a standing ovation.
“The story of Railroad! is a long-overdue tribute to the Chinese workers who had played an integral role in building the United States,” says Adam Wiggins, music director of the play that revolves around Li Shao, a Chinese immigrant who arrives in the US during the gold rush. Despite being discriminated against by their white counterparts, Li leads a group of Chinese laborers in overcoming numerous challenges as they collaborate with a group of Irish workers to complete the building of the transcontinental railroad linking the United States from the east to west.
“It’s a story that needs to be told,” says Tony Stimac, who directed the musical. The renowned director, who has produced more than 60 original musicals in a career spanning five decades, had spent more than 10 years in China.
Embarking on his first tour of the Chinese mainland in 2007, Stimac was immediately struck by the country’s beauty. Beijing, in particular, impressed him, with its sophisticated cityscape and vibrant energy.
“The people I met there were the most hospitable in the world,” he recalls.
Recognizing that China’s musical-theater industry was still in its infancy, Stimac worked with his then-collaborator, veteran Broadway composer Louis St Louis, to help the country develop some of its pioneering original musicals and pave the way for their growth.
When Stimac returned to the US in 2014, he stumbled on a book about early Chinese immigrants. He was deeply moved by how they had helped build the country’s first transcontinental railroad, with their blood, sweat, and tears but how, in return, they were repaid with little other than racism, exclusion, and violence and he felt compelled to bring the story to life, inviting Louis to join him on the journey.
Louis accepted the invitation without hesitation. He was later joined by playwright James Racheff, and the trio soon began the painstaking research and creative process needed to make the story into a musical.
They logged countless hours writing and refining the script, worked tirelessly on draft after draft, and brought in numerous actors to try ideas, over and over again.
Songs were written and discarded. Music composed and abandoned. And, after rewriting the story more than 50 drafts of the script in seven years, tragedy struck: Louis died weeks after completing the score. His death in March 2021 left the world with the music for Railroad!, which was to be his swan song.
Battered by the “devastating loss”, Stimac refused to give up.
“Few people are aware of how incredible the Chinese contributions were to building the transcontinental railroad, which helped America achieve its manifest destiny,” said Stimac, who added that the story is an essential one, for both Americans and Chinese people.
Zhang Kemin subsequently became the musical’s producer. A Chinese Canadian, Zhang, who had been an apprentice under Louis, had followed the creative process of Railroad!, from its inception.
Louis’ passing was a wake-up call for Zhang, who realized he could not afford to wait any longer and that it was time to complete the project.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and rising anti-Chinese sentiment in North America, Zhang felt it was a crucial time to foster understanding and empathy among diverse communities. As executive director of the Li Delun Music Foundation — a Canadian nonprofit that promotes cultural exchange between East and West through musical events — Zhang has long believed that non-violent demonstrations, such as artistic expressions, are more effective in promoting understanding among ethnic groups than marches and protests.
“In light of the current political climate, promoting exchange has become more important than ever,” Zhang said. “What a better way to do it than with a story told through song and dance?”
The Canadian Chinese Exclusion Act, which came into force a century ago to restrict Chinese immigration to Canada, was abolished in 1947. A hundred years later, in 2023, the Li Delun Music Foundation officially threw its weight behind the Railroad! musical.
With funding secured, the team began preparations and engaged 16 actors for the long-overdue industry reading. Many of them were drawn to the musical’s theme, Zhang said.
One of the actors, Bern Tan, who would play Li Shao, has a family history of emigration, with his grandparents seeking refuge in the South Seas from Hainan before the Second World War, and his mother emigrating from Singapore to Shanghai. Tan was born in Singapore before emigrating to the US. Like many immigrants, Tan’s family struggled to find its feet in its new country before going on to embrace their cultural roots.
Playing the character of Li Shao allowed Tan to reflect on his identity as an immigrant with Chinese ancestry.
“Li Shao was far more tenacious than me, and my struggles today, by comparison, are mild,” he says.
Inspired by the character, Tan brought his full humanity to the role and used it as an opportunity to challenge anti-Asian sentiments, combat stereotypes, and promote empathy.
“In the show, the railroad won’t happen unless people bring their different cultures together. In many ways, the team that put the show together has to do exactly the same,” Tan says.
Like Tan, Coco Huang Yike, a supporting actor in the musical, was also deeply motivated by the musical’s relevance. The 19-year-old Beijing-born actor left her hometown in 2022 to explore the US musical-theater industry and to learn as much as she could.
“Although my experience can’t be compared to that of the early immigrant workers, I found the spirit in these stories resonating and inspiring. Who else would work to bring the story of Chinese railroad workers onto the Broadway stage, if not me?” says Huang.
After days of intense rehearsals, the group was finally ready for the show. To them, it was more than just a piece of entertainment; it was a chance to make a statement, and to express their hopes for a fair world.
From the start, the audience was immediately drawn in by the passion of the cast. They fell into a hush, immersed in the unfolding drama, with attention focused on the characters who took them back to the distant past.
Following the performance, Jamie Bernstein, a writer, filmmaker, and daughter of Broadway titan Leonard Bernstein, told the producer she appreciated the show.
“The musical confronts the tough truths about racism while offering the built-in hope and optimism that music always brings,” she said.
Stimac noticeably choked up on a few occasions during the performance. The director revealed a mixture of happiness and regret for the long-awaited realization of the project, and the absence of Louis to share the joy.
Despite the bittersweet emotions, it was a powerful testament to the transformative power of dedication to a shared vision for the creative team. Moving forward, the team is actively exploring collaboration with a US educational foundation, to bring Railroad! to US schools and raise awareness of an often overlooked history.
Just as the Chinese immigrants of the 19th century had to overcome discrimination as they built a railroad linking the US from east to west, the group of ethnically diverse artists is also bridging divides, by building a cultural “railroad” between the global East and West.
