ALL BLACK CAST REVIVALS go...

[newintown]

ELAINE STRITCH AT LIBERTY (and black)

[Mr Roxy]

Jelly had a few white guys who were gangsters.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

In seriousness, though. The only shows that need to have "all-black" revivals are the shows that originally had all-black casts on Broadway by intention.

You have no idea how bad that sounds, do you?

[Jon]

It's time for someone to be attacked as "subtly racist."

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Hey, no one is saying that people set out to be "subtly racist," as you put it. Some don't know that's how they sound til it's pointed out. If no one points it out, how will they know?

[Jordan Catalano]

And others will call people "subtly racist" for no reason other than to make themselves feel superior to them.

[Phantom4ever]

I just directed an all-black WEST SIDE STORY and I will direct an all-black THE MUSIC MAN this fall at my high school.
I had the Jets wear shades of blue and the Sharks wear shades of red so you could tell the difference between the two gangs.

[BWayBound115]

Company
Gypsy

[smallvillefan16]

The Wiz
Ain't Misbehavin
Motown
Lady Day
Cindy-Ella

oh wait a minute....

Personally, I think an all black 'the king and I' would be great! It would add such a nice touch to a show that takes place in Thailand.

[SidebySidebyLogan]

Not an all black cast but...I always thought it might be interesting to do a rewrite for Me and My Girl and move the setting to New Orleans and have it be a secret black heir inheriting from his white family. To be honest I'm not too familiar with the show outside of the cast album so I don't know if it could work. It's just this association I've always had with the material and New Orelans Jazz and I think it's story lends itself to a familial tale of learning racial harmony. But again I'm going by bits and pieces here

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Jordan, dear, I feel far from superior to anyone on this board. My post history on both of my accounts gives me no room to cast stones from a glass house. As someone who regularly deals in black theater, however, I have a keenly felt awareness of the lack of media representation for people of color.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

I just directed an all-black WEST SIDE STORY and I will direct an all-black THE MUSIC MAN this fall at my high school.
I had the Jets wear shades of blue and the Sharks wear shades of red so you could tell the difference between the two gangs.

You know, I've always felt that a revival where gangs (and their costuming) reflect the ethnic makeup of what's on the streets of NY today would be interesting -- the Jets as a black gang, and the Sharks as thuggish mercenary types like the MS-13's. There's nothing in the show's book (aside from Arthur Laurents' dated attempts at "relevant" slang) that necessarily precludes one from setting the show today. (Even in 1957, Tony and Maria could have picked up a phone, folks.)

[Ranger Tom]

I'll take "color-blind" casting seriously when they let Hugh Jackman and Patti LuPone do "Porgy and Bess."

[Mr Roxy]

That would be a hot ticket.

[Phantom4ever]

nothing in the show's book (aside from Arthur Laurents' dated attempts at "relevant" slang)

The slang in WSS was written so that it would ultimately be considered timeless, rather than contemporary to the 50's. Unfortunately, nowadays most people assume that it was all actual 1950's-era slang that now sounds hopelessly lame. So yeah that strategy did not work.

[mjohnson2]

g.d.e.l.g.i., how does that sound bad? I don't think that shows should be revived with a cast of one single race. I don't think that a show should have an all-white cast because that is just not a reflection of the world in a proper way, and I do not think that a show should have an all-black cast because it is extremely gimmicky and is usually only done to advertise that they are an all-black show. If a show was originally written to be comprised entirely of people of a certain race (other than all-white) I think that the cast should be entirely that race, such as in ONCE ON THIS ISLAND because it makes sense for the setting of the show. Ideally, shows should have mixed race casts if only to make it more realistic. The best example of this is the earlier revival of ON THE TOWN (which was great from what I remember), which had a fantastic cast that also happened to be of different races.

[newintown]

What does a Doc run, a Duane Reade? Those are sure popular hang outs for modern youth.

[AustinRyan]

"Next to Normal" would be killer. Yes, it might lose some of it's original intentions, but it would also add a lot of new layers to the story.

[CarlosAlberto]

DREAMGIRLS

[GavestonPS]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned GUYS AND DOLLS. I worked on a winter stock version in Florida that starred a then-unknown Debbie Allen. A different all-black version ran for six months on Broadway in 1976-77. I didn't care for the disco influence in the orchestrations of the latter, but Ken Page was a killer Nicely-Nicely. And the casting in both shows worked well.

[Ranger Tom]

I don't have a problem with a black Eliza Doolittle, Laurey Williams, Dolly Levy, or Lilli Vanessi/Lois Lane, but a black Mama Rose really gave me pause. Ms. Uggams is very talented but Mama Rose was a real life human who died less than 100 years ago. Although, the best Jesus in Godspell I've ever seen was Stacker Thompson in the original San Francisco cast (and if you come back and say that Jesus was black then you need to have your message board credentials revoked)

[Mr. Nowack]

Re: the all black GUYS & DOLLS - Is it odd that I'm kind of obsessed with those disco orchestrations?? That 70's electric guitar in the overture especially.

[Timmer]

Why? What's the point?

[AEA AGMA SM]

""Next to Normal" would be killer. Yes, it might lose some of it's original intentions, but it would also add a lot of new layers to the story."

What original intentions would the story lose if the characters were not all white?

[Mr Roxy]

In answer to your question None.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

What new layers would it add?