white Broadway- Page 2

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 11:46am

bare_nakedlady, what the hell does demographics have to do with casting? Are you saying that because there aren't black people in the audience, there shouldn't be black people in white roles?! Are you serious?! I'm sorry but that's a little (or a lot) rediculous. And people should stop using Color Purple as an example. It's a movie a VERY famous movie from 20 years ago that people loved. It's being produced by one of the most powerful Black names in the world really. White people weren't going to Caroline or Change hence the 5 month run. THey're 2 beasts. You saw a lot of black people in the color purple because a lot of black people love that movie and know who oprah is.

Actually you example should be turned around. Why aren't there black people in the audience? Maybe they're not seeing themselves in the characters. Why do they go to the color purple or raisin in the sun? Because they understand those people. Billy Porter said himself that he didn't identify with anyone on stage generally until he saw Jennifer Holiday in Dreamgirls. Suddenly he got that and saw a bit of himself in that.

Misto, you'll have to explain your Mary Poppins comment. How would a black Mary Poppins change a view of the interaction with children? I think what would effect it is people's preconcieved notion of who Mary Poppins is. They're looking for Julie Andrews. Personally it shouldn't be Julie Andrews...otherwise don't come to the theatre, watch the film. Updated On: 2/23/06 at 11:46 AM

[misto625]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 11:50am

Actually I don't recall seeing a lot of black audience members at Raisin in the Sun either. More than usual, but less than half the audience.

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 11:51am

Ummm then you went on the wrong day. There were LOTS of black people there. Basically for Puffy. That's what Kenny Leon has said. It was true when I went.

[bare_nakedlady]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 11:58am

All I'm trying to say is that "giving them what they want and they'll come doesn't always work!" If you're theory is correct they should have come in droves to see On Golden Pond, Gem of the Ocean, Raisin in the sun, and Caroline or change. They Didn't. I'm not saying because your audience isn't black that there shouldn't be minority characters. But I am saying that a lot of shows when the cast is primarily 'minority' flop. What about the capeman?? Producers are going to quit producing these works as magnificent as they are if the audiences stop coming. The only reason Color Purple made it was because of Oprah (marketing wise). If oprah tells you to wear flannel you do it! I'm not saying broadway is racist I'm saying producers have one thing on their mind. Making money. And they will do anything they can to get it. I wish I could've seen Robert Guillaume playing the Phantom I hear he was magnificent. But if the audience rebels the producers do what they need to do in order to save the show.

Updated On: 2/23/06 at 11:58 AM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 11:58am

Aside from everything else, can we please clear up the fact that Oprah Winfrey is NOT the lead producer of COLOR PURPLE. She came along very very late in the game (previews on Broadway were just about to start), her contribution was $1 million (giving her a small minority interest) and she (obviously) helps with marketing. While her promotional efforts have resulted in the show being associated with her, she had nothing whatsover to do with what's on stage at the Broadway and her only role has been to encourage her large fan base to go see the show.

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 12:05pm

But Margo that's even better. I'm sure most of us are aware of the level of Oprah's involvement. But she lent way more than her money, Her name, which is worth more. IT's plastered all over the Billboards and Marquee. I think that's the producers' doing actually.

[misto625]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 12:08pm

What I meant is if Mary Poppins is black, it wouldn't be as much "Look at the fantastic flying nanny" and more of "Look they hired a black servant to watch over the children."

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 12:09pm

Just to give another point of view here on a related topic, I think any discussion of this issue has to take into consideration in some way the percentage of the total population of the country which is minority, or, as seems to be the main focus of this discussion, which is black. I'm not sure that there's ever been a study done as to what percentage of the actors on Broadway at any given time are visibile minorities but it would be interesting to know how that reflected the numbers in the population of the country as a whole.

On a related note, as a theatre student, I can say that the number of visible minorities studying theatre is very small, and I would be very surprised if their numbers even came close to the numbers in the total population in the country. Now, of course, I guess we have to wonder if this is a chicken/egg which came first type of story, but I don't honestly think that it is entirely. Interesting discussion.

Lastly, keep in mind that this is an article written by a college sophomore. Updated On: 2/23/06 at 12:09 PM

[Kitzarina]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 12:10pm

Am I the only one who doesn't care as long as the person's talent is well suited for the role?

[keatonbynumbers]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 12:16pm

erinrebecca, conversely, at my school the amount of minorities--even just black minorities--studying theatre is very large. I think for certain years, the acting conservatory here has more black kids than white kids (I'm pretty sure the recent production of Chekhov's "The Seagull" here had a cast that was about 75% black, which was the senior class I think).

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 12:21pm

i think you're missing the biggger picture here, any show featuring a flying african american character will inevitably be linked to minister farrakhan's fruit of islam.

[TimeSuckage]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 12:45pm

I love how colorblind casting only goes one way - towards the minorities. When actors of color want to be part of non traditional casting they start the "best person for the job!" rallying cry. But when Jonathan Pryce played the Engineer, he wasn't entitled to be included under the "best person for the job" umbrella. It's so hypocritical.

And props to anyone who mentioned that casting decisions come down to money, and they always will cause producers are in this game to make money. Lea Salonga got dropped into Eponine because she was a marketable name and because she could sing the hell out of it, not because she was Asian. And that's true color blind casting - seeing everything else the actor brings to the table and not the color of their skin.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 12:47pm

I don't understand the comment that someone said about how minorities aren't coming to the theater because they don't see themselves in the characters? I love Caroline or Change, but do i physically see myself in any of the characters? No. But I can see myself in the actions they make and the situations they are put in. Do I see myself in Color Purple? Yes. I think we've all been put in similar situations. No, they are not identical situations, but theater requires some disbelief. I think for the most part Elphaba has always been the "minority" role because of the way she sings. Her songs have a lot of riffing and wailing, whereas Glinda is more operetic (sp?). I think the whole character of Glinda is intended to be the ditzy white girl. Though the character is not a race driven character, I think it sort of is. Though I do agree that more diverse casting could be good for Broadway, I don't think it should be forced. I don't think we should just put a Mexican in the lead role of Mamma Mia because it hasn't been done yet. I think talent should be taken into consideration. Also, some shows are race driven. (I.E. Color Purple) just like some shows are white race driven. I don't think you could really do Grapes of Wrath on stage with a family of black people because I think it would change the entire dynamic of the show.

[MimiJudith]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 1:05pm

How about the old-fashioned notion of hiring someone because they have talent?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 1:14pm

Lilias White has talent! She can play Glinda!

[singingsweetee82]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 2:07pm

I'm not saying that casting should be completely colorblind in every instance. Just as much as it would be ridiculous for a white woman to play Celie in the Color Purple, it would be equally ridiculous for a black woman to play Nellie in South Pacific. These plays deal directly with racism, and therefore it wouldn't make any sense for a person of any other race to star in them.
However, when you have a show where race is not a theme there is no reason why race should have any bearing on casting. The reason why, imo, one might be under the (false) impression that colorblind casting only goes one way is because there are very few plays in which a character is a minority for no specific reason. If a character is supposed to be black or asian or latino, it is usually because that is important to the plot or theme and therefore the actor should be played by someone of that race. There are many instances when the fact that a character is white is important, but there are just as many, if not more, when it is not. If a character's race is not mentioned, he is assumed to be white. That assumption is the root of this problem.

Also, I just want to say that citing three examples of shows in which minorities are playing roles originally written as white is not enough to convince me that this trend does not exist. Yes, there are instances of colorblind casting on Broadway. Yes, Broadway is doing a better job than many other media. But does that change the fact that a problem still exists? Absolutely not.

[peggyandvelma]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 2:32pm

Overall, I think talent wins. Also, do we have any specific examples of people being told "No, you can't have this role because you aren't white?" If so, I'd like to know what they are. Just to say, "Oh, it happens" isn't good enough. Yeah, we know it happens--but to whom?
EDIT: That (^) sounds a little mean. I feel bad that there ARE people who get turned down because they aren't a certain race. I really do. It's just that people seem to generalize too much and not be specific.

Updated On: 2/23/06 at 02:32 PM

[ruprecht]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 2:34pm

I can't believe that anyone is giving any creedence to the original writer of the piece. He writes worse than most of the posters on this board. Is there some truth to what he's saying, sure, like with anything else but he sounds like a blogger on a rant, not a "writer" with a credible point.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 2:44pm

I disagree with this article. There are many non-whites working on Broadway.

I think the author also overlooks organizations like the Public Theater that have brought many non-traditional shows to Broadway: "Caroline or Change" "Take Me Out" "Topdog/Underdog" "Golden Child" "Bring in da Noise" "Twilight Los Angeles"

I also think it's ridiculous that he says more shows should be set after 1970's so that racial mix wouldn't seem so strange. I don't think we should dictate to authors what they should be writing. Shows like Dessa Rose have shown inter-racial relationships with no problem.

[BreeDaniel]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 2:49pm

He reads like a moron trying to get some play and unfortunately, he now has.

[uncageg]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 3:01pm

I e-mailed the person who wrote this article, Tom Sansani, and corrected him on the Oprah thing. I also suggested he find this thread and read it.

[broadwaybelter]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 3:16pm

Yea I completely disagree with this article though the author does make some good points. Everyone on this thread has very strong views about this topic, and the number of minorities on Broadway is scarce. Some of it is casting related because a role is created by a certain performer who may or may not be white, asian, black (Though the script does not directly indicate it) it will usually be cast based directly on the first performer (this isn't the case a majority of the time, but I've noticed a pattern in certain shows) . Sara Ramirez mentioned something like this when she was at Seth's Chatterbox--how she was "denied" roles because "you cant play the lead because that has to be a white girl and you can't play the best friend because we cast her and she's black". Though when minorities are given the oppurtunity to shine it leaves the door open for others to get a chance on the stage, something similar to what Ramona Keller was saying. "There's not a lot of us, but for those of us who made it; It opens doors for others" (something like that).

[OOTI2004]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 3:49pm

I disagree. I sort of understand what the writer is saying, but I don't agree. He uses shows like Phantom of the Opera. First of all hasn't there been a black phantom, and second of all a black Christine would not make sense when you look at the time period and the role, I highly doubt there would be a black opera singer in France in the 1700's. Many roles are like this, it is very unfortunate but I think that in many cases it needs to be that way to make it believable.

This is sort of off topic, but it has always bothered me. I'vwe heard people say that Dreamgirls cannot have white people in it and I don't understand. I don't think this show has any specified races and if a person can play the party can't he or she get it. I think that with this time period a person of any race could play these parts.

[broadwaybelter]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 3:54pm

omg! there was a production with a white effie!! it was strange!

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 4:07pm

How is the plot of Rent founded on race? Race is never commented on in the show, despite the diversity of the cast, but this guy makes it seem like it's in the same category as The Color Purple.