Broadway musical 'Be More Chill' to compete at Tony Awards

"Be More Chill" star Stephanie Hsu says there weren't very many Asian-American or Asian-Canadian actresses for her to look up to growing up, but there were two that gave her hope: Sandra Oh and Lucy Liu.

"So, when I was growing up, my mom, when I first started entertaining the idea of becoming an actor, being in the performing arts, my mom was like, 'You can't do that. There's no one who looks like you,'" said Hsu. The only people I had were really Lucy Liu and Sandra Oh, so those are my two people."

Hsu stars as Christine Canigula in the Broadway musical adaptation of the 2004 novel by Ned Vizzini. The musical is nominated for a Tony Award for best score.

The story revolves around high school student Jeremy Heere who experiences feelings of isolation amongst his peers. When he discovers there is a pill he can take to become cooler, he hopes it can help him with his popularity.

Will Roland, left, as Jeremy Heere and George Salazar as Michael Mell in the Broadway musical "Be More Chill" at the Lyceum Theater in New York, Feb. 12, 2019. [Photo: IC]

The Tony Awards are June 9.

(Story includes material sourced from AP)