West Side Story. In the Heights. Aladdin. The Color Purple. The Wiz. What do all of these shows have in common? They all have casts that are majority people of color. Yes, people of color. That means African American, Latino, Middle Eastern, South Asian, East Asian, Polynesian, and Native American people. Yes, they are out there, occupying all different kinds of jobs. In fact, many of them are artists who sing, act, dance, and so on. However, artists of color have a little bit of tougher experience when it comes to the arts.
You see, casting shows can be tricky and in some cases, it could make or break a production. Throughout history though, actors of color have been shut out of show and films even if those shows or films actively portray their own struggles via characters that share their race, heritage, and/or culture. While there have been the tiniest of steps made towards overall inclusion of all actors of all backgrounds, there has still been a lot of instances of white actors portraying people of color.
The main argument? “Well, there just aren’t enough actors of color around.”
First of all, Broadway is situated in one of the most diverse cities in the United States. New York City is the prime example of a medley of heritages and races blended together to make a colorful, cultural city. Just look it up. Moreover, most actors go to New York City to find their big break in theatre. So the fact that casting directors cannot find talented actors of color anywhere either means that they are not looking hard enough or that they are providing a pitiful reason for not casting the right people.
Another argument. “Well, so-and-so actor could ‘pass’ for a [insert minority race here].”
Okay. This reason is even worse. By saying that a white actor “passes” for a certain minority not only tells me that casting directors believe in the myth that all people of color have a certain look, but it also tells me that actors of color are not good enough because why would an actor of color get cast when casting directors can just use a white actor and pass that actor off as someone he is not? Complete B.S. if you ask me.
Characters of color need to be portrayed by actors of color. And before someone says, “Well, what about the Hamilton cast? They are mostly actors of color portraying white people in American history!” That was a creative decision made by the creator of the show, Lin Manuel-Miranda. He wanted the cast of his show to mainly be actors of color because one, actors of color are hardly ever sought out in large amounts for a show and two, people of color were present during American history but were left out of history books because of their race/ethnicity. Moreover, Miranda chose genres of music for the show that either originated or is primarily sung by actors of color. Therefore, this situation is different.
Why? Because Hamilton casting is making a statement while whitewashed shows are wrongly (and lazily) exclusive.
I don’t want to see the world of theatre and film go back to a time when, for example, Rita Moreno was the only Latina in the film adaptation of West Side Story while every other actor portraying the Puerto Rican gang (the Sharks) were white actors in brown-face makeup. Not again.
And don’t get me wrong, white actors are just as capable of amazing audiences too… just not as characters of color. Plain and simple.
