Flying Over Sunset- Page 3

[treblemakerz]

Posted: 1/31/20 at 11:13pm

SouthernCakes said: "Aren’t these based on real people? So."

Yes but, to be fair, the show is about an entirely fictional meeting between these people where they take LSD together. We've already lost the "historical accuracy" excuse here for the lack of diversity.

 

That said, I'm incredibly excited for this show. I have a ticket for the second preview and have no idea what to expect, but that can be so fun sometimes.

Updated On: 1/31/20 at 11:13 PM

[A Director]

Posted: 2/1/20 at 12:58am

qolbinau said: "If Tom Kitt himself did not take LSD to inspire himself while writing this show, I will be highly disappointed."

Did Sondheim commit murder to inspire him while writing Sweeney Todd?

 

[A Director]

Posted: 2/1/20 at 1:02am

Call_me_jorge said: "With the cast photos that came out today, I didn’t realize how white the cast was. There’s literally not a single person of color in the whole show...."

Goodie, another post for the theatre wannabe from Chicago who lives to stir the ****.  Should there be a quota system for Broadway shows?

 

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 2/1/20 at 11:52am

"Goodie, another post for the theatre wannabe from Chicago who lives to stir the ****.  Should there be a quota system for Broadway shows?"

Why people pick on Broadway about this is not fair IMO? You got shows like "Lion King", "Tina, The Tina Turner Musical", "Ain't Too Proud", "Hamilton", "A Soldier's Play", "Six", "The Book Of Mormon" and "Hadestown" for example that are not lily white. I understand there are  a bunch of shows that are all white but I don't think they are trying to shut out POC performers. Maybe I am wrong, people in the business might know better. 

Updated On: 2/1/20 at 11:52 AM

[msmp]

Posted: 2/1/20 at 1:54pm

It's not a great look for a show in 2020 to have an entirely white cast (people still talk about how white Bandstand was, for instance), but the industry is definitely not as blind to diversity as it once was. A misstep on the part of the casting director perhaps, though by no means a fatal one. This show still looks excellent.

[Rosette3]

Posted: 2/1/20 at 2:04pm

msmp said: "It's not a great look for a show in 2020 to have an entirely white cast (people still talk about how white Bandstand was, for instance), but the industry is definitely not as blind to diversity as it once was. A misstep on the part of the casting director perhaps, though by no means a fatal one. This show still looks excellent."

I'm confused... Flying Over Sunset characters are based on actual people from history who existed and we know what they look like. Do people expect casting director to cast for example Clare Booth Luce as a WOC even though Clare Booth Luce was in fact a white women? Genuinely curious. 

[msmp]

Posted: 2/1/20 at 2:13pm

Rosette3 said: "msmp said: "It's not a great look for a show in 2020 to have an entirely white cast (people still talk about how white Bandstand was, for instance), but the industry is definitely not as blind to diversity as it once was. A misstep on the part of the casting director perhaps, though by no means a fatal one. This show still looks excellent."

I'm confused... Flying Over Sunsetcharacters are based on actual people from history who existed and we know what they look like. Do peopleexpect casting director to cast for exampleClare Booth Luce as a WOC even though Clare Booth Luce was in fact a white women? Genuinely curious."

I think it's more, as another poster noted earlier, that once you already are changing history (ie, the three of them meeting and dropping acid at the same time), you open the door to being fluid with your casting requirements. Like I said, I don't personally think this is a big deal, but I do understand why some people may be upset by it given that Broadway has often had problems with diversity.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 2/2/20 at 12:46am

msmp said: "I think it's more, as another poster noted earlier, that once you already are changing history (ie, the three of them meeting and dropping acid at the same time), you open the door to being fluid with your casting requirements. Like I said, I don't personally think this is a big deal, but I do understand why some people may be upset by it given that Broadway has often had problems with diversity."

I'm not upset about it in this case but I do think having an all-white or almost all-white cast works better in a show that is conscious of it and acknowledges it. I am more bothered if the show wants to put up the pretense of the story being universal as though Caucasian isn't a racial identity. We've had similar discussions of color-conscious casting in the past. I don't know what Flying Over Sunset will have to say about its characters yet so I'm reserving judgment.

Though I will say that aside from Cary Grant, I don't know if the general public would know enough about the other characters to rail against diverse casting or however else the characters are portrayed. 

[msmp]

Posted: 2/2/20 at 1:59am

I think that's a fair perspective, and I too want to see the show before I get too worked up in one direction or the other. And definitely a good point re: the other two central characters. It's a small universe that likely knows of Clare Booth Luce, and if people know Aldous Huxley it's probably only via having to read Brave New World in high school (which is the only reason I even knew the name).

[gibsons2]

Posted: 2/2/20 at 2:04am

I've noticed that in all three upcoming LCT productions the cast is almost entirely either white, black or asian. Flying Over Sunset, Intimate Apparel, The Headlands respectively. The Intimate Apparel has three caucasian actors listed in the long list of cast. The Headlands has two. Was this the idea, I'm wondering? Whatever the reasoning, I will try to see at least two of these productions.All three look interesting.

[Wick3]

Posted: 2/2/20 at 7:53am

Were there famous people of color who took LSD back in the 1950s? I ask because the common thread of all three characters (Grant, Luce, and Huxley) is that their use of LSD was indeed documented. A friend and I were talking the other day and if Josephine Baker did take LSD back then, would have been cool to see her part of this musical (and have a POC portray her!)

[mar6411]

Posted: 2/2/20 at 12:04pm

Aren’t these based on real people? So.

I'm confused... Flying Over Sunset characters are based on actual people from history who existed and we know what they look like. Do people expect casting director to cast for example Clare Booth Luce as a WOC even though Clare Booth Luce was in fact a white women? Genuinely curious.

Hamilton?

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 2/2/20 at 12:26pm

I kind of don't get the market for this musical. And I say this as a huge fan of Cary Grant who knows his entire life story. But if you want to see people tripping (or take a tab yourself) that's what Phish concerts are for.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 2/2/20 at 12:37pm

"It's not a great look for a show in 2020 to have an entirely white cast (people still talk about how white Bandstand was, for instance), but the industry is definitely not as blind to diversity as it once was. A misstep on the part of the casting director perhaps, though by no means a fatal one. This show still looks excellent."

Bandstand did not have entirely white cast, there was one African-American man. I am not saying that is a lot, just stating a fact.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 2/2/20 at 12:37pm

"It's not a great look for a show in 2020 to have an entirely white cast (people still talk about how white Bandstand was, for instance), but the industry is definitely not as blind to diversity as it once was. A misstep on the part of the casting director perhaps, though by no means a fatal one. This show still looks excellent."

Bandstand did not have entirely white cast, there was one African-American man. I am not saying that is a lot, just stating a fact.

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 10:56am

New BroadwayBox article came out with some new details highlighting the structure of the show... https://broadwaydirect.com/james-lapine-on-masterminding-the-musical-trip-of-a-lifetime/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

*SPOILERS*

“Flying Over Sunset imagines individual “trips” for the three characters in Act One and a joint experience with the drug in Act Two. The device of the show is that people sing only when they’re on LSD,” Lapine explains. “The lyrics express the visions they are having, and that informs the feel of the music.” Acclaimed dancer and MacArthur “genius grant” recipient Michelle Dorrance brings “a percussive heartbeat” to the score in her theatrical debut as a choreographer. “It’s a wild ride,” Lapine promises.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 10:58am

A Director said: "Call_me_jorge said: "With the cast photos that came out today, I didn’t realize how white the cast was. There’s literally not a single person of color in the whole show...."

Goodie, another post for the theatre wannabe from Chicago who lives to stir the ****. Should there be a quota system for Broadway shows?

"

Funniest post to come out of this board lmfao

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 11:10am

DiscoCrows said: "New BroadwayBox article came out with some new details highlighting the structure of the show... https://broadwaydirect.com/james-lapine-on-masterminding-the-musical-trip-of-a-lifetime/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

Here is the Vanity Fair article that inspired James Lapine to write the show, as mentioned in the BroadwayBox article.

https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/08/drugs-in-hollywood-201008

 

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 11:15am

I feel this argument is like saying “Shuffle Along” didn’t have a diverse cast. Like... these are real people. Doesn’t matter if they’re obscure or not. They’re not going to cast again their type, especially in a show that is about them. And there’s not some huge ensemble to pad it out. It’s a show by show thing.

Bandstand I can kind of understand, again, because it’s historic and dealing with a specific period of time.

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 11:35am

SouthernCakes said: "I feel this argument is like saying “Shuffle Along” didn’t have a diverse cast. Like... these are real people. Doesn’t matter if they’re obscure or not. They’re not going to cast again their type, especially in a show that is about them. And there’s not some huge ensemble to pad it out. It’s a show by show thing.

Bandstand I can kind of understand, again, because it’s historic and dealing with a specific period of time."

However, I will chime in to say that Shuffle Along's plot was driven by a narrative that involved their race which makes it a huge factor in casting. You couldn't have a person of color play the Brooks Ashmanskas track because his character was specifically a voice/embodiment of the white construct of entertainment in the 20s. With a show like Flying Over Sunset, it could have been interesting to see someone from Shuffle Along, for example, play Cary Grant, because it does not affect the narrative of what we know about Sunset. Not discrediting Tony Yazbeck because that man is talented and one of my favorites and I am excited to see him. But casting in that style is something that could have been considered as an option.  It may have been, but this comes across as a situation where they obviously are going for a more historically accurate-looking depiction; not a purposeful "let's not cast people of color" situation.

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 11:42am

I mean it’s LCT! I’d think having a show based on real people and then not casting actors that vaguely look like them would be pretty radical. It’s not a show that lends itself to any real “creative” casting.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 11:56am

msmp said: "A misstep on the part of the casting director perhaps, though by no means a fatal one."

The Casting Director is rarely to blame for something like this. For a new project, Casting Directors are facilitators whose job is to provide options for the Director/Authors/Producer to make the ultimate decision.

[mar6411]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 12:09pm

SouthernCakes said: "I feel this argument is like saying “Shuffle Along” didn’t have a diverse cast. Like... these are real people. Doesn’t matter if they’re obscure or not. They’re not going to cast again their type, especially in a show that is about them. And there’s not some huge ensemble to pad it out. It’s a show by show thing.

Bandstand I can kind of understand, again, because it’s historic and dealing with a specific period of time."

Hamilton?

[binau]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 12:17pm

poisonivy2 said: "I kind of don't get the market for this musical. And I say this as a huge fan of Cary Grant who knows his entire life story. But if you want to see people tripping (or take a tab yourself) that's what Phish concerts are for."

I agree it's so niche. I suspect this will be a massive failure and close in a couple of months, but I am praying that James Lapine, Tom Kitt & Michael Korie can pull some magic off here. The premise of the show (and indeed, the description of the concept) with these legends feels like there is such opportunity to break new ground in this artform. I am eagerly waiting to see if they can pull something off. My fear is that it might be rather standard fare and pedestrian - but for a complete unknown show with no stars they have got so far in the production process there must be something special here.  

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 12:26pm

SouthernCakes said: "I feel this argument is like saying “Shuffle Along” didn’t have a diverse cast. Like... these are real people. Doesn’t matter if they’re obscure or not. They’re not going to cast again their type, especially in a show that is about them. And there’s not some huge ensemble to pad it out. It’s a show by show thing.

Bandstand I can kind of understand, again, because it’s historic and dealing with a specific period of time."

Yes, because everything in this show is going to be based in real historical fact. There will be no artistic liberty taken with the costumes. No one will have imagined conversations for the purpose of the narrative. All conversations will be based on historical documentation and recordings. People are going to be singing during LSD trips. I don't know why this is always a sticking point that we can't suspend our disbelief for unless the show is making a statement like Hamilton. Did Barbra look like Fanny Brice? Does Frank Langella actually look like Richard Nixon? Why is it somehow more accurate to cast a white actor who isn't a perfect visual fit than a non-white actor if neither of them will look exactly like the real person? And yet when roles are whitewashed we are somehow supposed to suspend our disbelief that the white actor with makeup looks Chinese, Persian, Argentinian, etc.

Again, the show itself doesn't bother me at the moment but I find this argument ridiculous.