They have finally posted the cast of the Next to Normal tour on the website. http://nexttonormal.com/tour_cast
And as I scroll down to the understudies I am surprised to see the the Diana understudy is Asian! Now I am Asian myself, but she doesn't work since both the kids are white.
Comments? Concerns?
I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to see an Asian Diana within a white family. I don't know why, it just seems awesome.
I have no problem suspending disbelief. That said the Natalie looks asian*ish* and Gabe.....how about overanalysis that PearlSun!Diana is imaging her son to look like his father :P.
^The thing is that I knew this would happen. Eventually a minority would have to play Diana, but I hoped that they would do it correctly by having the kids actually being half Asian, not necessarily changing the ethnicity of Dan. This is all for the sake of the plot.
As long as the actress (Pearl Sun) can sing and act the role of Diana, I don't think that her ethnicity will be a major concern. Too bad the tour isn't coming anywhere near NY...
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/07
nexttotheheights, let's just be happy that more of us Asians are making our way to the stage. :)
Too bad the tour isn't coming anywhere near NY...
Hartford is 90 minutes away, and Philadelphia is 2 hours away.
Pearl Sun, who's covering Diana, is incredibly talented, but she also reads unbelievably young on stage.
I would have guessed she was in her late twenties, having seen her in HAPPINESS and tick, tick... BOOM! previously.
rmusic11322, Amen to that!
"Hartford is 90 minutes away,"
It's actually 2 hours and 15 on a good day, however there's usually a bit of a delay just south of Hartford, and sometimes around the Cheshire area on 84 making the trip almost three hours.
Race in this day and age shouldn't matter.
From the city its about 2 hours, from upstate (in college and its not during a break) the drive would be far worse.
I would still think that it's close enough not to immediately reject any possibility of catching the tour :P.
I am so proud of Pearl! This makes me very excited to see the tour. I really hope she gets a chance to go on :)
Swing Joined: 11/4/10
i think it's awesome. i don't mind if other races are in the roles, it wouldn't throw me out of the story. as long as they have the talent for the role i don't care what race they are. i found this clip on youtube of her which made me like her. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO_4j0xSQXw
She also sounds great here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA4lAVIC2FE&feature=related
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/07
If there were ever a mixed-family cast, here are your Gabe and Natalie. Real life siblings!
Adam Jacobs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHy1JcKruHI
Arielle Jacobs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZK3yYlqV7k
Imagine both of them belting it out in Superboy And The Invisible Girl... *sighs*
Pearl Sun could barely handle the score of tick, tick, BOOM, in which she only had one major solo ("Come to Your Senses"). I can't imagine how she'd fare in a voice-shredder like Diana. Good thing Ripley is usually reliable.
Videos