2017 Preview Screening of The Kim Loo Sisters

In February CHF invited documentarian/filmmaker/author Leslie Li for a preview screening of a documentary she had been working on that is based on the story of the legendary Kim Loo Sisters: Jenée, Alice, Maggie, and Bubbles. Leslie, daughter of one of the Sisters and moved by their momentous lives, decided to produce a documentary to chronicle their success as the first Asian American act to star in Broadway.

Daughters of a Chinese ‘paper son’ and a Polish dressmaker, they began their entertainer careers during the Roaring Twenties in Minneapolis. Dubbed the “Chinese Andrew Sisters” and wearing identical costumes designed and made by their mother, they sang in the new swing style and performed in all-Chinese revues and vaudeville circuits across the country during the Great Depression. In 1939 they broke the bamboo ceiling and began a series of appearances on Broadway where they shared top billing with The Three Stooges, Frank Sinatra, Jackie Gleason, and others. At the outbreak of World War II, the sisters joined the United States Organization and spent the War years entertaining American and Allied troops both in the U.S. and Europe. Following the War, they capped their careers with several feature films in Hollywood.

As Leslie notes on the website dedicated to the Sisters, https://kimloosisters.com, “Despite war and revolution, marriage and children, and long second careers far from the limelight, through thick and through thin, the four sisters have remained the closest of kin throughout their long lives. If anything, Kim Loo Sisters is a homage to love and loyalty among siblings and what it means to be a sister among sisters. Composed of videotaped interviews of the four sisters conducted individually and collectively, and including a wealth of show business memorabilia, such as the “Kimmies” singing some of the top tunes of the day, this documentary encompasses more than the story of four biracial sisters whose roots are Chinese but whose reality is American. It acts as a prism shedding light on such defining — and controversial — issues as cultural identity, immigration, discrimination, race, and gender.”

This screening attracted an interested audience, among them Randy Reyes, Artistic Director of Theater Mu, and staff from the History Theatre. Talks are already underway for a collaboration of a joint production based on the story of the Kim Loo Sisters between the two Theater companies. Stay tuned!