Having won the the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and sweeping the Tony's the hip-hop musical, "Hamilton," has become the center of racial controversy in the past few months. The number one hottest play on Broadway to date, hosted a open casting call in March 2016. The "Hamilton" cast, which features actors of color for the majority of roles -- including those of Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Marquis de Lafayette, had previously been praised and hailed for their practice of color-blind casting, or the practice of casting a role without considering the actor's ethnicity.
Thousand began to criticize Hamilton's color-bind open casting call when the casting crew specifically called for non-white actors and actresses to audition. In response to the strong public criticism and accusations of racism against Caucasians, the casting crew added, "open to all ethnicities." However, they did not remove the words "non-white."
"Hamilton" lead actor and creator Lin-Manuel Miranda (Alexander Hamilton) stated in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that his cast was purposeful and planned. "In Hamilton, we're telling the stories of old, dead white men, but we're using actors of color, and that makes the story more immediate and more accessible to a contemporary audience," stated Miranda. He explained further, "You don't distance the audience by putting an actor of color in a role that you would think of as default Caucasian, you excite people and you draw them in." Miranda ended by stating how with color-blind casting, the right actors and actresses would be selected based on their skill, not on their ethnicity, helping to deliver the best performances that Broadway can offer.
With this onslaught of criticism and accusations of racism against Caucasians, many noteworthy figures in the film/theater industry such as John Boyega from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and Raven Symone from "That's So Raven" have spoken in support of "Hamilton" and their practice of color-blind casting. They stated that as members of the industry, whomever the director or casting crew desires as members of the cast is simply part of their vision. "I have seen requirements for age, race, build, and gender. This isn't racism, this isn't hate. This is the industry."
Despite recent controversy, "Hamilton" remains a rare Broadway phenomenon delighting critics by having enraptured both theater traditionalists and the hip young millennials, and is enjoyed on an Adele and Beyonce level of celebrity adulation. It has continued to be a box-office powerhouse, nipping at the heels of legendary musicals such as "Wicked" and "Lion King" to become one of the highest-grossing shows now on Broadway. Among the most high-profile audience members to see it at the Richard Rodgers Theater have been President Obama and his daughters Sasha and Malia, pop musician Madonna, politician Dick Cheney, and Hollywood actor Jake Gyllenhaal. With having grossed $61.7 million so far and making $1.5 million weekly in ticket sales, the success of "Hamilton" remains unaffected by controversy.
