Eliza Doolittle - Race an issue?

[MusicalMan76]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 11:08am

Hey gang. I'm curious to get your thoughts on whether, in this day and age of color-blind casting, Eliza Doolittle could be played by an actress of color?

I've always thought Audra McDonald would be brilliant in the role.

Thoughts?

[Weez]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 11:13am

As 'My Fair Lady' is about class and therefore not about race, I personally have no issue with colour-blind casting. However, there are people who'll go "ERRR that's not historically accurate MERMERMER!". To them, I say "balls to you".

I think most people have one stance on colour-blind casting and it applies to every show for them. Mine is "if the show is not about race, then DO IT". Start as many threads as you like about different shows, and I'll say the same thing every time.

[MusicalMan76]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 11:15am

Thanks Weez -- I like your thinking.

Keep the comments coming, gang!

G.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 11:23am

If Eliza is cast as a non-white, then Henry Higgins must be a non-white. The storyline includes a man teaching a woman to better herself. There is no way that certain racial groups are going to accept portraying a white man teaching a black woman.

[MusicalMan76]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 11:30am

I don't necessarily agree with that last post... If we're taking race out of the equation and casting regardless of skin color, I think we're challenging the audience to look past race in terms of upper class teaching lower class.

[jasonf]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 11:30am

Gothampc - my initial reaction to what you said was that you are right about that. I wonder, though, if Alfred is cast the same as Henry - so both are white while Eliza is not, would that negate the possible backlash? I tend to think that most REASONABLE people understand that a comment is not being made by color-blind casting, it's simply giving the best actor the part. However, I can see where people would think that having a white man teach a black woman could be read as inadvertently offensive. If Alfred were white as well, might that not be a signal that there is no comment - simply casting the best actor?

[Weez]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 11:31am

Why do people always compliment my thinking on the days my thinking is profoundly influenced by men who are brilliant but not exactly held up as great thinkers? XD

Gothampc does raise a good point here. Some people could find it offensive enough in itself that an upper-class man is teaching a working-class woman, or that a man is teaching a woman full-stop, but if you bring race into it, then that does make it tricky on a level that audiences won't like, whereas they'll certainly be expecting the former. I mean, it's pretty damn cool than when Eliza has been scrubbed and polished she INFINITELY outclasses Higgins (hell, she outclasses him from the get-go, but for the dirt and the Cock-er-ney accent), but will audiences sit still in their "omg racist!" grumpiness for long enough to get that? :/ Personally, I'd be willing to risk it and hang 'em all, but I've also read enough stories on Customers_Suck about people playing the race-card over the silliest thing.

Updated On: 7/21/08 at 11:31 AM

[Jon]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 11:36am

here's the thing - color BLIND casting means the audience is supposed to be BLIND to the color of the actors. If ASudra played Eliza, it would be a black actress playing Eliza. The character of Eliza would not neccesarily be black.

When Audra did 110 in the Shade, she had a white father, one white brother and one black brother. Clearly, this is not the story of some weird family where all or some of the chidren are adopted. The audicence was expected to be COLOR BLIND - to ignore the color of the actors.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 11:37am

"but will audiences sit still in their "omg racist!" grumpiness for long enough to get that? :/"

Weez, here in the US, we're still trying to have a conversation about who can use the "N" word and who can't.

This show has never had its full impact in the US because we were never as class oriented as the British. In the US, we don't have a monarchy, therefore a class system hasn't been as obvious.

[fiesta1]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 2:43pm

If you go back to the source material, Shaw's focis was on class. In my experiences in the UK, class (and education) trumps race even today.

I've seen a wonderful production of Pygmalion at Arena State in DC with an African-American actress as Eliza Doolittle. The same acress (Gail Grate) also was amazing as Grusha in 'Caucasian Chalk Circle' the next season. A fine actor can make the audience transcend preconceived notions of the way a role should be played.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 2:54pm

I Love Gale Grate and I was just thinking about her.

[Okayfine]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 3:20pm

I have to say that I detest so-called color-blind casting. When there is a role in which race really doesn't matter & the script does not reference race (such as John in Miss Saigon), sure! Why NOT cast any race you want? But Pymaglion & My Fair Lady are set in a very specific time & place in which race does indeed matter. To put a person of color into any of the roles is distracting and just plain silly.

An example of how color-blind casting was used to distraction would be the last revival On The Town. If director Wolfe had had blacks dancing with blacks and Latinos dancing with Latinos, there would have been no distraction. But he mixed it up so badly that you would have had to put in a lot of work to pretend to NOT notice. And, yes, I know that production was awful, but that's another reason not to distract the audience unnecessarily

[gypsy4]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 3:29pm

I would say no if there was any revival of this in the near future I think Audra Mcdonald would be amazeing as eliza.

[jboy1]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 3:30pm

I actually saw a production at the American Musical Theatre of San Jose back in 2001 (I think). The actress playing Eliza was African-American. I didn't think anything of it. She was brilliant...amazing acting and voice. The Henry Higgins was Caucasian AND the Alfred Doolittle was Caucasian. It worked...I think, with all of the color-blind casting that's done nowadays, it wouldn't matter if the actress was "non-white."

[fanpires]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 8:28pm

Honestly, I think some people may raise an eyebrow and not go if the movie Eliza was an African-American. I'm all for it, though. I think Audra's a little too old for this now. I'd love to see Anika Noni Rose or Nikki Renee Daniels as Eliza!
Updated On: 7/21/08 at 08:28 PM

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 9:44pm

Shaw's play and Lerner and Lowe's musical are about the Human condition, not the black or white condition.
I think this a perfect play for colored blind casting.

[FranzRelax]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 9:47pm

I think Audra's a little too old for this now. I'd love to see Anika Noni Rose or Nikki Renee Daniels as Eliza!




- Um. Anika is only two years younger than Audra.

[Weez]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 9:54pm

Anika plays a heckuva lot younger than she is though, whereas Audra is an amazing woman, but definitely a woman rather than a girl.