When is blind casting okay?

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 4:21pm

I'm talking about color-blind and gender-blind casting.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 4:26pm

Fasten your seatbelts...






Updated On: 7/5/14 at 04:26 PM

[TheGingerBreadMan]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 4:26pm

When it is non-essential to the plot of the show.

Examples: There can't be a white Seaweed in Hairspray because the racial differences are a very big part of the plot. There can't be a female Angel in Rent because the fact that he is a man who cross-dresses as a woman is a huge part of the character.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 4:28pm

Generally you should try to cast color blindly whenever the ethnicity isn't a central part of the character. Obviously a white Motormouth or black Velma wouldn't work in Hairspray, but a black or Hispanic Javert or Eponine in Les Miz works fine.

Gender blind casting is somewhat more tricky, because a lot of times a character's relationships with other characters are based on whether the character is male or female.

Updated On: 7/5/14 at 04:28 PM

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 4:30pm

I'm just asking because my director likes to have something about the struggles of black people even when it doesn't make sense.
He would make Maria black and set the Sound of music in 1960's Mississippi.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 4:35pm

I think that for the majority of shows, blind casting works just fine. But, it doesnt work in shows like Memphis or Hairspray where racial relations is a main theme.

I saw a blind production of Hairspray and it was all f*cked up.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 4:35pm

PLEEEEEEEEASE film that and put it on YouTube.

I'm BEGGING you!

[E.Davis]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 4:36pm

As someone said in another thread last night, R&H shows were written for a specific period. In my own opinion doing that kind of concept doesn't work because what is there to gain from it other than being "hip, and cutting edge". You would also need to change the libretto to reflect the lack of Austria, Germany or the growing Third Reich. Something that the R&H Estate would never allow in a million years.
Maria can be black, Audra is black, so why can't Maria.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 4:37pm

I'm just asking because my director likes to have something about the struggles of black people even when it doesn't make sense.
He would make Maria black and set the Sound of music in 1960's Mississippi.

You're lying.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 4:38pm

I want that to be true so bad.

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 4:54pm

It's true he's doing Cabaret with a color blind cast because he feels that "his people" are still being treated like the Jews during the Holocaust.

[E.Davis]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 4:57pm

And who are "his people"?

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 5:01pm

He refers to African-Americans as "his people"

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 5:34pm

Just so you're clear about something - your director is an idiot.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 5:39pm

As they so wisely put it in the brilliant "Tropic Thunder", "what do you mean, MY people?"

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 5:44pm

This thread is hilarious. Is the OP a troll?

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 5:44pm

No I thought it might be an interesting discussion


Updated On: 7/5/14 at 05:44 PM

[justincharacter]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 5:44pm

@your director

[PalJoey]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 5:45pm

You're lying.

You're a lying troll.

You're a lying troll who's lying.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 5:47pm

I saw a production of Sound of Music set in a french penal colony. Maria was played by a mulatto mute hunchback. Made you think.

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 5:47pm

I'm sorry I said yup to Jordan saying he was an idiot
This is actually true

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 5:48pm

As long as people seem to keep wanting to take this topic to its illogical extreme, have we considered species-blind casting? I know of a Ring-tailed Lemur who I think would be perfect for Mrs. Lovett.

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 5:49pm

^Yes please

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 5:50pm

My director is doing a musical version of MISSISSIPPI BURNING but setting it in 1981 London since he thinks punk rock was wrongfully treated by the mainstream the same as southern black people in the 60's.

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 5:54pm

When we did Little shop he tried to make a statement about race by making Audrey black. The role was soo far out of her singing range. She sounded like Beyonce in a wood chipper.