To Lena Hall.
I wonder why?
Broadway.com covered this last week, and their article has the explanation from her.
From Celina Carvajal to Lena Hall: The Kinky Boots Rocker Explains Her Recent Name Change
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/29/12
Wonder how much the Playbill with her her original name is worth now.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
It's the wanna pass for white syndrome rearing it's ugly head. Celina Carvajal is too damned ETHNIC. Lena Hall? Not so much.
From now on refer to me as Charles Albert. I wanna be white too.
Updated On: 7/25/13 at 11:13 AM
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
I dunno. I think it's also (if not more) about having a name that that's uncommon and hard to pronounce and remember. There's are people on here who think Anne Elise Van Dur Dorp (sp?) should change her name and she's as white as they come.
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/29/12
"It's the wanna pass for white syndrome rearing it's ugly head. Celina Carvajal is too damned ETHNIC. Lena Hall? Not so much."
She has such a beautiful name- what nationality is she? I don't understand why this racism still exists and it makes beautiful, talented people want to hide their ethnicity. She should be proud of her birth name and keep it. Make sure everybody gets the spelling right and woe to those who don't. Manoel Felciano, Raul Esparza, gorgeous and easy to remember!
Updated On: 7/25/13 at 11:36 AM
White is a color. It's not an ethnicity.
I have no idea what ethnicity Carvajal/Hall is.
Manoel Felciano and Raul Esparza both have their names mangled constantly. Both will tell you it's incredibly difficult to overcome that as a professional actor.
Wasn't she on the Legally Blonde reality show?
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
I get that if this was like 1935, she'd be doing this to pass for white, but if you change your name and there's a BWW article about it, can it really be the actress is trying to obfuscate her heritage.
Sarcasm flies over some people's head.
**Whoosh** and there it goes --------->
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
:)
Updated On: 7/25/13 at 12:05 PM
I don't have any problem with it. It's not a denial of her ethnicity or heritage any more than Judy Garland changing her name to Frances Gumm or Marion Morrison changing his name to John Wayne.
They realize they are a "product' and need to be easily identifiable in a mass market.
I don't blame her for doing it one bit.
I wish more performers would do that.
If you asked her what her heritage or ethnicity is, do you think she'd answer white?
But do I think she's doing it so that English-speaking Americans will be able to say her name?
Absolutely.
English-speaking Americans can can pronounce her name, Besty. It's the white English-speaking Americans who can't.
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/9/04
This seems awfully late in her career. She finally starts to make a name for we self and changes it? Seems silly...
Is we self like the royal we?
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
I can't speak for we self, but Kelly Bishop changed her name from Carole during A Chorus Line, and she'd already been the business for years.
English-speaking Americans can can pronounce her name, Besty. It's the white English-speaking Americans who can't.
Really? How about the English speaking Americans who don't speak any other language.
Not necessarily white.
You think that Korean Americans (for example) or African Americans who spoke English only or had little to no familiarity with Latin languages wouldn't struggle with it?
I disagree.
I want to change my name to Celina Carvajal.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
Get used to people pronouncing it with a hard "j."
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/13/09
Phyllis, are you saying that "Car-Vaj-Al" is not the correct pronunciation?
Yes, orangeskittles, she was on the Legally Blonde reality show.
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/29/12
She should keep her name Celina Carvajal. The tourists will have fun learning to pronounce it.
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