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My Turn by Dmae Lo Roberts

Chris Grace: As Scarlett Johansson runs through June 22, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Portland Center Stage)

Chris Grace is performs in a scene for Chris Grace: As Scarlett Johansson. (Photo/Jingzi Zhao)

From The Asian Reporter, V35, #6 (June 2, 2025), page 6.

In 2017, Scarlett Johansson took on an anime character role in a live-action version of Ghost in the Shell, a Japanese cyberpunk story based on a manga series. Many Asian American groups viewed it as an example of a whitewashed role. Johansson defended it, saying an actor had a right to play any role. But it wasn’t true then that Asian Americans could play any role at the time. The topic is the premise of actor Chris Grace’s new show, Chris Grace: As Scarlett Johansson, now playing at Portland Center Stage (PCS) in northwest Portland. If Scarlett could play a manga character, he could play Scarlett.

I first noticed Chris Grace when he played Jerry on NBC’s "Superstore." Later, he appeared as Duane in Netflix’s "The Residence." I loved the unrequited love story on "Superstore." With few words, he broke hearts finally declaring his love for Sandra on the show. Though he was only on a handful of episodes per season, he was a much-loved and memorable character.

In his solo performance in Chris Grace: As Scarlett Johansson, Chris doesn’t just take on the tendency of Hollywood to give a white actor a role that’s typically written for a person of color, otherwise known as whitewashing, but he also makes clear his show isn’t to skewer Johansson. In fact, he quite often pays homage to the roles she’s played, particularly in the Marvel Universe, such as Avengers, Iron Man, and The Black Widow. One hilarious scene in the show features his take on fight choreography performed by Johansson in one of her action films.

The show also has a multiverse structure of starting, stopping, and flashing back to start over again much like one of Grace’s favorite films, Everything Everywhere All at Once, in which he recounts Ke Huy Quan winning an Oscar. Grace made a comment about Quan thanking Hollywood for welcoming him back after 37 years of not being hired for acting work. Grace said that instead of thanking Hollywood, Quan should have called them out for not hiring him more. That’s perhaps the strongest comment in the show to point out how far the film industry still needs to go for Asian American representation.

After a show last month, I spoke with Chris about how he grew up in Texas as Chris Hsieh, then later took on the last name of Grace as his stage name. He wanted to honor his mom because she encouraged his acting career. Still, it would take decades of watching plays, movies, and television shows before he would see people who looked like or represented his identity.

"I can watch ‘Breaking Bad’ and imagine that I’m a chemistry teacher making meth or whatever, right?" Grace explained. "But then if I see The Farewell and it’s about an elderly Chinese relative, and I’ve been in situations like that and I’ve had moments that really were mirrored in a piece of work like that, the emotional connection to those things is so much stronger."

Chris Grace: As Scarlett Johansson was developed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, a 25-day annual event held in Scotland at which anyone is able to bring a new show to perform. For those who cannot make it to Portland to watch the performance in person, Grace’s show is also featured on the Dropout streaming service where he appears frequently in comedy specials. After his run at PCS, he’ll perform Scarlett at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., which has been controversial for recent politically motivated firings and resignations of the board and leadership. Many artists are boycotting the center, but Grace said he was booked to perform there 18 months ago and intends to honor that.

"I want to do the best job for them," Grace said. "A lot of people in the arts right now are in really awkward positions where they’re creating art, trying to make a salary, and they have very hostile or bizarre bosses to work for. It is an unfortunate situation, but I’m also very fascinated to see how the show goes over there."

In August, Grace will return to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to debut a new show called 27 Hours, in which he attempts to write a new hour-long show each day of the festival. He says it will be a "work in progress."

"I’m warning people right at the top," Grace added when I mentioned that it sounded scary. "You should just embrace failure. If you’re willing to fail, that’s how you become really good at something."

Chris Grace: As Scarlett Johansson, a co-production with Boom Arts, runs through June 22 at Portland Center Stage at the Armory, located at 128 N.W. 11th Avenue in Portland. To learn more, or to buy tickets, call (503) 445-3700 or visit <www.pcs.org>. Additional information about Chris Grace may be found online at <www.chrisgrace.com>.