"What ever happened to the "an actor should only play a role plus/minus 7 years their age" rule....."
It probably went out the window around the same time Ethel Merman revived her role as Annie Oakley. And when Bernadette Peters was cast in the same role. Annie Oakley was 21 when she met Buffalo Bill.
It's called theatre, people. It's not real. Suspension of disbelief. I bet Idina is not really green, either. But I know for a fact that Patti Lupone aged about 15 years during every performance of Evita. C'mon y'all! It's not like they're casting Kathy Bates as Annie Warbucks. The Callaways in Wicked in that that big of a stretch.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian