{"podcast":{"title":"The Vietnamese with Kenneth Nguyen","slug":"the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen-3688574","podcast_index_feed_id":3688574,"rss_url":"https://feeds.redcircle.com/ea765854-819f-48a6-b479-0772f4fbe53b","website_url":"https://redcircle.com/shows/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen","image_url":"https://media.redcircle.com/images/2022/5/7/5/304c1d3b-f2cf-45be-9418-65bfbfda266a_e0d6ad_the_vietnamese_-_spotify_cover_art7trx2.jpg","author":"thevietnamesepodcast","episode_count":528,"summary":"Being part of a culture of almost 100 million Vietnamese people living in the world today has its pain and challenges, but it comes with plenty of history, privileges and honors. Join Kenneth Nguyen as he spotlights Vietnamese excellence from around the world. Each episode explores the creative process of individuals shaping the diversity of what it means to be Vietnamese--as a local, born and raised, or as a third culture kid, and even the divisions that separate us politically and culturally. This show can take multiple directions, but what it will do is show Vietnamese from a transpacific lens, in all its facets and complexities.","last_synced_at":"2026-08-02T12:17:32.621954+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen-3688574"},"episode":{"title":"515 - Why Are There So Few Vietnamese Performers on Broadway? - Evelyn Mê-Linh","slug":"515-why-are-there-so-few-vietnamese-performers-on-broadway-evelyn-m-linh","published_at":"2026-07-26T12:30:17+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen-3688574/515-why-are-there-so-few-vietnamese-performers-on-broadway-evelyn-m-linh","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen-3688574","url":"https://thevietnamesepodcast.com","audio_url":"https://audio4.redcircle.com/episodes/78f9c541-86c8-42db-9ab1-e1a543e4e97b/stream.mp3","summary":"In this episode, Ken sits down with classical soprano and musical theater performer Evelyn Mê-Linh. Evelyn shares her journey from a painfully shy child in Orange County to landing a role in the iconic national production of The Phantom of the Opera. Evelyn discusses growing up surrounded by her parents' Vietnamese singing parties and scouting camps, how her mother became her \"momager\" to help her overcome severe stage fright, and how watching the 2004 Phantom of the Opera movie at age 12 changed her life trajectory forever. She breaks down her rigorous classical opera training at Chapman University, her leap of faith moving to New York City to attend NYU, and what it takes to find \"the zone\" as a vocal performer. Kenneth and Evelyn also take a candid look at the lack of Vietnamese representation on Broadway, the generational \"survival mindset\" that discourages refugee parents from supporting careers in the arts, the industry's frequent conflation of Asian ethnicities, and the complex controversy surrounding Miss Saigon. Inside the Episode The Childhood Spark: How watching Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum in the 2004 Phantom of the Opera film inspired a 12-year-old shy kid to ask for voice lessons. The \"Momager\" & Scout Community: How Evelyn's mother helped her overcome childhood stage fright through Scout camps (Hướng Đạo) and local Vietnamese community concerts. Classical Opera to Broadway: Transitioning from strict language-based opera technique at Chapman University to NYU Musical Theater and a Phantom summer intensive in NYC. Representation & the Refugee Mindset: Unpacking why Vietnamese Americans remain underrepresented in commercial theater compared to other Asian groups, and how post-war parental trauma shapes career choices. Navigating Industry Bias: Cand…","meta_description":"In this episode, Ken sits down with classical soprano and musical theater performer Evelyn Mê-Linh. Evelyn shares her journey from a painfully shy child i…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2334,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen-3688574/episodes/515-why-are-there-so-few-vietnamese-performers-on-broadway-evelyn-m-linh/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen-3688574/515-why-are-there-so-few-vietnamese-performers-on-broadway-evelyn-m-linh.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}