Posted: 5/20/16 at 9:58am
Just realized this.
Updated On: 5/20/16 at 09:58 AM
Posted: 5/20/16 at 10:01am
When were they involved with The King and I?
Posted: 5/20/16 at 10:12am
I mean I guess between the Lion King and Aladdin they do cast a lot.
Posted: 5/20/16 at 10:15am
......
Updated On: 5/20/16 at 10:15 AM
Posted: 5/20/16 at 10:16am
Do you have any data or studies? What is this thread?
Posted: 5/20/16 at 10:17am
Disney has 2 shows on Broadway that are primarily people of color. Those casts combined would outnumber Hamilton or The King & I.
Posted: 5/20/16 at 10:23am
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/diversity-representation-hits-record-high-889685
Posted: 5/20/16 at 10:24am
backwoodsbarbie said: "Disney has 2 shows on Broadway that are primarily people of color. Those casts combined would outnumber Hamilton or The King & I.
"
The King and I has (I believe) the largest cast on Broadway at the moment, and all but a few of the cast members are actors of color. Factoring in covers, it is the largest cast of nonwhite actors on Broadway at the moment.
Updated On: 5/20/16 at 10:24 AM
Posted: 5/20/16 at 10:28am
And yet they can't bring themselves to cast any Arabic actors in Aladdin. Shame.
Posted: 5/20/16 at 10:28am
I'm confused as to the point of the thread. Is it that Disney employs the most minorities of any producing organization? Or is that Disney employs most of the minorities on Broadway?
Posted: 5/20/16 at 10:30am
"
The King and I has (I believe) the largest cast on Broadway at the moment, and all but a few of the cast members are actors of color. Factoring in covers, it is the largest cast of nonwhite actors on Broadway at the moment."
I agree. However, the OP said "Disney" so that covers 2 shows of mainly non-white actors.
Posted: 5/20/16 at 10:39am
Kad said: "I'm confused as to the point of the thread."
Well, considering who started it...
Posted: 5/20/16 at 10:47am
I guess I'm trying to link this to Oak being cast as kristoff in the frozen lab.
Posted: 5/20/16 at 10:50am
Posted: 5/20/16 at 10:55am
Call_me_jorge said: "I guess I'm trying to link this to Oak being cast as kristoff in the frozen lab."
Because that counts as "on Broadway" right now.
Posted: 5/20/16 at 10:59am
yeah it's dumb me that there are no Arabic actors at all in Aladdin. I'm surprised there's no backlash for that at all but I guess there arent' enough Arabic actors in theatre.
Edit: This was sarcasm just to be clear
Updated On: 5/20/16 at 10:59 AM
Posted: 5/20/16 at 11:04am
Broadway Forever2 said: "I guess there arent' enough Arabic actors in theatre."
Please tell me this was sarcasm. Please.
Posted: 5/20/16 at 11:06am
Broadway Forever2 said: "yeah it's dumb me that there are no Arabic actors at all in Aladdin. I'm surprised there's no backlash for that at all but I guess there arent' enough Arabic actors in theatre. "
OH lord
http://artsincolor.com/2013/10/casting-aladdin-middle-eastern-actors/
http://www.colorlines.com/articles/broadway-success-aladdin-underscores-need-arab-actors
http://jezebel.com/aladdins-broadway-debut-makes-it-a-target-for-controve-1545523784
Posted: 5/20/16 at 11:08am
LizzieCurry, or as I like to call them, LinkyCurry, is my favorite poster on this board.
Posted: 5/20/16 at 11:08am
The King and I is responsible for half Asian actors employed on Broadway... Just fyi.
Posted: 5/20/16 at 11:08am
mm yeah it was sarcasm. I guess it didn't translate well. I read my post again and it sounded different in my head. I'm just saying that's the excuse they usually give when under scrutiny when it's not true.
Updated On: 5/20/16 at 11:08 AM
Posted: 5/20/16 at 11:09am
CindersGolightly said: "LizzieCurry, or as I like to call them, LinkyCurry, is my favorite poster on this board."
That's a new one. Thanks!
Posted: 5/20/16 at 11:23am
the Disney nonsense is an apples and oranges comparison. Every other show discussed is on its own bottom, so to elevate Disney based on its producing model is just silly. By that measure, it also has the most actors, the most stage managers, the most ushers, the most concessionaires and the most janitors.
Posted: 5/20/16 at 11:27am
Are there any statistics on the racial/ethnic breakdowns of students graduating from musical theatre/acting programs every year? Not that all of those graduates are necessarily great actors but it would be better evidence that there are actually actors of (insert ethnicity here) when this question inevitably comes up again.
Though I'm inclined to agree with you, Lizzie, those links don't actually say much. They argue that actors of Arabic descent should have been cast but not that there's a huge population of Arabic actors (who could do the requisite singing and dancing) that were passed over. In fact a lot of those articles talk in generalities about Asian, Middle Eastern, and Latino actors perhaps implicitly acknowledging the lack of specifically Thai (The King and I), Puerto Rican (WSS), etc. actors to fill out the entire cast. I'm not saying that diversity is not a problem in theatre but that you have to acknowledge the lack of diversity as something that dissuades a lot of prospective actors of color. The larger problem creates a symptom that reinforces the problem.
Posted: 5/20/16 at 11:33am
While it may have a been a joke to say "there aren't any Arabic actors," it would be completely accurate to say "there are virtually no Arab or Persian singer/actor/dancers auditioning for Broadway shows."
BTW, "Arabic" is a language, "Arab" is an ethnic identity.
Updated On: 5/20/16 at 11:33 AM
