At age 8 when I first saw the movie, it never really occurred to me to consider the plight of Asian people trying to survive and assimilate into a new culture.
Hearing such deep analysis always makes me feel so shallow. Mostly, I grew up enjoying "The Flower Drum Song" because I liked the music. My mother bought the folio of songs and I had fun playing and singing them as a young teenager. We even went to see a touring production in Houston starring Jack Soo (who was also in the movie). After the show, we met him and got his autograph. Back then, I just accepted the show as an entertaining story about Chinese people in China town. I never even questioned how unique it was to see a live theater performance featuring a cast made up of just Asian actors.
I ultimately decided that since the actors and the audiences were already prepared to "suspend their disbelief," they could accept kids portraying Persian Princesses, Chinese Emperors, mythical Greek Muses, tiny Insects, or assorted Barnyard Animals whatever they looked like in real life.