Unfortunately a discussion that will never find an answer, I fear. Because it will never be enough.
If LMM wanted to cast non-whites in his musical, even though it's a musical about white historical figures, that's his prerogative. There was a message and a reason behind it, so be it. If Porgy and Bess, or Jelly's Last Jam, etc. want to remain a largely black cast, I have no problem with that.
But if someone down the line wants to cast a white Jelly Roll Morton or Porgy or Bess in upcoming stagings of those musicals, so be it. Or a black Captain Andy and a white Joe in future stagings of Showboat, again, so be it.
It's the theater.
I do find it odd though how the term Asian is thrown around so haphazardly. I know it's a generalized label for those whose heritage is from the Asian continent, but many of the shows being discussed here are special to different cultures within that continental sphere. Just for the sake of debate, is casting a Japanese actress in the role of a Chinese woman in Flower Drum Song okay? Is casting a Filipino or Japanese actor as the King of Siam a slight to Thai actors?
My friend's mom is Chinese, his dad is Japanese. And he admitted that there have been some interesting moments between families, the Chinese side seeing themselves as superior to the Japanese side, and vice versa. I'm sure his Chinese family members would have raised their eyebrows at the thought of Japanese actors playing Chinese characters too.
I know this is a thread about the overcasting of whites in roles that could easily be cast across different cultures, and I agree that there are many roles that don't have to have whites cast in those roles.
I just find it an interesting topic because once the white problem is solved, it can't be denied that within that Asian continent are many diverse cultures in and of themselves. So will that be our next discussion?
I also have a friend who is Thai, numerous friends who are Filipino, and quite a few of Japanese and Chinese ancestry (including that friend who is both Chinese and Japanese). And they are all as different from one another in their cultural practices as my culture is from my friends from Mexico and Canada. Even though those of us from the USA, Canada and Mexico all come from the same continent as well.
I think if we're going to talk about color blind casting, racism, etc., we have to be totally consistent and look beyond the white thing. Even though the white thing has its own questions. A phantom from Paris singing with an Irish brogue? An English Sweeney Todd role being played by someone with a Polish accent. I mean, how far do we take it.
This discussion has gone only as far as casting whites versus everyone else. But how far does it go once we get this initial issue solved? Because among that group of "everyone else" there are uniquely diverse individuals with their own stories, and their own cultures, even if they do come from the same continent and are labeled as such.
I travel to South America frequently on vacations and take care not to call myself an American, because South Americans are from the Americas as well.
Canadians and Mexicans are from North America. We're all from the same continent. But we come from many different cultures and experiences, as well.
Labeling Asians only by their continental identity takes away from the individual experiences they own, be they Japanese, Filipino, Indian, Chinese, etc.
So once you get beyond the white vs. everyone else labels, how far do you take it. Color blind casting is fine by me, but once you get passed the skin color, do we want to be sensitive to culture and country-identity as well, rather than just labeling them with some catch all, continental identity?
Probably. If you want to be consistent.
In the meantime, my cousin, a former NYC actress has been turned down for numerous roles. She wasn't "ethnic" enough (this was back in the 70s), she was too short for the role that was being cast. Whatever.
I'm not saying it doesn't happen more to those of color than white actors (the percentages might be in the favor of white actors), but it does happen to whites as well.
