Black versions of Musicals — Page 3

Race reversal maybe for Hairspray

With race and Wicked, n the book Wicked, Fiyero was dark skinned but I always pictured him more as Native American like his tribe, rather than black. Avaric I believe calls him the color of s**T. Seeing him as white on stage works though. Hes a very universal role that could be played by any race. Ditto for Elphaba. A black Glinda though would be interesting to say the least. But hey, with Derrick Williams doing the tour for almost a year and now coming to Broadway, its all good. I never undertood why Fiyero was cast as white. I really think they disneyfied Fiyero in a way because I am sure they decided on this before Norbert was cast.

iliketheater -- I agree.

When a major point of the show has to do with racial issues, non-traditional casting doesn't work. (Like "Dreamgirls," "Ragtime," "Show Boat," "Big River," "Hairspray," etc.)

The Wiz is a fantasy and the major point of the story is about a little girl trying find her way home. While I don't necessarily see white actors in these roles "comfortably," it wouldn't KILL the point of the show to have them there, any more than having a black actress play Ado Annie in Oklahoma!... or even better... have a black actress play Carrie in Carousel (aka, Audra McDonald in a Tony-winning performance in the last revival).

I'm for exploring non-traditional casting whenever possible though. But directors and producers need to look at the story and the point of their shows carefully and make a decision. There are human issues to consider, not blanket policies that can just be applied to every play or musical without thought. But if the story doesn't make a point about racial issues, I see no reason why non-traditional practices couldn't be employed.

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Updated On: 12/10/05 at 10:40 AM

I once was in Grease with a black Sandy. She had a much better voice and was a better actress than anyone else that auditioned, so she got the part. It worked fine.

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