Bette Midler Confirms Broadway Return in HELLO DOLLY- Page 30

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 10/18/16 at 8:58pm

Oof. Fundamental misreading on your part there, neon.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 10/18/16 at 10:36pm

How?

"Or, maybe, like, we can appreciate talent and stop calling everything racist?"

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 10/18/16 at 10:40pm

somechrysanthemumtea said: "White casts and actors have been so dominant in the past, so I'm not expecting those people to naturally color blind cast. I'm just expecting them to make more, bigger strides in not casting all white casts, so the cycle doesn't get repeated again and again. It's sad to see that after such a banner season of diversity and inclusivity, the creative team of Hello Dolly decided to take a step backwards."

I wasn't surprised with Hello Dolly given how She Loves Me turned out. Which I enjoyed a great deal during those 2.5 hours when I decided to see it as existing in a vacuum, but whose diversity was disappointing.

[somechrysanthemumtea]

Posted: 10/18/16 at 10:44pm

I wasn't surprised with Hello Dolly given how She Loves Me turned out. Which I enjoyed a great deal during those 2.5 hours when I decided to see it as existing in a vacuum, but whose diversity was disappointing.

"

Yup, She Loves Me was so white washed it was pretty unbelievable. I'm glad to see Roundabout did employ color blind casting in their production of The Cherry Orchard - and I hope that's an indicator of future color blind casting for them! 

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 10/18/16 at 10:46pm

I really just wish some of us could openly say "well, this is disappointing" without it being perceived that we dislike the individual white people in the cast...

AND I wish we wouldn't be met with the usual "well then which white person would you remove," "but there is one black person, aren't you happy," "but maybe it's a meritocracy (and I conveniently ignore or forget all the other steps which make the industry more advantageous for white performers)," "you have The Lion King; what more do you want?" garbage.

Please just think about us not as finger-shakers or people who are never happy, but who want to be outspoken about diversity without being thought of as wet blankets or people who pooh-pooh the arts.

Updated On: 10/18/16 at 10:46 PM

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 3:46am

I wonder why no one has talked about the Asian stereotype in Holiday Inn, which is almost as atrocious as the Oscar farce. The former is an example of the differential inclusion in the United States, while the latter goes to show that shared oppression is probably partly because of the shared complicity.

Updated On: 10/19/16 at 03:46 AM

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 3:51am

brian1973 said: "So one of those roles should be played by a black performer just for the sake of it?

 

"

It's appalling that you think diversity only means black and white. No wonder they came up with the phrase.

[Valentina3]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 12:06pm

Okay, the word "racist" is less of a qualifier and more often a conversation stopper. Let's get that out of the way. Concierge - I don't think anyone called production team blatantly racist. And if they did, they are wrong. I am not going call producers and/or casting directors "racist" because of this. I will, however, call them oblivious to the social impact of having a more diverse cast vs having a primarily white cast when the story specifically does not demand it in the remotest way.

Also, the line of argument saying "maybe white actors who auditioned were simply more talented than their colored colleagues" is inherently (and unfortunately) implying that white people are more talented than colored people. I know it's a causation vs correlation argument, but I refuse to believe that there's not even one non-white actor who was interested in the role who is more or equally talented than someone who was eventually cast. It leads to the obvious (and demonstrably true) statement that scales are tipped in the favor of white performers, whether you want to admit it or not.

I'll also second EVERYTHING Lizzie said above.

[BWAY Baby2]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 12:26pm

Many of the people who cry racist- are indeed the most racist people themselves- always color counting and looking, looking looking for an opportunity to criticize and make an issue of color and race- no matter how tenuous the connection. Let's just ignore it- there is plenty of diversity on the Broadway stage- and that is that. An all-white Dolly cast is fine with me- and if it is more diverse, fine by me. If Celie and Shug Avery are cast as whites, blacks or whatever- fine. Every single production does not need to be under the microscope for racism- that hypersensitivity is in itself the ultimate confirmation that racism is indeed alive and well- relax- society is transforming in many positive ways- especially when speaking of diversity..

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 12:29pm

BWAY Baby2 said: "Every single production does not need to be under the microscope for racism-"

 
 

Updated On: 10/19/16 at 12:29 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 12:32pm

"Let's just ignore it" is such a great philosophy.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 12:35pm

Sssh, you're on the side of those uppity minorities, don't you see?!

[LesWickedly]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 12:35pm

Did you just say that Celie and Shug could be played by white people it'd be fine? Please stop being so ignorant. We aren't looking to see if it's all white, it's clearly visible when looking at headshots that there is no color.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 12:36pm

LesWickedly said: "Did you just say that Celie and Shug could be played by white people it'd be fine? Please stop being so ignorant. We aren't looking to see if it's all white, it's clearly visible when looking at headshots that there is no color."

Yes. She said that. Because she doesn't SEE color! We're all one race, the human race.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 12:39pm

this thread has gone off track...

[BWAY Baby2]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 12:40pm

The next MLK biopic should be played by Matt Damon- and the Barack Obama bio should be played by Rob Lowe. Maybe Michelle Obama could be played by Reese Witherspoon- that will spin those color counters heads around.

[Kad]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 12:40pm

Well, the show isn't happening for almost six months. People can't talk about what tickets they bought forever.

[Kad]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 12:42pm

BWAY Baby2 said: "The next MLK biopic should be played by Matt Damon- and the Barack Obama bio should be played by Rob Lowe. Maybe Michelle Obama could be played by Reese Witherspoon- that will spin those color counters heads around."

Yeah, because it's not like there's a rich and not too distant history of white people playing black people or anything.

 

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 12:42pm

Another day, another person to add to my ignore list!

Updated On: 10/19/16 at 12:42 PM

[brian1973]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 3:44pm

It's hardly appalling. Calm down dear

 

Dancingthrulife2 said: "brian1973 said: "So one of those roles should be played by a black performer just for the sake of it?

 

"

It's appalling that you think diversity only means black and white. No wonder they came up with the phrase.

 

"

 

[Stage Door Sally]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 3:47pm

Yes, but can she dance?

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 3:51pm

She can dance if she wants to.  

[hork]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 5:09pm

I feel like, given the amount of diversity on Broadway and the fact that four out of the top five money-makers feature large non-white casts, that this isn't a battle that needs to be fought anymore, and that producers should be free to cast a show however they want without feeling the need to meet some sort of minority quota. I think there's room on Broadway for an all-white cast or two without having to worry about a potential backslide into racist exclusion. Just my two cents.

[Musical Master]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 5:14pm

Kad said: "Well, the show isn't happening for almost six months. People can't talk about what tickets they bought forever."

 

Yes, that and there's a ton of things to talk about and theorize about the new revival rather than it's white casting which is beginning to get old fast. Here's some I can list off the top of my head.

 

1. How will Bette Midler and David Hyde Pierce handle their roles of Dolly Levi and Horace Vandergelder in comparison to the wonderful actors who have portrayed these characters in the past?

 

2. Can Jerry Zaks handle Hello, Dolly much better than how he handled the La Cage Aux Folles revival from 2004? (a revival a lot of people didn't actually care for in comparison to it's scaled down revival from 2010)

 

3. Will choreographer Warren Carlyle do a great job with the dances like how he did Finian's Rainbow, After Midnight, She Loves Me, and the Encores! work he did, or will he do a mediocre/bland job like his choreography for Follies and Chaplin? 

 

4. What will the new orchestrations by Larry Hochman be like, along with Santo Loquasto's sets and costumes and also Natasha Katz's lighting design? 

Updated On: 10/19/16 at 05:14 PM

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 5:25pm

Cupid Boy2 said: "Intentionally or not, casting only white actors was a choice made by the creative team. And as fans of the theatre, we have every right to take notice of those choices and to discuss them. You can pitch a fit and call it "color counting" all you want, but nobody is colorblind. We all have bias whether or not you're willing to acknowledge it."

I'm saving my thoughts for Holiday Inn but its other issues aside, I don't think anyone had a problem with Corbin Bleu and a more diverse ensemble because it wasn't relevant to the plot. You can have a revival or a period piece (especially something that's been done a lot) and have colorblind casting and not bring up racism. 

@Dancingthrulife2 You can't possibly mean Charlie as the Asian stereotype, can you? 

Also, yes to what LizzieCurry said.