Flying Over Sunset — Page 3

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?

"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 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 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.

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.

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?

"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 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 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.

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.

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.