O man, the blatant racism on this thread is astounding.
Nowhere in Wicked does it say Glinda is white. She is blonde, so put the nonwhite actress in a blonde wig, which is what they do for every single actor who has played that role. Glinda's appearance is nothing like what Glinda looks like in The Wizard of Oz because of copyright issues. Has no one noticed she doesn't wear the poofy pink dress or the tall crown? And they live in Oz, for goodness' sake, which is a fictional place. They say words like "congratulotions" and live among munchkins and winkies. O and yes, a girl who is green. (A tangent, but there should totally be more women of color playing Elphaba because they will cover her natural skin color anyway.)
The thing is, why do actors of color have to wait for roles that specifically label them as someone of color? Why do Asian actors have to wait for Allegiance to have a contemporary musical theatre show they can partake in? Why don't modern musicals, where race doesn't matter at all, feature more actors of color as THE lead? Why couldn't LaChanze play Elizabeth in If/Then for example (although that show did have plenty of diversity on that stage, but what if, to mirror the show)?
Someone mentioned the example of a role coming down to a white actress and an Asian actress. When have we ever seen it happen on Broadway that it went to the Asian actress? Very, very few times.
To the one person who is actually mad about Hamilton using people of color in mostly every role. Here's a reality check: That is how we actors of color feel about pretty much every single show on Broadway that isn't about race. Hamilton isn't about race. It isn't about telling a historical story with period music or conventional conceits. Lin-Manuel Miranda and the entire creative and casting team have to be commended. It is the first and only casting breakdown where I've seen "non-Caucasian" next to every principal (except the King). Because the show is NOT about race and therefore why not give extremely talented, underutilized actors a chance to tell a story that anyone in America can relate to? And the casting highlights the fact that our founding fathers were not of this country. It's very purposefully done.
It's about giving people the opportunity, the outlet, the representation, the vessel to experience a story through someone they can relate to. It can't happen just from the outside with writers creating shows specifically for Asian, Latino, and black actors. It has to also change from the inside with the creatives, casting, producers. We learned long ago that Les Misérables is not a show that relies on skin color. People are drawn to the music and the story. This revival's Tony-nominated star is Iranian, so I don't know where the argument of "Jean Valjean needs to be white" comes from. The story is powerful enough and the audience doesn't register race. Chicago has embraced this. Disney and the Rodgers and Hammerstein estate have also: we've seen a black Belle and black Cinderella on Broadway.
While there are many shows that highlight different ethnicities this season, it's not enough. Diversity needs to happen in shows that are cast white by default, out of laziness. Why isn't one principal character in Something Rotten an actor of color? If you have already established the existence of black people in your show with the one black man and one black woman in the ensemble, there is absolutely no excuse for the principal characters to be white by default. Were actors of color considered for lead roles? I don't know. But it's awfully suspicious to have token black ensemble members. It's not enough anymore. While I loved this production of Spring Awakening, could they really only find one black cast member? Could none of the deaf character's voices be played by actors of color or were they basing their casting on social media popularity?
It's really not enough anymore. I do say this as an Asian-American audience member and member of Actors' Equity. "That's show biz"-like responses perpetuate the problem and don't help to change it. Like with any minority struggle, we need an alliance with the majority to make it right.
I'll end it here: No one questioned why Misty Copeland would be the object of affection by a US sailor in NYC in 1941. Everyone on that stage and in that theatre would have fallen for her.
