The term "tiger mother" became synonymous with strict Asian parenting, after the controversial book, "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother," hit shelves.  In the book, a Yale professor describes how she raises her Asian-American children by threatening "no lunch, no dinner" if they didn't play the piano perfectly.  Some called her parenting extreme.  But Angela Chan says that's normal for Asian-American kids growing up today. 

 

Angela knows what it's like to have strict parents.  She started playing the piano when she was 4, and her Mom would stand next to her with a stopwatch.  She calls it the "typical Asian household" with Chinese immigrant parents.  So she decided to turn it into a musical in the spirit of "Book of Mormon" and "Avenue Q": part-satire, part-serious look at the highly-charged relationship between a parent and child. 

 

Angela Chan and her co-writer join us to talk about stereotypes, "growing up Asian," and how to tell your parents you've written a musical about their parenting style.  "Legacy of the Tiger Mother,” the musical, plays Dec. 3-4 at 1 p.m. at Theatre7 on 3rd Street.

 

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