Was Kristolyn Lloyd making a dig towards DEH? — Page 3

Jared is specifically written to be a white jewish boy from the suburbs. Not a great example there.

Not all Jews are white. But the character is way more defined as a nerdy gamer/computer whiz than anything else. Jared could easily be played by a person of color and not lose anything.

I know it's interesting to wonder about those plot points, but the audience should able to suspend their disbelief enough that there doesn't have to be a clear explanation of why some of the teens don't look like their siblings or their parents in these shows. Like Eponine can be played by a black woman without considering whether or not the Thénardiers adopted her from Africa or something (bc that's obviously not true). Even the young Eponines weren't black on Broadway, but it was totally okay.

HeyMrMusic said: "I mean, look at the standbys of Frozen. No explanation of a black Anna or a half-Japanese Elsa. It’s just whatever."



But in Broadway's Frozen, Anna's Father is Black and her mother is White.....so a Black Anna would need no explanation.........cuz it makes sense. Having White Elsa and White Anna is actually what doesn't make sense, when you look at how they cast the parents.....

I think DEH actually IS specifically about a white boy.

Because nobody else could possibly get away with that crap with no consequences, much less somehow be passed off as an inspirational protagonist.

Updated On: 4/21/18 at 01:03 AM

LaneBryant said: "HeyMrMusic said: "I mean, look at the standbys of Frozen. No explanation of a black Anna or a half-Japanese Elsa. It’s just whatever."



But in Broadway's Frozen, Anna's Father is Black and her mother is White.....so a Black Anna would need no explanation.........cuz it makes sense. Having White Elsa and White Anna is actually what doesn't make sense, when you look at how they cast the parents.....

"

The children are all white. So even when Anna is black, the young version of her is white.

The point of this is that what "makes sense" shouldn't matter. Stop asking for an explanation of their genetics and suspend your disbelief.

I'm actually still amazed this show has struck such a chord with people. The staging is incredibly boring and uneventful - thankfully it didn't win Best Director - and the whole show feels like the same damn song on repeat - save for a few numbers. And the main character is a d-bag. Don't get it.

And I think audiences will believe what you want them to believe. Like when a character is suppose to be the "hot guy" or "hot girl." People will find them attractive even if they aren't. Or how the super gay guy can play "straight" because the show tells us he's straight. It's just what it is. I think audiences are more open than we think. I saw Rashaad in August: Osage County and didn't think for a second "This doesn't make sense." She was brilliant.

I mean, the audience is still believing this girl can create an ice castle with her "magic," so...suspend your disbelief....

natashalost said: "LaneBryant said: "HeyMrMusic said: "I mean, look at the standbys of Frozen. No explanation of a black Anna or a half-Japanese Elsa. It’s just whatever."


But in Broadway's Frozen, Anna's Father is Black and her mother is White.....so a Black Anna would need no explanation.........cuz it makes sense. Having White Elsa and White Anna is actually what doesn't make sense, when you look at how they cast the parents....."

To be fair, you still have to suspend your disbelief in Frozen because no matter what, the girls playing Young Anna/Elsa are white. If a black understudy is on for Anna, Young Anna is played by a white girl."

Michael Jackson went from Black as a child to White as an adult. Why can't it be the other way? I understand he had a skin issue but still.

LaneBryant said: "qolbinau said: "I doubt it’s a dig at a specific show - maybe the culture of casting in general. But sad for her to think she might have been cast for token ‘diversity’ (or racial diversity* more specifically - I want to continue to challenge the notion that diversity is just skin-deep). Maybe she was cast because she was the best person for the role? At least, I hope so.

Unfortunately, we all have to call BULL and SHIIIII. That show was in DC with an all white cast. People were throwing around the name, "Dear Evan Hansen: A New American Musical." When they opened that show, they had EVERY intention of bringing that EXACTcast to Broadway. The show opened, and suddenly people are writing the Washington Post PISSED that a "new american musical" has cast only white people....

ThoseWHITE producers looked at that cast and said, "EenieMeenie MineyMoe, One of you White people has to go! Lets cast a random Black girl in that little role" Then they climbed back out of the whole they were hiding in and said, "See!!! We filled our diversity quote! Is everybody happy? Please don't boycott us!!!"

It's show BUSINESS! They didn't re-write a single line of that character to showcase a Black girls POV or sensibilities in 2016. THEY DONT CARE. UGH!!!!!"

Why would they? The show isn't about her.

Besides, what exactly are her sensibilities as a young black woman in this show. That's not what the show is about. It's about something he's done. She just happens to be one of his friends.

I agree though that any one of these roles could be played by any member of any race. The storyline is totally colorblind.

Of course, you cast a young non-white man in this role from the beginning, will you have people saying: 'He's such a d-bag, Why didn't they make him white? Are they trying to stereotype that all young men of color are d-bags?'

Or originate POTO with a non-white man rather than Michael Crawford and people say: 'Why did they cast a this man in particular? The Phantom kills people. What are they trying to say?'

Or they open Chicago with a non-white Billy. 'Are they trying to say that all men of color are swindlers and cheats?'

You're never going to win. It's either that you're being culturally insensitive, too colorblind, not colorblind enough, or trying to send some stereotypical, underlying message.

There will always be someone out there who is unhappy.

If one wants a story that conveys their experience as a young black girl, playing a role such as this in DEH isn't the vehicle to do it. First of all it's not a highly developed character. Nor is it a character who is meant to exhibit one's cultural experience. Find something else. Or write something else that will do that.

Elegance101 said: "I know it's interesting to wonder about those plot points, but the audience should able to suspend their disbelief enough that there doesn't have to be a clear explanation of why some of the teens don't look like their siblings or their parents in these shows. Like Eponine can be played by a black woman without considering whether or not theThénardiers adopted her from Africa or something (bc that's obviously not true). Even the young Eponines weren't black on Broadway, but it was totally okay."

But there is a problem if you have a black Fantine, white Thenardiers, black Eponine and white Cosette. And it made you wonder whether the Thenardiers got the wrong daughter. Unfortunately, this was the ethnic make-up of the cast I saw on Broadway.

LizzieCurry said: "Are you guys so young you don't remember all the young Cosettes and Eponines who grew up to be a different ethnicity?"

that happened in the 2012 tour and i found it a little confusing

Elegance101 said: "Dancingthrulife2 said: "Elegance101 said: "I know it's interesting to wonder about those plot points, but the audience should able to suspend their disbelief enough that there doesn't have to be a clear explanation of why some of the teens don't look like their siblings or their parents in these shows. Like Eponine can be played by a black woman without considering whether or not theThénardiers adopted her from Africa or something (bc that's obviously not true). Even the young Eponines weren't black on Broadway, but it was totally okay."

But there is a problem if you have a black Fantine, white Thenardiers, black Eponine and white Cosette. And it made you wonder whether the Thenardiers got the wrong daughter. Unfortunately, this was the ethnic make-up of the cast I saw on Broadway."

You can't suspend your GD disbelief? You're watching people belt out lush ballads while being killed in 19th century France. The racial makeup is where you have to pump the brakes? Where it crosses a line? REALLY?"

Suspending your disbelief does not mean suspending your logic and reasoning skills. In this case, the exact "race" of the characters is not the problem. The problem is that the way they jumbled the ethnicity of the characters created a confusion that is more logically reachable than what the story actually intends. I can of course suspend the disbelief that the racial make-up in Les Miz is quite different from the actual racial make-up of 19th Century Paris, but it does take some conscious thinking to believe that, when the baby of Race A turns out to be Race B while the baby of a woman of Race B is actually Race A, the possibility that they have confused the babies in the beginning is not an option.