Can Maria (Sound of Music) be black?

I think so. Race isn't a central theme in The Sound of Music, so having a black Maria wouldn't matter.

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Go for it, you will never regret casting the best singer/actor over someone who simply looks the part in a traditional sense. Just out of curiosity, what level of theatre is this? School? Community? Professional?

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Race isn't a central theme? Ummm...you might want to read/see Sound of Music again.

I think a black Maria goes against the historic nature of the piece.

What type of production is it?
It might seem a little quirky to have an African American Maria heading the Von Trapp family amid Nazi Germany. Is the rest of the cast racially diverse as well? It would be a shame to cast someone with lesser talent based on looks - I guess its really your choice

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There have been professional productions that have cast black actresses as Maria -- so its not unprecedented.

Certainly talent should a main consideration when casting the role but I can understand both sides of the arguement -- because of the historical context of the show, and the audience's familiarity with the Nazi agenda - its impossible to do "true" color blind casting, because there is no way to have an African American Maria without it in some way altering the subtext of the story (Is Maria's race a reason why the other nuns don't like her? Is her ethnicity the reason the Captain turns down his Nazi post?). And then it becomes an issue not only of historical accuracy (which isn't that important) but honoring the intention of the authors. Certainly, Rodgers and Hammerstein often wrote about prejudice and racial intolerance -but that was not their goal in crafting THE SOUND OF MUSIC.

For Maria's race to not suddenly be a big "white elephant in the room" IMO, you would almost have to color blind cast the entire production (as did one of the professional productions that used an African American Maria - which featured multi-ethnic children).

Did you cast this actress in the production at all? Are there other ethnicities in the cast?

Updated On: 4/23/07 at 09:28 PM

For Maria's race to not suddenly be a big "white elephant in the room" IMO, you would almost have to color blind cast the entire production (as did one of the professional productions that used an African American Maria - which featured multi-ethnic children).

exactly

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i dont think it would be distracting...marias race is not the issue of the story...in fact i think it might be distracting to have the nazis sneer at her...it would only highlight her race. i think its cool to have a black maria (though if she is not the best....cast whoever ist!) because in a way it highlights how captain von trapp is all about equality. the nazis know already that captain von trapp is againt them and him being with maria highlights that he is going against them.

You should NOT hesitate to cast this actress as Maria if she is the best person that auditioned.

To do otherwise is racist, plain and simple.

The Sound of Music does not explicitly mention race as a factor in any decision that Maria makes or that anyone makes regarding Maria, therefore it is not an issue.

Now that you have posted this, however, you leave yourself open to a possible lawsuit should you not cast this woman as Maria. Should you decide not to cast this woman as Maria, she certainly could have a case since you've just admitted that her race may indeed be an issue for you.

But you shouldn't have anything to worry about if you do the right and honorable thing, and cast the part with the best actress, if another caucasian actress appears magically and does a better job, then by all means go with that that actress, of course.

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"...in fact i think it might be distracting to have the nazis sneer at her...it would only highlight her race."

My point is, race is roundaboutly an issue in The Sound of Music due to the Nazi "super-race" concept. I think its very do-able, but there has to be a decision made wether to ignore her race within the context of the show, or direct it such away (which can be done subtley) that the audience knows that you know, or do as MB suggested and do more colorfull casting (Knowing full well this may create further story problems and best vs. race confusion). Some may not care, this is The Sound of Music after all, but some austute audience members may be perplexed if their attention becomes drawn to it.

But, there's always those three little words, suspension of disbeleif.

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Updated On: 4/23/07 at 10:01 PM

About the whole lawsuit issue - there is such a fine line between racial casting and being racist. I don't think the OP was hesitant to cast this woman because she was black, but because a black woman playing the part of Maria makes inevitable changes to the production. Not that it can't be done - and it has been before - but what exactly would constitute a lawsuit in this situation? I mean I have seen productions of Anything Goes where a more physically fit person was cast over a girl who was very overweight - both of them had great voices, but the heavier girl was stronger vocally. I mean image is an important part of the business, so why is considering a person's race wrong in this kind of situation?

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Maria's character is written into the script as white. She should be cast white -- Just as Aida should be cast black.