Karen Olivo's performance on a musical stage play received positive reviews.
(Photo : Reuters)

Karen Olivo, of Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Chinese descent, stands out and shines in the theatre play "Moulin Rouge! The Musical" in 2019. 

The stage performance of Olivo in the musical was indeed a remarkable event in her life. It was also one of the best theatre plays played by a Latina. Some of the significant events in the show were when Karen descended from the rafters of the theatre through a trapeze, a dance number while she was perched on a giant diamond, and her unforgettable performance as she sang enthusiastically the songs of Shirley Bassey, Madonna, and Beyonce.

The stage play was based on Baz Luhrmann's 2001 movie and on how she portrayed her character in the theatre play received glowing reviews from the audience. The show led her to be dubbed as part of the great stage play actresses.

In a report from NBC Latino, Olivo's performance in the musical play has a significant impact on the industry where there are only limited opportunities given to Latino performers. According to the Actors Equity Association, Latinos who are active members in the union for stage performers are only comprised of less than 3 percent. 

Olivo told NBC that one of the reasons why she has a career in the industry where she is right now because she is one of the few but that was when casting Latinos are still very rare, she said. She added, "Now the cultural landscape is changing, and I look around and see more people who look like me, or who look like they could be my kids, who are prepared and ready to get on stage." 

Seeing Karen Olivo performing on stage is not common anymore. She played in several plays like the "West Side Story" where she won in 2009 a Tony Award as Best Featured Actress. She also appeared in "Hamilton" and some TV series like "The Good Wife" and the "Harry's Law."

What made the role or character of Olivo in the musical play "Moulin Rouge" is her portrayal of a character that was not written as something ethnic. She said: "I am bringing my life experience to the role and it just so happens that I am a woman of color and a Latina." 

According to Seth Rudetsky, Sirius Satellite Radio host of "On Broadway", "To be blunt, it is very hard for anyone who is not white to have a career on Broadway," Most of the time, producers cast people of colors as supporting characters just to show that their play or piece is open to diversity.

Rudetsky has been following the growth of the career of Olivo in the past few years. She first saw Olivo in a musical play in "Brooklyn: The Musical" and that was also first that she heard the voice of Olivo and made her conclude that her Olivo's gifted voice will her key to the industry. 

Moreover, stage and musical play are not already new to Olivo. In one of the interviews, she revealed and said: "My dad was a theater director, so I was always on stage in some capacity. Growing up, I didn't know that everyone didn't do plays and my parents were both artists and they instilled in me that the arts were a noble profession."

Meanwhile, Olivo carved out a life based on her terms. In 2013, she moved from New York to Madison, Wisconsin where she taught theatre, made pottery and lived a life that is out of the spotlight. It is very unusual for a popular actress like Karen Olivo to move from New York to Wisconsin and lived a life that is out of the spotlight. However, behind this, her father said: "She is very shy. She puts on a persona at work because she has to, but she is a homebody, a private person." 

Her father added, "When she was about 13, I asked her what she wanted to be; she said, 'a rich actress.' I told her that acting was hard and that she should make another choice. And she said, 'Okay, then I'll be a poor actress," Because he knew that Karen will pursue her dreams no matter what.

Olivo's contribution is not limited to her outstanding performance in musical plays. She is also well recognized because of volunteering and spending her time with young artists in Florida where she taught them how to perform on stage. Along with this, part of the goal of Olivo is to let children have access to arts education regardless of cultural background. At the moment, Olivo is happy with what she achieved and doing right now both for herself and her fellow Latina artists.