In case you couldn't tell, I really, REALLY like theatre. It's my jam. So naturally, I'm gonna have opinions about it. I have actors and actresses I love, directors and choreographers I look up to, and writers whose words really speak to me. I also have wishes and dreams about productions and casting choices I want to see happen that might be a little different from the norm. Here are four of those dreams:
1. All-PoC Cast of Any Sondheim Show:
There is no way to overstate the importance of Stephen Sondheim's influence on the modern musical. Ask any theatre composer today and they're bound to list at least one of his works as their favorites. Jonathan Larson (Rent) even wrote him into his own autobiographical musical Tick Tick... Boom!. However, if you look at Broadway or prominent regional theatre productions of Sondheim's shows, they frequently feature a predominantly white cast. How cool would it be to have an all-person-of-color cast of a show like Sunday in the Park with George? I'm thinking Raul Esparza as Georges, Phillipa Soo as Dot, Norm Lewis as Jules, Ruthie Ann Miles as Yvonne, Joshua Henry as the Soldier, and Ali Ewoldt and Ashley Park as the Celestes. And just to get this out of the way, if you're reading this and thinking, "Well, that's unrealistic! Why is a Latino man playing a 19th century French painter?" let me remind you: there's a whole musical where people on roller skates play trains. Musical theatre thrives on the unrealistic. Get your priorities straight.
2. Nicki Minaj as Lafayette/Jefferson in Hamilton:
Lin-Manuel Miranda has said that he's open to women playing the Founding Fathers in Hamilton, and who better to take on the fast-rapping, purple-velvet-wearing combo of Lafayette and Jefferson than Nicki Minaj? She graduated from LaGuardia Performing Arts High School in New York, so she has training and experience in acting. She has the swag to handle "Guns and Ships" and "What'd I Miss," so how awesome would it be to have her fit her iconic "Anaconda" laugh into the end of the first "Cabinet Battle?" ("You don't have the votes/you don't have the votes!")
3. Andy Mientus as the Emcee in Cabaret:
Andy Mientus has been known for playing younger roles, like Marius in Les Miserables and Kyle Bishop in Smash, but he's probably best-known for playing Hanschen in Spring Awakening. That's a young role too, but it shows Mientus' slipperier, darker side. Now that he looks older, he'd be a great fit for the magnetic Emcee. He has a commanding presence onstage, but as he proved in Les Mis, he can also handle the heavy material well. Also, Mientus is bisexual, and he'd be following in the footsteps of other great bi actors in the part, like Alan Cumming and Raul Esparza.
4. Denée Benton as Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel:
Denée Benton is, as of this writing, a relative unknown in the theatre community, but on October 18th, she will begin performances as Countess Natasha Rostova in Dave Malloy's musical adaptation of War and Peace, titled Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812. I had the honor of seeing the show when it was at the American Repetory Theatre in Massachusetts, and Benton was spectacular in the role. Her lovely soprano voice and innocent charisma would lend well to Carrie in Carousel. As Natasha, Benton sings "No One Else," an aria about her fiancé, whom she loves dearly. "Mr. Snow," a song where Carrie tells her best friend Julie about her engagement the night before, is similar in content and also the requirements of the actress singing the song. Both characters have a naïve nature that lands them in trouble as well, but Benton handles this in Natasha beautifully. Coincidentally, this is also the role that launched Audra McDonald, another black actress, into stardom.
