SMASH will officially land on Broadway in spring 2025- Page 2

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 10/22/24 at 5:56pm

I think Robyn Hurder is an exceptional dancer, a good singer and a good actress, but this is a vocal beast. She also seems like a lovely human, but I’d prefer someone else as Ivy. Oh well…

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/22/24 at 6:12pm

Seb28 said: "Can somebody explain what the grounds for this yelling are? What is the goal?"

The good-faith reading of the situation is people want to see their ethnicity represented onstage, they want more employment opportunities for their friends of color, and they want Broadway to continue its trend of diversifying.

I'd like to think we can embrace the above while also understanding that every Broadway show does not need to check every box. I don't see these types of complaints about movies when something like OPPENHEIMER has an almost all-white & largely male cast, because we know there are plenty of other projects out there.

The cynical reading of the situation is some people have time on their hands and just want to stir s**t up

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 10/22/24 at 6:13pm

Seb28 said: "ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Some yelling has begun online because there are apparently only 5 actors of color among the 25 announced today (or, 20% of the cast). However, additional casting is to be announced shortly."

Can somebody explain what the grounds for this yelling are? What is the goal?

Population USA

White, percent75.3%

Black or African American, percent 13.7%

American Indian and Alaska Native, percent 1.3%

Asian, percent 6.4%"

The best reaction to people whining about nonsense is to ignore them. The notion that SMASH has to cast X number of people of color to "pass muster" for some self-appointed brigade of political correctness is so exhausting by this point (and will have zero impact on box office, awards, etc.).

[kdogg36]

Posted: 10/22/24 at 6:30pm

Seb28 said: "Can somebody explain what the grounds for this yelling are?"

Only about 30% of the New York City population is non-POC. Globally, it's only about 8%. Those statistics are at least as relevant as the ones you cite.

[DrMonicaDeMoneco]

Posted: 10/22/24 at 7:00pm

DramaTeach said: "I think Robyn Hurder is an exceptional dancer, a good singer and a good actress, but this is a vocal beast. She also seems like a lovely human, but I’d prefer someone else as Ivy. Oh well…"

And way too old to be playing ivy

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 10/22/24 at 7:08pm

"And way too old to be playing ivy"

Hilty was around 30 years old when she started playing Ivy.

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 10/22/24 at 7:38pm

"The best reaction to people whining about nonsense is to ignore them. The notion that SMASH has to cast X number of people of color to "pass muster" for some self-appointed brigade of political correctness is so exhausting by this point (and will have zero impact on box office, awards, etc.)."

The SMASH TV series only had two POC from what I can remember of the cast. They were the guy (sorry forgot his name) who played "Ellis" and Leslie Odom Jr.  In other words, the show already has more POC than the TV series.

"Only about 30% of the New York City population is non-POC. Globally, it's only about 8%. Those statistics are at least as relevant as the ones you cite"

Your statistics or any others are irrelevant. The only two characters of the show where they were probably specific that the women had to be white was "Ivy" and Karen" because they play "Marilyn Monroe". The rest of the roles in the show can probably be filled by any race. We have no idea how many POC auditioned for this show.

Updated On: 10/22/24 at 07:38 PM

[greensgreens]

Posted: 10/22/24 at 9:19pm

This is some strange casting. Good that they got Krysta from the show but it needs more star power. I hope Brooks can give us something other than the swishy gay stereotypes from the 90s on this one. I’m also not sold on Stroman, but she did good serious work with Scotsboro Boys. It sounds like this is going to be complete fluff though which just sounds boring, especially with some really stirring moments in the score. The beauty of Smash on TV was you had such a blend of emotions, scarves, casting couches, thrown martinis, and Monet paintings hawked for lap dances. It was a feast for the senses and it sounds like this has been rewritten without any bite. 

[hayden6]

Posted: 10/23/24 at 12:18am

DramaTeach said: "I think Robyn Hurder is an exceptional dancer, a good singer and a good actress, but this is a vocal beast. She also seems like a lovely human, but I’d prefer someone else as Ivy. Oh well…"

I think she’s up for the challenge vocally — we were blown away when we saw her performance during the open rehearsal/workshop. She does get to sink her teeth into some fantastic choreography, but this role requires a triple threat and I think she’ll prove herself more than capable when it opens.

Unrelated, I hope they’ve made big changes to the ending since the open rehearsal. It was such a disappointing end an otherwise stellar show.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 10/23/24 at 1:49am

kdogg36 said: "Seb28 said: "Can somebody explain what the grounds for this yelling are?"

Only about 30% of the New York City population is non-POC. Globally, it's only about 8%. Those statistics are at least as relevant as the ones you cite."

An excellent point, which show do we recast first to reflect global statistics? Alot of Indians, Chinese and Indonesians to quickly install on Broadway, ASAP.