Kamryn Loy Shines a light on Asians in performing arts and her role in Toledo Opera’s South Pacific.
This Valentine’s Day Toledo Opera brings South Pacific to the stage at the Valentine Theater February 14 and 16. The original Broadway production premiered in 1949, based on a Pulitzer-Prize winning book Tales of the South Pacific. The musical tells two intersecting love stories, the first centers on an American nurse (Nellie Forbush) stationed on a South Pacific Island during World War II, who falls in love with widower French plantation owner (Emile de Becque) with mixed-race children who she struggles to accept. The secondary romance between a U. S. Marine (Lt Joseph Cable) and a young Tonkinese woman (Liat), exploring his concerns about how socially acceptable his marriage to an Asian woman would be. So many of this musical’s songs, such as, I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair, Some Enchanted Evening, There is Nothing Like A Dame, and Happy Talk have become American standards.
Meet Kamryn Loy
Kamryn Loy plays Liat’s mother, Bloody Mary, and had just arrived in Toledo for rehearsals. Now living in Georgia, Loy’s journey to the stage was anything but standard. She started her career in the original Broadway production of Miss Saigon. “I was in college and doing shows and having fun. I wanted to sing for a living, but I wasn’t seriously considering it because I came from an Asian family, and I just didn’t think it was an option for me. Back in the 90s it wasn’t really encouraged as a career in Asian families,” she remembers. In her senior year a friend asked her if she thought about auditioning for Miss Saigon. On a lark she went to the open call. They liked her and she got a call back for a dance audition. It should be noted that in the 90s Broadway shows were much more dance heavy, so it was a challenge for performers who were primarily singers. Loy did alright at the dance audition, but didn’t get a call back. Later in November there was a call again for the role of Kim. “I drove to the city, but when I got to my friend’s apartment I was really debating going to the audition. The next morning I felt better about it and decided to just go. I showed up at the theater and there were only a few girls there. After I sang they said to me, ‘where have you been?’ So they flew me to London to audition for Cameron Mackintosh (a huge producer at the time) for the role of Kim. It was a huge deal for girl who’d had a dream but never had much encouragement.” Miss Saigon was cast through an open call. Normally shows are cast through agents, which performers acquire after completing a college musical theater program. Loy explained that the musical had to be cast this way because of the need for so many Asian actors. “Miss Saigon was really the floodgate that brought Asian actors back to the stage again years after a show like South Pacific, which was an important musical for giving opportunities to highlight the talents of Asian performers.”
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Bloody Mary
In the show’s story, Bloody Mary pushes her daughter Liat at Lt. Cable hoping to make a romantic match for her. It works, and the two genuinely fall in love. Cable, however, is still worried about how a marriage with Liat will work back home in the states. He hesitates, which ultimately leads to tragic consequences for the couple. The challenge with playing Bloody Mary is that sometimes she’s portrayed in a slightly stereotypical way. On the surface she’s a wheeler-dealer— an island woman who makes the most out of the economic opportunity that having her town full of American Marines brings. “There’s a side to this character.” says Loy, “ that can be seen as manipulative and shrewd, but she’s strong. A lot of people think she’s selling her daughter off and she kind of is, but I also think she chose this guy because she had a good feeling about him, and she’s right because he does fall in love with Liat. Although I want to play her as a strong person, it’s a fine line because I don’t want to make her a dragon lady. The mistakes made by Cable and Liat are a teaching moment for the romance between Nellie and Emile. Most importantly, my character is a mom.”
You can see Kamryn Loy sing the show-stopping number, Happy Talk, in Toledo Opera’s South Pacific at the Valentine Theater February 14 & 16 .
Tickets start at $39
toledoopera.org/upcoming-performances/season-event/south-pacific
Valentine Theater, 410 Adams St.
