Aida - amateur casting

[AngusN]

Posted: 7/5/11 at 1:26pm

So, Aida (the Elton John musical) has recently been released to amateur theatres in the UK. Unfortunately, in out area, there are not enough people of different ethnicities involved in amateur groups to depict the difference between the characters involved in the show? However, this hasn't been an issue with Fiddler, The King and I, Rent etc. So, it shouldn't be an issue with this show, right? I mean, it is still popular for white people to play the roles in the opera, Aida.
I was wondering how other amateur groups have dealt with this problem???

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/5/11 at 1:55pm

Look on You Tube. You'll see high school productions with Aidas of every ethnicity.

[Barcelona]

Posted: 7/5/11 at 1:56pm

I saw an amateur production once where a white Aida got a really crazy spray tan in order to try to seem more...African American.

I don't think that's really the way to go though

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/5/11 at 2:02pm

I saw one clip where Aida & Amneris were both blond and Radames was mixed race or Hispanic or very swarthy. In any case, it was confusing.

[random person 112]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 5:09pm

No it's not a problem to not have a black aida, ninty percent of high schools who perform the show don't it's nice subtext if you do have a black aida but it's hardly anything to spend too much time being concerned about i would be more concerned with finding a good contralto or mezzo for the lead.

[trentsketch]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 7:46pm

When I music directed Aida for a high school, we had a predominantly white cast, include the ubiquitous white Aida. The director created the class distinction through costuming and hair and I hustled to make sure the students were doing everything they could to sell the gospel numbers in a non-laughable way. I think they were pretty darn successful. Would it be nice to have a more diverse cast? Absolutely. But it's not essential to tell the story.