By Karen Sakai
Broadway, TV, and film actor, BD Wong's "Following Foo" cooks up an incredible book that documents his own story of his most challenging role yet: being a father to premature twins.
On April 26th, the Los Angeles Asian American theater troupe, East West Players, will hold the 38th Annual Visionary Awards, recognizing outstanding contribution to the Asian American community in the entertainment industry. While the event includes a dinner banquet and silent auction, the awards ceremony will also showcase the talents of celebrities like Tia Carrere (Wayne's World), Tamlyn Tomita (Joy Luck Club, Robot Stories), Dat Phan (Winner of NBC's Last Comic Standing), and Amy Hill (Fifty First Dates, Cat in the Hat). One of this year's Visionary Award nominees is film, television and theater actor, B.D. Wong.
Born Bradley Darryl Wong, B.D. was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and started working in the entertainment industry, debuting in 1986 in The Karate Kid, Part II. In 1988, he made his Broadway debut with a Tony award winning performance in David Henry Hwang's M Butterfly. In addition to acting in numerous other theater productions like You're a Good Man Charlie Brown and Peter Pan, Wong has also starred in films like Father of the Bride I and II, Jurassic Park, and Disney's Mulan, as well as television shows like Margaret Cho's All American Girl, and HBO's Oz. Perhaps, he is most recognizable for his role as Dr. Huang, in NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Then, in 2003 Wong touched the public with an incredibly revealing story documenting the trials and challenges of surrogate parenthood of premature twins with the novel, Following Foo: the electronic adventures of the Chestnut Man.
Almost mirroring a feature film, Wong and his partner are beyond ecstatic when their prayers are answered and they find out that a surrogate mother is pregnant with their twins. When the babies arrive three months before their due date, life throws a quick curveball to the new parents. One of the sons is stillborn; risking his own life to keep his twin brother alive with a twin-to-twin blood transfusion. Unfortunately, survivor Jackson Foo Wong, weighs in at 2 pounds 14 ounces, and looks like the little old man who sells chestnuts on the New York Streets. Bringing new meaning behind the words of “Intensive Care,” the book follows Wong and the three-month hospital stay of Jackson Foo, detailing everything from pneumonia to poop.
Despite the unimaginable turn of events of Foo's health taking the family on the wildest rollercoaster ride of their life, Wong keeps an inspirational attitude. Thrown in to a medical world filled with techno babble he doesn't understand, Wong emerges as a superhero father. While the author holds nothing back, he takes an interesting approach to storytelling, using his hilarious, ingenious artistic ability to add song parodies, poem, talk shows, and even a little entry from the Foo-man, himself. Following Foo becomes more than a story about the miraculous family strength to survive, but a testament that despite every cloud, there is a silver lining. The idea for the book originally started from email updates that Wong sent out to friends and family, but because word of Foo spread so quickly over the internet, this little novelistic gem was made. Included in it are the electronic messages that send love to little chestnut man. Responses from famous friends like Harvey Fierstein, Margaret Cho, John Lithgow, and Michelle Kwan, remind us that even the entertainment industry's superstars don't live a picture perfect life.
While the book is like a buffet line of literary selections, Following Foo compares to an Asian American version of Like Water for Chocolate or Soul Food, where food is more than nourishment for the body but nourishment for the soul. From B.D.'s mother's home cooked tacos, Chinese Restaurant family dinners, to his father's “cinnamon-raisin bagel with cream cheese & lox” creation, food plays an important part in the family's strength. Going back to Wong's own childhood and family, food is more than a meal, but a way to transcend social and cultural differences to communicate a universal message love. Perhaps the way to the human heart is actually through the stomach.
Following Foo is a page turning, remarkable story about parenthood and the ability to overcome life's obstacles. Perhaps one of the best stories about parenthood this year, be prepared to read this with a box of tissues because Following Foo is a guaranteed tear jerking, laugh-until-you-cry adventure. It doesn't take a parent, an Asian, or an actor, to love this amazing story about the little chestnut man. Still hungry for more? Then, pick up a copy and dig in!
Visit the official Following Foo website, with photos, a discussion board and the latest news of the little chestnut man and his daddies at www.followingfoo.com.
To learn more about the East West Players or ticket information for the 38th Annual Visionary Awards Banquet and Silent Auction, go to eastwestplayers.org.
Published: Friday, April 23, 2004
