What do you think of an All-Black version of "Les Miserables"- Page 3

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 7/20/11 at 11:24am

whoops, double post.

Updated On: 7/20/11 at 11:24 AM

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 7/20/11 at 11:26am

I think I'd prefer a magician.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 7/20/11 at 11:28am

Or a ventriloquist?

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 7/20/11 at 11:29am

Hypnotist!

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 7/20/11 at 11:31am

They can hypnotize you into thinking they're another color.

[sbflyfan]

Posted: 7/20/11 at 12:56pm

I'll only be happy when they stop casting green actresses for Elphaba.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 7/20/11 at 1:03pm

Ugh, you're P.C. crap has gotten out of control. A black Valjean and Javert? No, no, even better -- a black Courfeyrac?! LOL Yeah, okay. Show me a black person in France in the 19th century, and then maybe we'll talk. There's such a thing as historical accuracy, people. Your all just too P.C.

[Rabekriegerin]

Posted: 7/20/11 at 1:17pm

If everyone is qualified to fulfill their roles... why not?

Now, if we were talking about casting Memphis (for example), that would be a different story. Literally, a different story, because questions of race and racism are central to the book. The book is not colorblind; making the casting colorblind would only work to undermine the coherence of the piece.

I remember a particularly superb piece, JCS in Nyack in 1998, where Jesus and all the disciples were people of color - save Judas (and Mary). The ruling elite, on the other hand, were white. Hardly colorblind casting, though JCS ostensibly offers a colorblind book.

However the theme of the production was centered on South Africa & Apartheid, and race was used very well to draw out a whole new set of comparisons and interpretations of the classic story.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 7/20/11 at 4:59pm

I'm really looking forward to the all "Tourettes Syndrome" Les Miserables. The all stuttering version was just too damn long.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 7/20/11 at 8:25pm

>> "Sean, wouldn't an all-gay production of Show Boat get confusing with the character of Gay in the show, or was that what you were going for?"

No, I wanna hear Ol Man River done to a 120 bpm techno beat.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 7/20/11 at 8:51pm

>> "The book is not colorblind"

But one could make the same argument about Les Miz: it takes place in a specific time to specific people, and as far as I know, there werent that many black citoyens in France during the revolution. Some perhaps, but I doubt those were the ones Hugo was writing about.

And yet we'll see that as a "universal experience", when COLOR PURPLE somehow isnt? Yes, it's a show about race and racism, but wouldn the very act of colour-blind casting underscore that concept?

Seriously, I've never quite understood the argument presented here. An all-black DOLLY is okay, an all-black GUYS AND DOLLS is okay, but an all-anything-but-black FENCES wouldnt be? Are the songs in AINT MISBEHAVIN' so un-universal that one couldnt fathom the idea of colour-blind casting that puppy?

When I taught theatre design at a small college down this way, one of the professors caused a mild uproar when he told one of his acting students, a black girl, that she could of course prepare her graduation monologue as Blanche in STREETCAR "but you should ever plan on being cast in it". Frankly, I dont know why not: STREETCAR isnt exactly a white-only show. In fact, I think a black version of it would be fascinating as well as insightful. And yet I see the same kind of "hands off" attitude when I look at something like COLOR PURPLE and think, Y'know, you *could* cast a white or Asian actress in some of those roles, and the story would still work. So what's the real issue here?

[ChiChi]

Posted: 7/20/11 at 9:00pm

Look at Whoopi in Forum. She played a role usually played by a white male. Everyone seemed pretty impressed with such casting at the time.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 7/20/11 at 9:19pm

I think that eight-year-old version of Les Mis deserves its own thread. Oh my God.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/20/11 at 9:23pm

ChiChi, FORUM isn't a historically accurate piece of theater so really you can stick anyone (talented, preferably) in that role and they would be great. I'd actually love to see Sherie do it one day.

[ChiChi]

Posted: 7/20/11 at 9:28pm

Maybe, but my point is that every news report I saw on it was highlighting both the gender and racial casting. It wasn't point for arguing.

[yeah]

Posted: 7/20/11 at 10:41pm

"Color blind casting" reminds me of racism in that when people think of racism they only think of the white man hating on the black man. Some people don't realize, or accept, that it works both ways.

[ChiChi]

Posted: 7/20/11 at 10:46pm

Racism DEFINITELY works both ways, but I don't necessarily feel that "Color Blind" casting falls under the same weight as alot of other racism. I'll be honest, when I saw a white Fantine and then a black cosette later, it confused me a little. I felt ashamed of myself, but it did. And like I've said, if we were to reverse the process and give certain roles in predominately black musicals to white people, I think we'd have a big problem accepting it.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 7/21/11 at 12:11am

That'd be a really tough sell, ChiChi. I doubt any producer would go down that road.

The thing I always wondered about with the Whoopi casting in FORUM is how they handled the scene immediately before HOUSE OF MARCUS LYCUS (and, for that matter, a scene during the song as well as the finale ultimo), in which Pseudolus says he's interested in making a purchase -- and promptly falls for Gymnasia.

As noted, the whole show is a great big vaudeville, so you could really put just about anyone into anything, and it would work. But that one little thing... LOL

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 7/21/11 at 12:30am

Can Mo'Nique sing? She'd make an interesting Madame Thenardier.

[MarkieSunshine]

Posted: 7/21/11 at 1:18am

I personally don't see race as an issue unless it's mentioned in the script or an actor is portraying what is meant to be a factual account of a real person. If neither of those things exist, then purposefully casting all-one-of-any-race just seems like tedious pandering. As far as historical accuracy goes, for the show Les Miz,I feel that shouldn't be an issue in a musical set in 19th-century France were everyone is singing 2 1/2 hours of POP ballads which are different from the Romantic works created during that time. To continue the "all BLANK of BLANK": An all-people-with-physical-disabilities-and-no-dance-training production of Fosse. (Just in case anyone gets mad, I'm in a wheelchair and have cerebral palsy.)

Updated On: 7/21/11 at 01:18 AM

[ChiChi]

Posted: 7/21/11 at 2:22am

I remember when the understudy for Joe in Sunset Boulevard was black. My friend thought it was funny because of the lyric about a black friend in a restaurant.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 7/24/11 at 9:57am

"okay. Show me a black person in France in the 19th century,"

Not that the reality aspect need enter into it, this being theater after all, Themyst, but the fact is, that even in historical terms, you're wrong.

19th century France was a great colonial power and had, as it does now, a great many black citizens and residents.

Victor Hugo's great colleague, Alexandre Dumas had a black grandmother, and Dumas didn't exactly look like your average white French guy. (BTW another great 19th century European writer, Alexander Pushkin was also a quarter black - yes, even in 18th century Russia there were some black people.)

But, as I said, this is merely to show that your historical ethnodemographic expectations are . Even if there were no 19th century French black people, the question here is about casting the right person for the role, not about the performer's race, and also not about political correctness.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/24/11 at 1:31pm

I appreciate TheatreDiva, Jordan yeah et al and the deep pain they've experience for being white in America, espcially yeah. He's right - how dare a show like "The Color Purple" not have any white characters in it. That IS weird. Shows with a monochromatic cast are only acceptable when that monochrome is white! As the anti-color-blind casting contingent states - we really risk winding up with black people being cast in roles they don't deserve, especially at the expense of white people, who deserve everything!

Remember, historical accuracy is only an issue when it comes to race, y'all (but only when the race that perceives a slight is white!).

[yeah]

Posted: 7/24/11 at 1:33pm

Oh, please...

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/24/11 at 1:34pm

What? I'm agreeing with you. It's so weird that that show was written without any white characters. So so weird.

White people are the real victims of racism! This must stop! Updated On: 7/24/11 at 01:34 PM