Jordan Catalano said, in response to the comment "Race has no relevance onstage," "One of the absolute stupidest things ever said here."
Jordan, I remember other threads about whether ethnicity (or sex) matters when someone is playing a role. Some folks did express views similar to the one you consider "stupid."
I have a fairly complex view of race on stage. First, it's tough enough for black actors to get good roles without the roles intended for black actors going to white actors. Second, there are roles where race doesn't matter -- does anyone really care whether Elphaba is played by a black or white actor? The key to Elphaba is that she's green. Third, if a role emphasizes ethnicity directly or indirectly, the actor playing the role should appear to be a member of the correct ethnic group; I think Carrie Underwood would look ridiculous playing Evita or Tevye's wife. Similarly, a black actor playing Eliza Doolittle or Henry Higgins would create confusion in the audience's mind because Higgins, as a member of the British upper class is definitely white -- if he weren't white, he couldn't have been upper class. Similarly, if Eliza were black or South Asian Indian, the story wouldn't make sense because at the time it was supposed to take place, perfect speech would NOT have allowed Eliza to move up in British society; she would have been held back by ethnicity and not just speech. Fourth, if a character's motivation would be different if he/she were a different ethnicity, an actor of a different race than the character should probably play the character as the original race. For example, if the Phantom of the Opera were black, his inability to live a happy life and obtain Christine's love could also have been because of racial intolerance, rather than just his face "that earned a mother's fear and loathing." I'd love to ask Robert Guillaume (the only black actor that I know of who has played the role) whether he played him as a black man or a white man -- I think the story comes across differently if the Phantom is viewed as black, and the point that the writers were making gets muddied.
In short, I agree with Jordan that race sometimes matters on stage, but I don't think it always matters by any means.
You alone can make my song take flight.
