When students auditioned for Clayton High School’s 2022 mainstage musical, they didn’t expect any curveballs. The theater department set out to perform The Drowsy Chaperone, a show parodying an early 1920’s musical comedy. The show wasn’t perfect to begin with; the act two opener features a song overtly making fun of Chinese culture called “Message from a Nightingale” and the show also includes other “tongue-and-cheek moments,” as described by Kelly Weber, the show’s director. The theater department had no question they were to cut these elements, as they offer no real development to the plot, however they missed a key step: telling people.

It's a pretty good time to be an Asian-American. With hit movies such as Crazy Rich Asians along with a slew of smaller movies and TV shows such as Searching, Columbus and Fresh Off the Boat, Asians are...