ABSTRACT
This book’s chapters are organized around historical milestones that serve as important starting place for the appreciation and study of Asian American theatre, but also serve as a reminder that the very term “Asian American,” a product of the 1960s reimagining of race, remains a dynamic, porous, and sometimes contested category. People of Asian descent in the U.S. cannot be represented without acknowledging their many differences that define their histories and experiences. This conclusion looks at two plays that do not easily fit into the particular milestones given in earlier chapters. The inclusion of these two examples affirms that Asian American histories are also closely connected to those of other racial minorities in the U.S. and also must be examined in terms of the networks of culture, migration, and kinship that continue to connect Asia to the U.S. In Prince Gomolvilas’ The Brothers Paranormal, Thai American and African American characters share experiences of migration, loss, and loneliness. In May Lee-Yang’s A Korean Drama Addict’s Guide to Losing Your Virginity (2018), a Hmong American woman weaves her way toward romance not only as prompted by her impending fate as a shaman, but also through the unlikely plot twists of Korean television dramas. These plays thus do not fit neatly into a set of Asian American milestones but rather act as reminders that Asian Americans can also be deeply influenced by aspects of history and culture that are not necessarily seen as their own.
