When former Fairfax native Allen Liu arrived at the University of Virginia, he found college a breeze. Unlike the horror stories he'd heard from his teachers at Woodson, Liu thought his classes were easy. So to fill up his free time, he became involved in a student theater group. The rest, they say, is history.
"I thought to myself, there's really something here that I should explore," said Liu, on his acting ambitions and his decision to major in theater at UVA.
Liu currently stars as the character Harvard in the Broadway musical "Flower Drum Song." For Liu, working on Broadway with such stars such as Lea Salonga and Randall Duk Kim has been a dream come true.
"The last two years of my life have been a fairy tale," the 27-year-old said.
Liu first got bit with the acting bug at Frost Middle School, when he took a speech and drama class as an elective. Although Liu describes himself as shy, he found the class to be a fun escape from his junior high troubles. His first public performance was a class skit. When he performed, people laughed and enjoyed themselves.
"It was a feeling of power," described Liu.
As Liu entered W.T. Woodson High School, he became involved with the school's theatrical productions. Under then-theater instructor Joan Bedinger, who also taught "Flower Drum Song" musical director David Chase, Liu submerged himself in the creative and nurturing environment Bedinger had created. His first production, "The Trip to the Bountiful," competed in the Northern Virginia one-act play competition. He also performed in "Pippin," "Anything Goes," "Cabaret" and "The Little Shop of Horrors," where he was the Voice of the Plant.
"It was a really validating feeling ... that I had something to give," Liu said.
When Liu joined the student theater group at UVA, the experience reminded him of his time at Woodson. After performing in a Neil Simon play and taking an acting class, Liu decided to become a theater major. He had also talked with a drama advisor, who assured him that although it would be harder for him, Asian actors could find work.
AFTER GRADUATING in 1997, Liu entered an M.F.A. program in acting at the University of California-Irvine. Prior to graduating from that program in 2001, he was part of a showcase sent to Los Angeles to audition for a newly-revised version of the musical "Flower Drum Song." The revised version features music by Richard Rodgers, music by Oscar Hammerstein II and a new book by playwright David Henry Hwang. It portrays the generation gap between Chinese immigrants and their American-born children in San Francisco in the 1950s. The family patriarch, Master Wang, played by "Matrix"-sequel star Randall Duk Kim, struggles to keep a run-down Chinese opera house alive, while his son Ta, played by Jose Llana, wants to turn the space into a Western-style nightclub.
Liu won the role of Harvard, a newly-created character who provides comic relief to the show. In the musical, Harvard works on costumes and is best friends with the showgirl Linda Lowe.
The production played to critical acclaim at the Mark Taper Forum from Oct. 1, 2001 to Jan. 13, 2002.
"To be there was an amazing thing," Liu said.
"Flower Drum Song" moved to Broadway in October 2002. Liu's mother, a former Chinese immigrant who now lives in Chantilly with his father, came to opening night. Other relatives — an aunt, uncle and cousin who live in Fairfax County — will also see the production.
Although "Flower Drum Song" is scheduled to close on March 16, plans are underway for a national tour. Once Liu completes his work in the production, he hopes to promote a greater Asian-American presence in the arts, by performing and someday producing.
"I really feel that I have something to give to people. I feel that I want to share myself to people through my acting, my performance. I think it's a beautiful way to touch people's lives," Liu said.