A White Black Guy In Hairspray?- Page 3

[ozone20]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 11:09am

would casting put a black actor in a white role in hairspray? NO. ur interpretation of the "layer" and how accepting the black community seemed at that performance is all nice and fine. but casting like that is a one sided deal. make no mistake about it. and please. the blond braided wigs in AIDA? on man.. just distracting.


Updated On: 5/3/06 at 11:09 AM

[algy]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 11:18am

"fact is tho white looking african slaves is simply ridiculous and rather amature."

I might be completely barking up the wrong tree, but I *think* if the slaves in Aida (and I know nothing about the show, never seen it) had been all cast as black, there would have been outrage among the black community that black people played slaves with white people playing the rulers. I could be wrong. From where I stand it's a very difficult track, no matter what you do, someone is going to be unhappy.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 11:19am

What I find deeply disturbing is that someone actually calls the show "the 'spray".

And BD Wong played Amber. Doi!

When I saw the show, a hairy-backed Greek man played Guy With Radio. I asked for a refund. The show was totally ruined, so I started organizing a protest and an online petition.

[ozone20]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 11:21am

Black actors have been playin period roles forever on broadway. there would have been no outrage. if that were the case then the community would have outraged over the character AIDA who was a slave as well.. or the few blacks that were playing slaves in the enemble. thats not a justifiable reason for that casting at all. its just another expample of how its considered interchangable when it comes to black rolse. slaves were not white.
Updated On: 5/3/06 at 11:21 AM

[Fosse76]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 11:25am

Then explain the revival of Show Boat back in the 90's. When the show was first mounted in Toronto, there were protests by the black community. While the protests subsided after the show opened, the protests did happen. So it is unlikely there wouldn't have been any for Aida, though they might have been even more muted.

[musicnmath]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 11:37am

At the risk of stirring the pot...

Ozone, I get what what you're saying. But...given the plot of Hairspray, it just wouldn't make any sense for a black swing to sub for one of the "Nicest Kids in Town" white kids. The whole point of the show, and Tracy's mission, is that whites want to be homogenous and only once a month let any black kids near. It would be moot if a black kid was, in fact, in their ensemble. That's why Lil Inez didn't get an audition. For this particular show, it just wouldn't work.

[NJgirl]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 11:42am

Whoever asked if the show has deteriorated...it hasnt. It's actually gotten better than when I saw it last March.

Simple problem with that night is that the amount of swings to cover all the roles needed didn't happen. They have 2 females swings that are white (Michelle Kittrell and Gretchen Bieber), 2 male white swings (Jason Snow and Joe Abraham), and 1 male and 1 female african american swing (nicole powell and Abdul Latif..I think?) last time I checked my playbill. I'm guessing one or two of the swings were sick or had a scheduled personal day and couldn't go on as needed It was a case of not enough people to cover all the roles. And yes, a male is still understudying one of the Dynamites just in case...lol.

Like Akiva said...having the "white guy with the radio" actually probably worked with the story bc he's really only in the detention scene and the sock hop and it really doesn't matter what race you are in those scenes ("detention is a rainbow experience")...and not using him in the record shop scenes was probably the best way to handle the switch/absence. Shows that the swings are trained well to cover EVERY ensemble role imaginable if the circumstances arose.
Updated On: 5/3/06 at 11:42 AM

[jimnysf]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 11:42am

Sometimes, as in the case of the "Hairspray" storyline, it doesn't make sense for white actors to play black roles and vice versa. Please go back and study some history if you are not aware of the racial hatred and fear of other races that existed back then.

[NYC4Life]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 11:45am

For all you know the guy COULD have been black. Alot of black people look white. You just dont know. Read "The Human Stain". It is sad that people have not realized after all these years color really doesn't mean color. It means if you have any black blood in you, you are black. For years black people passed as white, read carol channings autobio, her father was black.

[ozone20]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 11:50am

um.. ALOT of black people look white????? woah.lol. i really dont even know where to start with that. just wow.



Updated On: 5/3/06 at 11:50 AM

[NYC4Life]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 11:56am

Well find a way b/c. I dont know what is wrong with what i said.

[ozone20]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 12:00pm

lol. there is SOO much wrong with what you said. but dont think you understand that. In this country of the United States Of America its about what you LOOK like not about what your blood percentage is. if you look white u are judged and treated with whata comes along with being WHITE in the USA. if you look BlACK you are BLACK and treated and judged accordingly. anyone who deosnt think there is a difference is foolishly mislead.
Nude colored pantyhose at your local store ...whose nude skin? white or black or a shade in between? tell u this much, they are not brown or any shade in between or close. so we know who they are designed FOR. simple example of how color is EVERYTHING in America.
but.. we've digressed.


Updated On: 5/3/06 at 12:00 PM

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 12:03pm

Y'all be so silly.

[fairygodmother]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 12:57pm

ozone, i've got a feeling that NYC4life was making a point that you seemed to have bulldozered over, too quick to take offence before thinking.
he she said "It is sad that people have not realized after all these years color really doesn't mean color. It means if you have any black blood in you, you are black". it might be a bit of a sweeping statement, but i understand what the point he's trying to make is. there are varying shades of colour, from easy sunburn irish to ebony, and its your frame of mind/heritage/upbringing that help to define how you feel about yourself. for instance, your argument about looks would mean that an albino african american would not be allowed to think of him or herself as black.
the problem is that by saying some of the things that you are, you are a. jumping on to any sentence that could be twisted and taking it as a full racist slight and b. just working to confirm negative attitudes.

also, if you look through a lot of the posts on this subject you'll see that you've continually repeated yourself despite people making points on all sides. you seem to keep emphasising he fact that there is double standards, that it would not work on both sides. i actually believe that no matter what, it should be both ways, but it should be in accordance with the subject matter of the piece.
eg. can't have a white othello becuase of the multiple racial elements and central themes.
however, where we start to get into grey areas is where the theme means it doesn't matter about colour, but its not realistic to period of the piece. i suppose if we stick to this too rigidly we would never have interesting and innoviative casting, but it can sometimes go too far one way or the other.

that was a long rant!

basically, lets get back to the theatrical issues!

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 1:37pm

um there were plenty of "white" looking slaves in eygpts history. Sometimes when I see "plants" or obvious attempts to be colorblind I cringe. Just because they have two black dancers does not make up for the lack of Asians, Latins, Indians and all the rest. It's not called the Great White Way for nothing.
Updated On: 5/3/06 at 01:37 PM

[.LittleWing. 0224]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 1:41pm

just to contribute to this discussion... when i went in for Hairspray the woman running the auditions made an announcement that "Hairspray is a show where you need to be either really really white, or really really black" and so anyone who appeared to be "mixed" or an ethnicity of asian decent wouldn't be right for this show.

Now, i was a bit offended even though I understand that becaues of the nature of the show, she wasn't wrong. HOWEVER, Shelly (the female ensemble member) has been played by girls who have been Jewish, Italian, Hispanic, etc...

and now i will leave the floor open for discussion...

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 1:46pm

sorry but Italian and Jewish in the US are white.

[.LittleWing. 0224]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 2:00pm

yes, i agree with you. however, they do look ethnic. No one can say that shoshana bean doesn't have an ethnic look. This woman was basically insinuating that you have to have caucasion features or african american features to be in the show.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 2:10pm

Well for Hairspray it is the heart of the show. I understand a show about racism does not work if you don't cast it accordingly. LOL isn't Degarmo "Degottago" as we called her -part Cuban? Anyways I think it is fine to cast shows based on appearence. The problem is that there are not enough diverse shows out there. The big problems are when you cast Natalie Wood as a Puerto Rican. It is just offensive. Using the word "ethnic" to describe everything but white is offensive,, but that is just the way white people talk.

Oh and I would love to see Elphaba played by a black woman or otherwise. I have always wished Fiyero wasnt white. That really burned me in the adaptation, I hated Norbert. yuck.

Updated On: 5/3/06 at 02:10 PM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 3:43pm

"It means if you have any black blood in you, you are black."

That's weird. Then how come I'm not all bright red?

[Drew7810]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 3:58pm

what a title for a thread!

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 4:09pm

I'm curious as to what songs/scenes were cut as a result of numerous people being out.

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 4:09pm

This is funny, but come on, guys, this happens in shows all the time.
An acquaintance of mine was "Asian pigtail girl" in Rent on tour. She understudied Mimi (which, given the cast, is about the only onstage understudy for Mimi you can have) but little did she know one day the show would have so many callouts and swings called in that she'd be performing the role of...

bag lady/Seasons soloist.

I'd like to posit THAT as a much odder choice of understudy than a white guy carrying around a radio.

[BroadwayChica]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 4:10pm

Sorry to jump in, but:

I'm not white. But I LOOK white. And no, the way you're treated doesn't exclusively have to do with how you look. I've had many experiences of people treating me one way, and then COMPLETELY changing when they learn I'm Puerto Rican. Because to them, I don't *look* the way Puerto Ricans *should* look.

It's never an issue with Latinos. Because we know we come in all shapes, sizes, and skin colors. But white people tend to have preconceptions about ethnicity, so they're surprised to see a blonde, blue eyed Puerto Rican. When they think I'm "white" they speak to me in one way, and upon hearing my accent, or learning where I'm from...they completely change. Whether it's overt racism, or not, it's still noticeable.

This is a generalization, of course. Just wanted to respond to the idea that racism is exclusively about skin color. Because no, it isn't.
Updated On: 5/3/06 at 04:10 PM

[.LittleWing. 0224]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 4:20pm

touche, BroadwayChica.

Same thing happens to my sister. She's a green-eyed, light brown-haired puerto rican girl. But you couldn't tell if she told you. Hell, even after she tells people they don't believe her right away. But boy, once they know... they know. its surprising, but i don't disagree with you. It's not universal, but it happens.