Audra McDonald in Light in the Piazza- Page 3

[children&art]

Posted: 3/1/06 at 3:47pm

is that like "ashy"? i knew i was right, i knew there was verbage in the show to back it up, not just my prejudiced point of view.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 3/1/06 at 3:50pm

You're just racist.

[children&art]

Posted: 3/1/06 at 3:52pm

thanks so now on this board i've been labelled:
1) weird
2) an inept teacher
3) immature
4) sex-starved
5) and now racist! whoopie!

[children&art]

Posted: 3/1/06 at 4:56pm

dudes, im not a racist

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 3/1/06 at 4:58pm

Adam Guettel wrote the lyrics, not Craig Lucas. And I think if there was a concert staging of Piazza or even just an operatic production vs. a Broadway production, Audra would make an absolutely amazing Margaret. I really, really want to hear her sing Fable.

I honestly don't think it would matter or detract OR distract even one little bit, especially since we have had one non-anachronistic staging.

My, my, how many aneurisms in a row would you have if the mother was black and the child was white? It's so anachronistic!

[Ourtime992]

Posted: 3/1/06 at 5:33pm

thank you, Roninjoey, for clarifying that Guettel wrote his own lyrics.

[ze emcee]

Posted: 3/1/06 at 5:59pm

How old is she? Isn't she ancient??

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 3/1/06 at 6:00pm

No prob. Audra? Audra's barely in her 30s. Hardly ancient. Do you know what she looks like?

[Scottie310]

Posted: 3/1/06 at 6:05pm

I feel like no matter what you say, anytime you bring up non-traditional or color-blind casting it just causes HUGE uproar and people just end up fighting over it no matter what. Even though it was wierd sometimes, I think color-blind casting really doesnt make a difference. Obviously in something like Raisin in the Sun or like Ragtime, shows that are specifically about race, then it doesnt really work that well. But look at Les Mis. They played around with so many different races such as having a black little eponine's and a white older eponine, and if you care about the story itself, you wont even notice.

I may just be saying this because I really really want to hear Audra sing the Piazza score, but I feel like you would barely notice. Although it maybe unlikely to have a black mother and daughter in Italy in the 1950s, the show itself is not about race. Social class, yes. But there is not one reference to race problems or anything like that. The only line that I can think of (I may be missing something, in which case I will take that back) that mentions that Clara and Margaret are white is the "Your milk" line. Its such a miniscule part of the show, and in the overall picture, I don't think it would matter. I don't think anyone can honestly say that Audra would not sing the hell out of those songs and make everyone cry, just like Victoria Clark has been doing for a year now.

To me the show is about love, and the various forms of love. Whether its between a mother and daughter, a broken marriage, or two young starcrossed lovers.

[kissmycookie]

Posted: 3/1/06 at 6:21pm

Perfectly stated, Scottie.

[gustof777]

Posted: 3/1/06 at 6:27pm

Exactly Scottie....the show is about a family that is visiting Italy in the 1950's and the daughter falls in love....the show is not about race at all and there fore i don't think that colorblind casting is out of line at all. I think that Audra is a little old to play the role but she could pull it off i think...it just requires us to use our imagination...it's not hard.

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 3/1/06 at 6:36pm

Well put, Scottie. In fact, the show isn't about social class either. Social class is incidental to the story. And not even an issue in terms of color blind casting.

I think Audra would make a poor Clara as she is a very smart and very forceful actress. I wouldn't buy it. I think she'd make a stunning Margaret though, and those are the songs I want to hear her sing anyway.

[Scottie310]

Posted: 3/1/06 at 9:53pm

Oh I don't think she would be good as Clara. Yes she would of course sound incredible, but she is a little too old. In a few years she would make a breathtaking Margaret though.

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 3/2/06 at 2:18am

Ok some people on this board are really something. You're saying the Johnsons can't be black because of a freakin phrase?! Gimme a break, Adam could change the lyric, it's not integral. I think it would put an interesting commentary on society in the 1950's. The play sorta naturally does it already, just not with race (with woman's roles). If they had an Italian family falling for this Black girl, it'd really make a comment on the state of the country. From reading this board things haven't changed much. I think people would get just another layer out of the piece. Isn't that the point of revivals? I mean it'd be very political. A woman defying her husband, letting her daughter marry an italian man in 1950's?! That makes Margret's choice even bolder. I don't see the big issue.



ps Since When is 35 ancient?! Updated On: 3/2/06 at 02:18 AM

[soulman83]

Posted: 3/2/06 at 2:20am

The Carnegie Hall Performance on NPR is AMAZING!!! Its under Creators at CARnegie. AMAZING!!!

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 3/2/06 at 2:38am

It is one of the most breathtaking performances I've ever heard.

Jazzysuite, I think most of us are pro the color blind casting. *squeak*

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 3/2/06 at 2:41am

I know. Hence the word some. Althought I think most people here say they're all for it, but aren't totally...only in 'selected circumstances'.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 3/2/06 at 2:42am

It would change the entire dynamic of the show. Plain and clear.

I'm all for color-blind casting - when it's appropriate, like with the following shows:

Peter Pan
Carousel
State Fair
A Funny thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
42nd Street
Blood Brothers
Cats
Follies
Into the Woods
Kiss Me, Kate
Les Miserables
Song and Dance
Titanic (other than the real people)
Company
City of Angels
Chicago
Steel Pier
The Secret Garden (to an extent)



It is NOT acceptable in shows like:
South Pacific
The King and I
The Sound of Music
Flower Drum Song
Aida
Big River
Bye Bye Birdie (to an extent)
Cabaret
A Chorus Line
Evita (to an extent)
Pacific Overtures
Caroline, or Change
THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA

[Plum]

Posted: 3/2/06 at 3:11am

The phrase about "skin like milk", or however it goes, is hardly proof positive that Clara should always be white. They changed the line in Oklahoma's "Lonely Room" from "golden hair" to "tangled hair" when a brunette Laurie was cast, didn't they?

There may be other reasons why a non-white Clara shouldn't be cast, but that line is hardly the be-all and say-all in the matter.

And Audra McDonald is completely the wrong age for Clara, anyway. If you want to hear her sing her songs, hope she does them in concert. It's not a reason to impose her on a role that's completely wrong for her.
Updated On: 3/2/06 at 03:11 AM

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 3/2/06 at 3:24am

Munk I still have yet to hear WHY. There's no good reason. By your accounts ONce on this Island should only be a black show. It's not, the authors changed lyrics to make it work. Secondly Pacific Overtures is done all the time with a mixed cast. That show can be about soo much. I've done it professionally. It became an ensemble of actors telling this story about Japan. I mean all the men played women in the original. That's hardly a show to argue about race. Thirdly a lot of the shows you've mentioned deal directly with race and how it effects people's life. There's nothing racially charged in Piazza. Sorry they're southern that's the extent of it. Fourth, a lot of the shows you have mentioned would absolutely work interracially. Bye Bye Birdie and Cabaret?! Why can't there be interracial casting there. You've got every manner of person in Cabaret. I've seen black Kit kat girls and even an Emcee. Why doesn't that work?! Because it's Germany in the 1940's. Ya know there were actually black people there. I know it's hard to believe.


Similarly some of the shows you say it will work for (Carousel, Les Miz, City of Angels) are made in specific time periods. I don't see where those shows it works and Piazza it doesn't.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 3/2/06 at 3:58am

This thread reminds me, I should watch Annie when I get back home!

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 3/2/06 at 5:16am

What about Rue Mc Lanahan as Clara?

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 3/2/06 at 8:53am

Has anyone thought about the racial tensions of the time period that the play is set in? Inter-racial relationships were not nearly as accepted then as they are now. I'm just sayin.

[Scottie310]

Posted: 3/2/06 at 9:00am

I feel like having an inter-racial relationship in the time period would almost prove the point of the story more. It would be another reason for Margaret to not want Clara and Fabrizio together. It would also show how naive Clara is to societal standards, and prove that all she sees is inner beauty and true love. I don't think that that would change the idea of the show, just make the points come across stronger
Updated On: 3/2/06 at 09:00 AM