Arts Vanity: Artist Profile: Theater Executive Angelina X. Ng ’26 is Single

Angelina X. Ng ’26, funny Asian woman, Sabrina Carpenter fan, and outgoing Co-Theater Executive, spent this year on the Crimson’s Arts Board in pursuit of one thing: Love.

Ng interviewed “The Bachelorette” star Jenn Tran, covered live dating-comedy show “It’s a Date” (published with some nearly redacted quotes), and reviewed two Emily Henry romance novels. Behind the scenes, Ng orchestrated and edited multiple artist interviews, only to find herself falling in love with said artists.

“I just think that these are things that I am personally invested in, and therefore other people will also be invested in, because 69% of Harvard freshmen are virgins,” Ng said in an interview with The Crimson.

Ng was inspired by BuzzFeed’s Aria Inthavong, who starred in a series of videos like “Crushes Get Handcuffed for 24 Hours” and “I Try Getting a Date In A Fedora” on a journey to find true love — which he eventually succeeded at.

Why theater journalism as Ng’s means for this mission? Because she has long been attracted to men in costumes.

Ng’s theater kid awakening came in the form of Peter Pan at Florida’s Disney World. After years of suppressing her love for costumed characters, Ng’s love of theater went full throttle with the rise of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton,” and she spent senior year of high school feverishly applying to colleges near New York City, the home of Broadway. Unfortunately, she landed at a safety school 200 miles away.

Understandably, emotion overcame Ng as she left her native Singapore for Harvard. To cope, she cried to “My Petersburg,” a song from the musical “Anastasia” about a Russian street urchin leaving Saint Petersburg after living there all his life. (Contrary to popular belief, Saint Petersburg and Singapore are very similar.)

Even today, Ng finds deep resonance in showtunes. She gave a profound example: “Watch What Happens” from “Newsies.”

“Katherine in ‘Newsies’ is just trying her best to be a good writer, and she’s getting writer’s block. I relate to that,” she said. “And like, I just want someone to fall in love with me spontaneously, like Jack Kelly did with Katherine. Is that too much?”

If Ng were to stage her own one-woman show, it would be a comedy musical with a 2007 Avril Lavigne-style score and a “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” tone. The confoundingly depressing plot would follow a struggling 25-year-old journalist who realizes that she hates her city and job.

“She’s been in therapy, but therapy didn’t help. In fact, therapy made her a worse person,” Ng said, as the sense that she was no longer describing the one-woman show permeated the interview.

“This is my worst fear, by the way,” Ng added.

Ng spoke of her Co-Theater Executive, Isabelle A. Lu ’26, with a scrutinizing intimacy that gave way to flickers of nostalgic adoration. The destined-to-be-iconic pair had a terse first encounter at an Arts meeting.

“I was like, ‘Oh, I'm Angelina.’ And [Lu] said, ‘Cool.’ And then we never talk for the rest of the meeting,” Ng recalled.

Despite awkward beginnings, the now-best friends went on to contribute to the cultural conversation around the “Wicked” press tour with their extremely original Elphaba and Glinda Crimween costumes (Ng was Glinda), repeatedly subject the Arts Board to “Wicked”-themed pitch slides, and — allegedly — burst into tears after watching the film.

“I have been changed for good,” Ng sang in reference to her co-exec.

On a topical note, Ng has recently been holding space through watching SNL’s “Gladiator Twosical,” in which Paul Mescal parodies “Defying Gravity” while flying out of the Colosseum. For Ng, the practice of holding space is not simply appreciative, but a driver of self-betterment.

“Paul Mescal goes, ‘Ohohohohoh.’ I’ve listened to that every day to motivate myself,” she said.

The sagacious Ng shared other coping strategies for one’s turbulent college years.

“I just keep reminding myself that my prefrontal cortex hasn’t developed fully and that it’s gonna develop at 25 and that’s what I’m holding out for,” she said. “But other than that, I think genuinely, if you feel sad, go for a walk or find a high place. But not to jump off, but to look at the stars.”

As for advice for incoming Theater Executive Ria S. Cuéllar-Koh ’26, Ng urged Cuéllar-Koh — who is renowned for her acting and singing skills, which Ng and Lu completely lack — to convert Crimson Arts meetings into theatrical performances. Ng demanded “minimum one original song” per meeting.

Yet Ng won’t even stick around to attend these meetings. She’ll fly from Cambridge, Massachusetts to Cambridge, U.K. to study abroad next semester — and not on a broomstick. The Singaporean called the U.K. “the Motherland” and pointed out that Singapore was still a part of the Commonwealth, but was quick to deny allegations of imperialistic loyalties.

“I believe in learning about your enemies so you can beat them. And my enemy is colonization,” Ng asserted.

With her 100-decibel voice and shameless extroversion, Ng is sure to scare some Brits, undergo fresh personal awakenings, and possibly pick up a British accent to match her non-Crimson-approved British spelling. She might even finally have the meet-cute she’s been chasing after, despite her incapacity to make any romantic first moves.

“I’m a big fan of views, even though I’m afraid of heights,” Ng said.

Now, it’s up to Ng to climb those heights and see those views. The heights being the Cambridge, U.K. dating scene. The views being the (British) love of her life.

But over here at The Crimson, I hope that Ng won’t have a meet-cute abroad. I eagerly await the day that she is forced back into the Sisyphean search for true love through live reporting, conducting interviews, and ruminating on romance in the arts scene — with us.

—Outgoing Theater Executive and incoming Arts Chair Isabelle A. Lu definitely does not have a conflict of interest with this article. Reach out to her with replacement co-exec options at isabelle.lu@thecrimson.com.