A Black Glinda?- Page 4

[JustChillin8908]

Posted: 5/20/06 at 2:12pm

I got bored so here you go JerseyGirl2.


Why the hell are we arguing over a statement made by X x Fiyero x X?

Please remember this is the same person who said that Elphaba "had the nerve" to pretend she was flying.

Updated On: 5/20/06 at 02:12 PM

[Unknown User]

Posted: 5/20/06 at 2:29pm

and theres always this topic...
Black Glinda

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 5/20/06 at 2:41pm

What in the world was Star Jones thinking!?!

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 5/20/06 at 3:46pm

Thanks Chillin'! Woot. *Doing my happy dance* You think she looks goofy? You should have seen the fake nose Meredith had on her face. The worst part was that the day they wore that Idina & JLT were on in full costume. They made the View gals look even sillier.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 5/20/06 at 5:23pm

in the original book WICKED, Galinda was a speciest....she was predjudiced against Dr. Dillamond.....she felt animals should "know their place"....

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 5/20/06 at 5:29pm

It's also somewhat implied in the musical.

[OddExoticCreature]

Posted: 5/20/06 at 6:34pm

This thread is amazing. AMAZING! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading it, partially because I am a masochist. I wish I was back in college so I could write a paper on this topic. No, not the color of potential Glinda's skin, but people's reaction to color-blind casting in theater. AMAZING.

"Unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe."
"Black!"

"Black people should stay out of theatre all together. By the way, I have sex with black men." -Just a little racist

I cannot stop laughing.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 1/7/08 at 11:55am

"What in the world was Star Jones thinking!?!"

I ask myself that same question EVERY FRICKING DAY!



"I'm not racist so don't call me that"
"I happen to be very attracted to black people so..."



Didn't Thomas Jefferson say the same thing?

Updated On: 1/7/08 at 11:55 AM

[candydog2]

Posted: 1/7/08 at 3:55pm

Yeah, it's an old thread, but an interesting one.

Should Glinda be cast as black? In my opinion she shouldn't. There have been black Morribles, Wizards and Fiyeros, but I just can't see a black Glinda working. Glinda is Blonde. It's part of who she is. It's a visual representation of her personality based on a stereotype.
Wicked is a show where the main focus should be the color of Elphie's skin. A black Glinda would take away that focus, and I believe that a black person shunning someone because of skin colour would just be too hypocrytical to be taken seriously as part of the story.

I appreciate that we would all like to play certain parts, but this is an industry based around looks. A lot of casting is based on having the right look. Rejection due to the way you look is something all actors of all races have to accept

[Pippin]

Posted: 1/7/08 at 5:41pm

"Wicked is a show where the main focus should be the color of Elphie's skin. A black Glinda would take away that focus, and I believe that a black person shunning someone because of skin colour would just be too hypocrytical to be taken seriously as part of the story."



what a horrible, horrible statement. Why would it take away from the focus. Elphaba is the only one with green skin. No body likes her because of it. It doesn't matter if you have a black, yellow, red, or white person as Galinda. It wouldn't take the focus off a Tall Green woman who belts into the stratosphere as she flies on a cherry picker.

I'm sure that to you, maybe it would take away the focus, but have you ever thought of how an African American audience member would percieve a black Galinda? It wouldn't make a difference to them. It's just your white upbringing that somehow would cast judgement on that one character being black.

[Pippin]

Posted: 1/7/08 at 5:42pm

And African Americans have gone blonde before. It's not like a black person can't have blonde hair. Welcome to 2008.

[Pippin]

Posted: 1/7/08 at 5:44pm

[Jon]

Posted: 1/7/08 at 5:44pm

I think a black gal with platinum blonde hair makes it extra funny.

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 1/7/08 at 5:52pm

They're all wigged anyway. It doesn't matter what race she is, or he natural hair color, slap a wig on her and she's blonde.

For heaven's sake!

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 1/7/08 at 6:30pm

"And African Americans have gone blonde before. It's not like a black person can't have blonde hair. Welcome to 2008."

Anyone remember Motor Mouth Mabel from Hairspray?


I say let's cast Fantasia! Then it would give something for Dream On and PeaceOne to gush all over.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/7/08 at 6:50pm

One of the best parts about Wicked is the "alternate universe." What is perceived as normal or acceptable there doesn't always parallel our own world's beliefs or prejudices.

In face, it helps call our own perceptions of what is "normal" into question. I see no reason why that shouldn't be taken one step further.

Their monkeys don't look like our monkeys, wings or no wings. The designer did that on purpose. Also, you have some Shiz male students wearing skirts and other "hybrid" rule-breaking fashions. Not "normal" or "trendy" in our world.

Their vocabulary isn't quite the same as ours either. It's English, but with some "new" words thrown in here and there to give it a "through the looking glass" feel.

That's why I think a black Glinda would be just fine in that world, and actually a good casting idea... even if some not-too-broadminded audience members have issues with it. It would force them to think about how they can negatively view this Glinda AND root for the "green girl" all at the same time.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/7/08 at 7:31pm

I'm bored with people who freak out over color-blind casting, and I'm tired of having the same arguments over and over again.

It's 2008. Get over it.

The color of the actor's skin NO LONGER matters. Even in Othello.

There--I've said it.

Get used to it.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 1/7/08 at 7:35pm

What about all of the 'colored folk' in Hairspray?

There ARE times when it's not right.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/7/08 at 7:39pm

Sorry your "over it," PJ.

Unfortunately, the issue is not that simple or easy to drop in the "done" bin.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/7/08 at 7:47pm

Eh. The people who are still objecting to color-blind casting will be dead soon anyway. They've had too long to object already. Let's get started NOW.

I don't care if it bothers them until they die. There are bigger things to be upset about than whether Alec Mapa and B.D Wong would be "too Asian" for The Odd Couple.

Me? I can't WAIT to see James Earl Jones as Big Daddy.

I say F*CK anyone who has a problem with it.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 1/7/08 at 7:51pm

Can I watch?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/7/08 at 7:53pm

I want to watch Alec Mapa and BD in The Odd Couple...unfortunately they're both Felixes.

Updated On: 1/7/08 at 07:53 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/7/08 at 7:54pm

"Eh. The people who are still objecting to color-blind casting will be dead soon anyway."

I have to ask... and I don't mean to be snarky with this... but what world are you living in?

I know you're optimistic, but sadly not remotely realistic here.

I wish it could be waved away so easily and confidently and "positively," but truth is... it hasn't been. We are reminded of that all the time.

...and not by the "older generations."

Updated On: 1/7/08 at 07:54 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/7/08 at 8:07pm

The point is to just keep doing it and wear down the objections.

On the same idea, openly gay actors can and should play heterosexual romantic leads, starting with Cheyenne Jackson and John Barrowman and moving forward over the objections of all who say the female audience will be turned off.

Let's just plow forward and DO IT.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/7/08 at 8:09pm

"Let's just plow forward and DO IT."

I love it when you talk dirty!

Seriously... you're so Tracy Turnblad. It's cute.