Prince of Egypt Concert - Long Island- Page 2

[theatregoer3]

Posted: 7/22/16 at 3:46pm

trpguyy said: "I said that the reading isn't a big deal (because generally they aren't), and you suggested that it was, because it has Tony-nominated/winning actors in it. 
My opinion on the matter is...it's not a big deal."

 

Ha! Ok. I like that.

 

Point taken. I'll climb down off my high horse :)

 

Thanks

 

[trpguyy]

Posted: 7/22/16 at 3:50pm

Don't get me wrong, I'd be right with you if it were a casting announcement for a full-on production. But a reading - and one that involves a heavy amount of bug repellent - ...meh...

[PopAria]

Posted: 7/22/16 at 3:53pm

I'd love to see it.  

 

Whoever cast this is obviously novice , but wasn't thinking about long term...  

 

Can't wait to see what becomes of this production. 

Updated On: 7/22/16 at 03:53 PM

[lesio]

Posted: 7/22/16 at 3:57pm

It's only a free concert. First reading was in February...

https://www.instagram.com/p/BBbI5Z-L0Hs/

and

https://www.instagram.com/p/BBdg-WZyUsy/

Updated On: 7/22/16 at 03:57 PM

[ChildofEarth]

Posted: 7/22/16 at 5:12pm

Wasn't there a reading some time ago with a mostly white cast including Julia Murney, Darren Criss, and Stark Sands? 

This is is always going to be white washed, I think.

Best to let it die slowly in community theater.

[gypsy101]

Posted: 7/22/16 at 5:17pm

someone on Facebook said something like this was "like Hamilton, only reversed!" which i thought was a terrible and stupid thing to say. how do people think this is anything like Hamilton? casting actors of color in Hamilton was an act of creative representation. This is lazy casting. Although the fact remains that Moses did not historically exist so I guess it's neither here nor there.

[LaneBryant]

Posted: 7/22/16 at 5:20pm

The attitude of "It's just a reading" and "They just got people who were available" is the entire reason why the great white way is a hot mess!

It doesn't matter if you're performing in East Bumblefugg in a tent, stop whitewashing EVERYTHING. Stop making dumb excuses. "They just got people who were available" - the heck? Yes, every person of color on the planet is booked. Sometimes you have to put in work. Just because you only know 3 white people, doesn't mean you should keep casting them in everything. DIVERSIFY! UGH! 

[theatregoer3]

Posted: 7/22/16 at 5:23pm

gypsy101 said: "Although the fact remains that Moses did not historically exist so I guess it's neither here nor there."

 

Haha! I like this point. So we could just go with the whole "imaginary character" theme and make all the characters blue like the Avatar folks and call it a day.

[Fan123]

Posted: 7/22/16 at 7:24pm

For a moment there I thought Michelle Pfeiffer would be reprising her film voicing role for the concert. Anyway.

TBH this casting doesn't bother me. Unlike a film such as 'Exodus', a stage musical has the possibility of new productions and replacement cast members. If we the people go a bit easy on the casting aspect of this show while it's still in development, it might eventually prove to be a hit and provide casting opportunities for non-white actors into the future. If it gets too mired in controversy now, it may never get off the ground. (This is assuming that it'll actually be a good show worthy of succeeding on an artistic level, which I have my doubts about; the movie was a bit meh.)

The casting decisions for this show in the future would be interesting though. I guess that 'accurate' casting would mean casting Jewish actors as the slaves, and other Middle Eastern (eg, Arab) actors as the Egyptians? Both groups are obviously diverse in appearance, but that approach could conceivably result in a cast of slaves who read as whiter than their oppressors.  How would that play in the US these days? Would the story's iconic status mean that people wouldn't care? Would many Middle Eastern actors even be interested in being a part of it? Another approach might be to just colourblind/multi-racially cast both groups, and use costuming and staging to make clear the difference between the two.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 7/22/16 at 7:35pm

theatregoer3 said: "My first thought was Navid Negahban as Pharoah, but I'm not a casting director. 

I guess all actors of African and/or Middle-Eastern decent were booked this night, yeah? Or they couldn't rely on the name of the property alone to sell tix to this free event?"

The thing is, I don't think this was really "cast" so much as they reached out to people they knew. Now, it's a different kind of racism when all the people you know are white, but that's a conversation for another day.

[gypsy101]

Posted: 7/22/16 at 8:18pm

ancient Egyptians weren't black? hmm I thought they were.

[trpguyy]

Posted: 7/22/16 at 8:37pm

gypsy101 said: "ancient Egyptians weren't black? hmm I thought they were."

This discussion has inspired me to do some reading on the topic. There's a rather thorough Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_race_controversy

Reader's Digest version is: scientists don't agree on what "color" the ancient Egyptians were.

And an interesting claim: Ramses was pale skinned with wavy red hair.

 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 7/22/16 at 8:45pm

For the record, Darren Criss is Filipino.

[broadwayguy91]

Posted: 7/22/16 at 9:14pm

HeyMrMusic said: "For the record, Darren Criss is Filipino.

 

"

half, to be exact.

I agree with the people above who said they should have gone with a Middle Eastern principal cast and also Earl123's suggestion of mutli-racial blind casting and using costumes/color schemes to differentiate the two 'factions'.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/22/16 at 9:57pm

So if it was a bunch of Dominicans playing Egyptians no one would care? It's just because they're white. And like pale white. Not even slightly tan. Hm. Got it.

[binau]

Posted: 7/22/16 at 10:15pm

I am always conflicted about this issue. At the end of the day, acting is acting. But there really does seem to be an issue with discriminating against POC when casting roles on Broadway and elsewhere, so we shouldn't be limiting their opportunities ESPECIALLY for roles that are POC. My ultimate wish though is that POC aren't just expected to only play POC roles. I want to see a black (for example) Rose, Mrs Lovett, Diana, Sally, Desiree etc. why do they only seem to cast POC people in POC roles? . Btw, no need to point out there has been a black Rose etc. I know, but talking generally here. 

Updated On: 7/22/16 at 10:15 PM

[CindersGolightly]

Posted: 7/22/16 at 10:48pm

How much do you guys want to bet that the people saying it doesn't matter are white?

[theatregoer3]

Posted: 7/22/16 at 10:52pm

VintageSnarker said: "Now, it's a different kind of racism when all the people you know are white, but that's a conversation for another day."

 

This. YES 

 

??

 

[ChildofEarth]

Posted: 7/22/16 at 10:53pm

HeyMrMusic said: "For the record, Darren Criss is Filipino."

 

I completely forgot - thank you for reminding me! 

[broadwayguy91]

Posted: 7/22/16 at 11:37pm

I'm surprised dave19 hasn't popped up to suggest black face make up for Marin and co

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/23/16 at 12:05am

LaneBryant said: "The attitude of "It's just a reading" and "They just got people who were available" is the entire reason why the great white way is a hot mess!

It doesn't matter if you're performing in East Bumblefugg in a tent, stop whitewashing EVERYTHING. Stop making dumb excuses. "They just got people who were available" - the heck? Yes, every person of color on the planet is booked. Sometimes you have to put in work. Just because you only know 3 white people, doesn't mean you should keep casting them in everything. DIVERSIFY! UGH! "

A+

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/23/16 at 1:10am

My point is Domincans are no more Egyptian and some white dude. So what's the point? Should they have scoured the country to find Egyptian actor/singers, who, in turn, could actually SING the damn score, for a one-night only concert? 

 

 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/23/16 at 1:16am

My point is, for a one-night-only concert, wouldn't you want people who can sing the crap out of that score instead of being more closely related to the character? When you're singing behind a music stand I don't think the audience is being transported anywhere. If it's a full production, I'm totally on the "oh hell no" bandwagon. 

[CindersGolightly]

Posted: 7/23/16 at 1:23am

Nope, I'd rather have a completely untalented person with the correct ethnicity up there. Why are you implying that a group of POC's couldn't resemble the character AND sing the crap out of the score? Interesting.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 7/23/16 at 3:12am

Ok, I just re-opened this thread for the 1st time since my last post, and though I know I'm going to regret jumping back into the argument, I think there's a key thing here that needs to be clarified.

The primary issue here is not inauthenticity, it's white-washing. The two issues are closely intertwined and overlapping, but not the exact same issue. If we're just talking about authenticity, then YES, having a white person play an Egyptian is just as inauthentic as having a Latinx person play an Egyptian. And YES, it would be nice to have a cast of people that have actual ties to Egypt or the Middle-East. 

HOWEVER, the really nasty part of all this is not merely the inauthenticity, it's the white-washing. It's the fact that White people throughout history have taken other cultures and characters of color and turned them into White people. Throughout history and even today, characters of color from literature, folklore, etc. are made white for mainstream adaptations. And when the ethnicity of a character is unknown, they are white 99% of the time. And all of this is happening while POC are struggling to be represented in the media. THAT'S the context that we're bringing to this issue.

Latinx people are POC, so even though casting a Dominican person might not be "authentic" casting, they are also being disadvantaged by the white domination of the media, so their being cast as a person of a different race is not contributing to the most prevalent issue. It's all about the context of the entertainment industry that white people have built for themselves. 

And as I said earlier, the fact that this is merely a concert on Long Island doesn't change the fact that this is (A) contributing to the larger problem of white-washing, (B) setting a bad example for other developmental productions and (C) showing us that the creative team doesn't really care all that much about casting POC, even if they choose to do so in future large-scale productions. 

And also, it's ludicrous to suggest that they couldn't find POC who could sing the crap out of the score. To be honest, I don't even think these are the best WHITE people they could have cast, so they certainly are not earning any points on that front in my book. Even if we put aside race, do you really think that Stark Sands, of all people, is going to sing this role better than anyone else could have? I mean, Stark Sands is a talented enough guy, but come on! He's not exactly Pavarotti.

Updated On: 7/23/16 at 03:12 AM