Norm Lewis as Javert — Page 3

Thomas Alexandre Dumas was general under Napoleon.....and he was black. Chevalier de Saint Georges. led an 1000 man army in the French Revolution. Jean Baptiste Belley and Jean Baptiste Mills were members of Parliament during what?.......the French Revolution.

Black people really can have positions of power in 1830s France! wow! questions answered.

---

Updated On: 7/7/06 at 11:50 PM

lol, whatever. im not being defensive. what would would i be defending? did i do something wrong?

---

I think he felt you were defending black French leaders...which isn't a bad thing.

---

well did i single u out? i don think i did. if it doesnt apply to u then why are YOU being so defensive? but hell yea im being a little sarcastic and aggressive because im annoyed. this whole thread annoys and offends me. sorry just being honest.

p.s. and no a white woman couldn't play Celie because her race is integral to the story. it is about the plight of a BLACK. ABUSED.WOMAN.

---

o ok i kno what ur talking about. i said what i said. you said what you said. it was over. at least it was for me. don be so petty.

---

The question really had nothing do about black,white,yellow,red, or pink. I believe someone mentioned the suspension of belief. If I saw a Chinese Henry Higgins, I would have a hard time suspending that belief. Could there have benn a Chinese linquistic professor in Victorian London? Probably...but would I buy him being the target of Eliza's slippers? No. Thats just me. Im a purist. There is a reason they call it non-traditional casting. Even they know they are going outside of the box. Some people may like it, I personally don't. I saw Les Miserables the first week it opened on Broadway with the original cast and I have seen it grow like a commercial monster since. I liked the traditional original. Some people like Shakespeare set in the Vietnam War. I don't. My personal belief is it if it aint broke, dont fix it. The show was great the first time I saw it, and since then its been a shuffling of names for a box office draw, taking away from the orignal concept that put it on the map. I've seen Ricky Martin and Lea Salonga and I didnt like it. It's like adding a kid in the last year of a television sitcom gasping for air. Like I said Im a purist....not saying I am right and anybody else is wrong. I'm just an actor with his opinion.

---

"....not saying I am right and anybody else is wrong. I'm just an actor with his opinion."

youre just an idiot who thinks race is an issue when it comes to casting. "i jus don like it" puh-leeze buddy.

and sydney i dont like to post b4 ive read ALL the garbage, but yea this guy is really trying to sugar-coat this board into a question on historical accuracy, when he should just admit it is him having a problem with seeing "traditional" roles cast with "non-traditional" actors. kiss my fist!

---

Updated On: 7/8/06 at 12:38 AM

"chinaman as Javert"


are you serious? chinaman? do people really still say things like this? wow. im done with this....come on out the closet, Adolf.

---

You say that I couldn’t suspend belief for a character such as Henry Higgins and maybe that is a legitimate argument for THAT character. Looking at Les Miz, however, you have to take the characters into consideration. They are so universal that everyone can connect to them, and that is what has made this book and musical so popular, that everyone can say that in some point in their life that have been or have known one of those characters. Does that make any since? It is so easy for me to see any of these characters played by a person of any race, because all of these characters CAN be anyone.

alright, calling you Adolf was uncalled for, but it was funny. I didnt think before i typed that. my apologies. but in NOOOOOOOO way does your partner's race make your comments any less offensive or totally change the possibility of your racist opinions (whether you think they are racist or not).

p.s.- calling me "sistah" was just as bad as calling you Adolf.

---

Updated On: 7/8/06 at 01:02 AM

Norm Lewis is wrong for Javert not because of the color of his skin but by the fact that he has never been a particularly compelling performer and, more importantly, conveys little of the complexity or depth necessary for a tormented character like Javert.



Allison Mackenzie
Peyton Place, New Hampshire

Updated On: 7/9/06 at 01:14 AM

i dont need anyone's pity. i was just stating a fact about how i felt sweetheart. your pity or anyone else's means zilch to me. i found this thread offensive and wanted to voice it. thats my right. just like you voiced your opinion about not having enough fat girl roles on broadway.

---