Jodi Long is the product of a show business pedigree. Her Chinese-Scottish father and Japanese American mother were vaudevillians who, in addition to performing in nightclubs from New York to San Francisco, appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show at a time when it was rare to see Asian faces on television. 

East West Players’ latest production, “Surfing DNA,” showcases Long’s myriad talents. During her 90-minute solo performance, Long sings, dances, does a mean tai chi form, and channels deceased and living relatives-all with the ease and confidence. 

Although the opening minutes are bogged down by the requisite self-loathing (“I just wanted to be an American.”) common among Asian American-themed plays, Long charges past those initial indulgences and soon removes all doubt that she deserves her own show.   

She credits her nimble tap-dancing father, Larry Leung, and graceful mother, Kimiye Tsunemitsu for the genes that compel her to perform. 

Long’s mother was evacuated to Minidoka at the outbreak of World War II. Kimiye learned that she could find a non-Japanese sponsor. She heard of a man who had sponsored other women and wrote to him. He agreed to sponsor her and soon she was living in New York and dancing at the China Doll nightclub as a showgirl. Leung was performing there, dancing and doing comedy.

The attraction between Larry and Kimiye grew and eventually they formed their own act, appearing in a string of Chinatown nightclubs on what came to be known as the Chop Suey Circuit. 

Long’s first professional appearance was at the age of 7–and on Broadway no less. It was her father who encouraged her to try out for the Sidney Lumet-directed musical, “Nowhere to Go But Up,” and gave her pointers about what to sing and how to sell it to Lumet. Jodi won the role, but unfortunately “Nowhere...” closed within a week.

Long’s journey draws her to her colorful ancestors:  a Scottish grandmother who married her paternal grandfather sometime in the 1880s; elite Japanese sword craftsmen serving last remaining samurai under Emperor Meiji ascended the throne; a Nisei uncle who served during World War II and whose name is etched on the Go For Broke Monument several steps east of the David Henry Hwang Theater; and eccentric Uncle Kuni, a notorious gambler who often regaled young Jodi with stories of his outlandish exploits. 

She pays tribute to her predecessors with humor, poignancy and, most of all, affection. “I was interested in exploring how the imprinting of my DNA was manifesting itself in my life,” she recalls. Ironically, Long’s father passed away about two weeks before she was scheduled to open “Surfing DNA.”  

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