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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
"I think lying to children is really important, it sets them off on the right track" -Sherie Rene Scott-
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.
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.
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.
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.