I've always thought that since the story is so based in sexuality, that it renders gender/sex swapped casting inappropriate, like how color-blind casting is inappropriate for racially charged stories.
I guess I assumed she'd be playing Frank as dude, though, making only the gender of the actor, not the character, different.
But I still really don't understand what this is going to be - a straightforward presentation of the play (or more likely, the movie), an update, and reimagining or what - so who knows?
"Don't get strung out by the way I look." Like ... a beautiful woman? This casting is dumb, but then, nothing about this production is not dumb to me, starting with its existence.
Nothing against Laverne Cox, but I'm disappointed that she's been cast in this role. Would you cast a male actor to play Maria in a remake of The Sound of Music? Frank is a transvestite (from Transsexual Transylvania). What's so outrageous about seeing Laverne Cox in a corset and fishnet stockings? Unless they're going to re-imagine it and make Frank a woman who dresses in men's clothes, the casting is all wrong. I'm a traditionalist. IMO, Frank should be played by a man. I still think Adam Lambert would have been a great choice.
I just can't see it working - Laverne Cox is a woman and I don't think Frank can be played effectively by a woman. I saw Sweet Transvestite performed by a woman (who does look masculine enough that she previously stepped in as a last minute replacement in a drag queen show!) and while it was a great performance, particular as she had a sexy female ensemble, including a female Rocky on a leash, it still lacked a LOT of the shock, humour, etc. that you experience seeing what is clearly a man in a corset, fishnets and outrageous makeup.
Craig McLachlan was a fantastic Frank in Australia, but unfortunately his name won't carry the same weight in the States as it does here or in the UK.
I hope people on this board won't hyperventilate in anger about this casting, because a transgender plays a man, while she has fought so hard for acceptance in real life.
Bless her, a real actress who gets over herself and can play anything. The beginning of a changing world.
I'm trying to have hope - I mean it is Kenny Ortega directing, and he knows his way around casting and making stars. But i hate that I wonder if he or Fox cast her for her story and the goodwill she carries with her.
"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008
Dave19 said: "Was she really better at the casting than everyone else?"
How do you know she beat other people and wasn't just their choice from the beginning? Also, there were rumors of her going into Hedwig a few months ago because she was taking lessons with a vocal coach, so...