The team found it difficult to fill the remaining places in the company with Asian performers, especially in the chorus. Four other shows with Asian themes had opened or were in rehearsal in New York, and the demand for the few Asian actors was strong. Kelly and the show's choreographer, Carol Haney, journeyed to cities across the country to seek out talent. Agents were sent to other cities; in Honolulu, they found nightclub singer and native Hawaiian Ed Kenney, who would originate Wang Ta. Meanwhile, in New York, the three producers were visiting dance schools. An advertisement in New York Chinatown newspapers received one response. No formal audition was held in San Francisco's Chinatown, and the only find was Forbidden City nightclub comedian Goro "Jack" Suzuki (who soon changed his name to Jack Soo), who was cast as Frankie Wing, comedian at Sammy Fong's Celestial Bar. The role of Fong proved difficult to cast. Initially, it was given to Larry Storch, a nightclub comic, but during the Boston tryouts, it was given to another Caucasian, Larry Blyden, who was married to Carol Haney, the show's choreographer. The role of Madam Liang, Master Wang's sister-in-law, fell to Juanita Hall, a light-skinned African American who had played a Tonkinese (Vietnamese) woman, Bloody Mary, in "South Pacific". Another African-American performer, Diahann Carroll, was considered for the cast but not hired. Rodgers later wrote, "what was important was that the actors gave the illusion of being Chinese. This demonstrates one of the most wonderful things about theatre audiences. People want to believe what they see on a stage, and they will gladly go along with whatever is done to achieve the desired effect. Ask them to accept Ezio Pinza as a Frenchman [in "South Pacific"], Yul Brynner as Siamese and they are prepared to meet you nine tenths of the way even before the curtain goes up."