Sierra Boggess to play Maria in West Side Story in London- Page 2

[Bwayfan292]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 10:37pm

Prince of broadway was differnt though, they all played like 80 other roles.

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 10:38pm

I love the mindset of, "Well, because this has been 'okay' in the past, you guys have no business getting mad about it now!"

[Elegance101]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 10:39pm

Bwayfan292 said: "Prince of broadway was differnt though, they all played like 80 other roles."

Well, couldn't a Latina woman have played those other roles?

But I see how it's a little different.

[Elegance101]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 10:40pm

Elfuhbuh said: "I love the mindset of, "Well, because this has been 'okay' in the past, you guys have no business getting mad about it now!""

So true.  "Where were you all when Natalie Wood did it?!!!! WHERE WAS THE OUTRAGE THEN??"

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 10:40pm

Prediction: This thread will get WAY out of hand.

[Bwayfan292]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 10:41pm

Elegance101 said: "Bwayfan292 said: "Prince of broadway was differnt though, they all played like 80 other roles."

Well, couldn't a Latina woman have played those other roles?

But I see how it's a little different."

Yes. I agree a Latina woman could have played those roles but they also had to cast for the others. Sierra though has no excuse thats one role which they should have casted a latino women. Love sierra but this isnt a good idea

[Trish2]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 10:46pm

Can we even talk age here? Ms. Boggess is a thirty-five year old woman.

Updated On: 4/19/18 at 10:46 PM

[Elegance101]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 10:47pm

BroadwayRox3588 said: "Prediction: This thread will get WAY out of hand."

As OP, I'd like to apologize in advance. Hopefully, we don't have another Oak + Great Comet or pregnant Betsy Wolfe thread on our hands!

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 10:51pm

To be fair, I can't imagine much speculating coming from this. If she drops the role, then she drops the role, but if she doesn't, then she doesn't.

[Elegance101]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 10:53pm

Elfuhbuh said: "To be fair, I can't imagine much speculating coming from this. If she drops the role, then she drops the role, but if she doesn't, then she doesn't."

Yes, I agree! I was just kidding around. :)

[Wildcard]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 11:18pm

This is a concert presentation... would people complain if they cast an East Asian as Tony, a black actor as Riff or a south Asian as Anita?

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 11:30pm

This is a concert presentation... would people complain if they cast an East Asian as Tony, a black actor as Riff or a south Asian as Anita?

Yes, probably. The characters in West Side Story are specific races. It's important to the story. Casting someone Latinx in a Latinx role is not asking too much. If you can't cast it appropriately (which they easily could), then do a different show. Concert presentation or not.

 

[Elegance101]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 11:37pm

Wildcard said: "This is a concert presentation... would people complain if they cast an East Asian as Tony, a black actor as Riff or a south Asian as Anita?"

I agree with the above that race matters in this show.

But in any show, any production (even a studio recording), a role that is rightfully a person of color’s being taken and given to a white person IS NOT OKAY. It’s the taking away that’s important here. People of color have had opportunities taken away from them for years, not to mention the racist activities surrounding white people posing as other races in entertainment constantly. I don’t care at all about the format it’s done in, and neither should any of us.

Updated On: 4/19/18 at 11:37 PM

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 11:38pm

Wildcard said: "This is a concert presentation... would people complain if they cast an East Asian as Tony, a black actor as Riff or a south Asian as Anita?"

...Yes, considering this story's premise is very race-driven. The characters in this show are all written with specific races in mind, whether it be Puerto Rican or white. And I really don't get how this being a ~concert~ is supposed to make a difference; it's still a production of the show, so they have no business casting a white actress in a Latina role. I get that there are shows where it's fine to take a raceblind approach to the casting, but this certainly isn't one of them.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 11:42pm

I'm sorry, but watching that clip in the previous page with Sierra doing the dialogue was so unintentionally hilarious in a can't believe I saw that way. It's like if she did Flower Drum Song and played Mei Li and did an accent or did Caroline's dialogue exactly as written in Caroline, or Change.

Updated On: 4/19/18 at 11:42 PM

[missthemountains]

Posted: 4/20/18 at 12:57am

This is so beyond not ok. The casting directors and managers behind this are real dumbasses. Siera can have her pick of the litter on almost any MT role. It's called doing the god damn ethical thing, there is more than enough theatrical real estate for Siera to choose from, also I'm sorry, she's Ariel in The Little Mermaid. She's Christine in Phantom. She's like a Disney princess who excels well in substanceless lily-white roles. Also, like Karen Olivio? Or like anyone from Hamilton? God I can't even process the stupidity behind this.

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 4/20/18 at 1:59am

It's not the full West Side Story, it's just the score, it's scheduled to last 76 minutes. But that's beyond the point, if you're doing WSS you should always a Latina Maria.

[wssinsider]

Posted: 4/20/18 at 2:14am

Sierra talking about how wrong it was to play Maria in WSS in the past

https://twitter.com/distress_coma/status/987130557007122432?s

The perfect example of a basic white girl

[adam.peterson44]

Posted: 4/20/18 at 3:46am

"But in any show, any production (even a studio recording), a role that is rightfully a person of color’s being taken and given to a white person IS NOT OKAY. It’s the taking away that’s important here. People of color have had opportunities taken away from them for years, not to mention the racist activities surrounding white people posing as other races in entertainment constantly."


I agree with what is written above.  I also note that it applies also to large women - there are so very few roles for large women in entertainment, so it is just as appalling and outraging to see the role of large women characters being played by men, completely erasing the existence of large women in the process.  In the 2000's on Broadway, we have seen this done in Matilda with Miss Trunchbull and in Hairspray with Edna.  In the threads on this site, people were praising Bertie Carvel's performance rather than expressing the outrage being expressed here at the casting that encourages erasure of severely marginalied groups of people.  I hope that i live to see the day when similar outrage will be expressed for all such cases of inappropriate casting. 

[Elegance101]

Posted: 4/20/18 at 5:08am

adam.peterson44 said: ""But in any show, any production (even a studio recording), a role that is rightfully a person of color’s being taken and given to a white person IS NOT OKAY. It’s the taking away that’s important here. People of color have had opportunities taken away from them for years, not to mention the racist activities surrounding white people posing as other races in entertainment constantly."


I agree with what is written above. I also note that it applies also to large women - there are so very few roles for large women in entertainment, so it is just as appalling and outraging to see the role of large women characters being played by men, completely erasing the existence of large women in the process. In the 2000's on Broadway, we have seen this done in Matilda with Miss Trunchbull and in Hairspray with Edna. In the threads on this site, people were praising Bertie Carvel's performance rather than expressing the outrage being expressed here at the casting that encourages erasure of severely marginalied groups of people. I hope that i live to see the day when similar outrage will be expressed for all such cases of inappropriate casting."

I understand your frustrations. I would like to point out, however, that Edna was played by a drag queen in the original movie, so it was a set thing before the musical. John Walters said the most important things about casting the 2007 movie were the tradition of Tracy being a newcomer and Edna being a drag queen. It is sad that larger woman are delegated to Tracy and Jan from Grease, though.

[Elegance101]

Posted: 4/20/18 at 5:16am

I also can’t go without saying this any longer: this entire thing has reminded of Lea Michele saying “I learned SPANISH for it, and I didn’t get it.” Maybe Sierra learned Spanish! Maybe we should cut her and the creatives some slack.

Anyway, I hope that was a funny memory for you all.

[binau]

Posted: 4/20/18 at 5:17am

Re: Matilda. The role is played by a man for comedic purposes. It wouldn’t be as funny if she was actually a woman playing a woman. I take your point that if you’re a larger woman or otherwise unattractive woman (or man, but especially woman) it must be harder to get roles though.

I have no interest in seeing Sierra in this role. Let’s not pretend that the reaction would be different if she was Asian or Black though. We are much more accepting of POC playing other POC roles to a certain degree. This is why no one cares that Telly is in Aladdin. Or Lea in OOTI. I don’t have an opinion about whether this matters or not. Just describing how I’d see it in response to an earlier comment.

[Gizmo6]

Posted: 4/20/18 at 5:36am

I don't like Sierra Boggess I saw her in Phantom and Love Never Dies and the 25th thing. 

However, I do get a little frustrated with this you can't play that role argument seeping over into theatre. 

West Side Story is not a historical drama firstly and secondly I love seeing POC in roles, in Phantom for example, that do what theatre is supposed to do, suspend your disbelief. 

It of course has to work both ways. I do have a problem with all white school kids doing Miss Saigon for example. 

I don't think we should become bogged down in this but i do agree more POC should be cast in traditionally white roles. 

[binau]

Posted: 4/20/18 at 5:44am

Racial conflict between white and the Latino communities is a major theme in West Side Story though - it does seem a bit odd for a white perso to play one of the lead Latino roles given this context. Especially if a talented alternative was available.

But I agree we can be less sensitive in some cases. For example, I don’t have any issues with the Alan Cumming, Steven Pasquale and Audra Kiss Of the Spider Woman workshop casting (in fact it sounds like absolute dream casting to me). And I hope we see a revival with this cast soon. But I can imagine this being slightly uncomfortable casting for some here.

[Dave28282]

Posted: 4/20/18 at 5:51am

RippedMan said: "I guess it's a concert, but like, did no one think about...like...race?"

I think the arts should rise above that.