Westport Country Playhouse EVITA Re-Casts Eva Peron Due to Racial Concerns

[And Peggy]

I can't believe that headline has been posted for as long as it has and we aren't already five pages deep into a racially problematic argument with all of the usual players saying all of the same things. Is this growth, or did I just miss something?

ETA link: https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Westport-Country-Playhouse-EVITA-Re-Casts-Eva-Peron-Due-to-Racial-Concerns-20180126  

[trpguyy]

What you're witnessing is exhaustion.

[qolbinau]

I mean - we’ve had this discussion before with another Evita production. Isn’t Eva a racially white woman? What is this madness happening in our community? I’m just sick of this. 

[BrodyFosse123]

This was Eva Perón.  She, like the majority of Argentineans, wasn’t ethnic looking.  

[mikey2573]

Time to take back Lupone's Tony Award??? 

[qolbinau]

What is so frustrating about the ‘left-wing’ movement at the moment is that there are very serious, genuine concerns with the way women, ethnic minorities and LGBTIQ people are treated. There is actually no need to exaggerate, misinform or go on a witch hunt for an invisible foe when being honest and facing the real issues is enough. I deeply fear that this hysteria is only helping fuel people like Milo who can use examples like this, or Oak to continue a narrative that certain minority demographics don’t face any real issues today. We need more than just a good vision for the future or our heart in the right place - we need very careful thought and execution of achieving this vision. Right now, it seems like we aren’t as good at this as we should be.

[felixleiter]

Setting aside the racial issue...

It should be noted that this really isn't being produced by The Westport Country Playhouse.  It's being produced by a theatre school for children that employs professional artists to perform alongside the children.  From what I understand, they are basically tenants renting the space. 

Also, I wonder how they ascertained Pauly's ethnicity in their attempt to rectify the complaints.  Inquiring about ethnicity is illegal in hiring situations. 

[Jay Lerner-Z]

 Isn’t Eva a racially white woman?

Does this change your feelings at all?

Casting Evita in 2017 and Beyond

[sweeneytodd2]

Who should be allowed to play Eva?

A woman of Basque origin who has no connection to Latin America?
An indigenous Latin American woman who has no European ancestry?
A British woman raised in Argentina?
A Latina woman adopted and raised by white parents in the US with no cultural connection to Latin America?

Would you open to casting a black or asian woman as Eva? Is this about skin color or the performer’s cultural background or something else?

I believe that the lack of diversity in musical theatre is an important issue, but the argument that Eva has to be played by a “non-white" actress doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. Race really isn’t a factor in the show, and besides, the show was created by a couple of white men so it already lacks any credibility on that front.

[qolbinau]

Thank you. The ideas people are trying to foreword are impractical, illogical and inconsistent. Regarding that article - I guess it is interesting at least. The argument seems to be that even though Eva was a biologically ‘white’ woman, it should be played by a latinx actor because:

* Eva as written in this musical appears to make more logical sense in the text as a non-white woman. Personally I just can’t buy this given it is based on a historically real person and it is clear given historical casting the authors never intended this. I think this is a very tenuous link.

* People with latinx national/cultural identities should own latinx national/cultural roles. I suppose in theory this makes sense but when we start getting into details (as discussed in the previous post) it is far too messy, inconsistent and impractical to manage. In its practical application it wouldn’t make sense. So a latinx actor with no affiliation with Argentina is somehow more right for the role? And of course we never apply this standards to other cultural identities. It would mean a Chinese person shouldn’t play a Japanese person or vice versa. Or a Canadian person can’t play an American or Australian person. Or a British person can’t play American. And soon we’ll be saying only gay actors can play gay roles once we start moving identity beyond national or cultural identity.

Can we just stop it with this odd identity fixation where it is not important. This is acting!! There is nothing to be concerned about if a white actress plays a woman who was white in real life!

[sherie_worshipper]

I'm from Argentina and I can assure you that Eva Perón is seen as 100% white by us. Actually, the American stereotypical view of what a latino person must look like is highly offensive in all of South America. Case in point, Colombian actress Sofia Vergara is a natural blonde who had to dye her hair brown and apply lipstick around her lips to make them look fuller to be accepted as a latina in Hollywood. We don't all look the same. Even Hispanic people in the US must learn that. Representation is great, but sometimes it's a gross exaggeration. By the way, Argentina has a very strong Italian heritage, so Patti LuPone and Madonna both look like they could easily have been born here. And we musn't forget that Elena Roger is a blue-eyed white woman whose appearance is not uncommon at all in our country. Let's focus on the right type of representation and stop this madness.

[pmensky]

I wonder if Alaina Mills was just let go, or if her contract was bought out?  I imagine that being fired for your ethnicity would be grounds for a lawsuit.

[felixleiter]

Someone is going to bring a lawsuit forward one of these days and force a real uncomfortable conversation.  Specifically here It is a clear case of the original girl getting offered a job and then losing it because of her race.  Regardless of the fight against systemic bias against minorities in terms of casting (which absolutely is an issue in our industry), this girl lost her job because of her heritage (or lack thereof) and that is illegal.

 

 

[felixleiter]

I would think that even a buyout would not preclude her  (the original actress) bringing legal action.  It seems pretty textbook to me.

Also, this is on the Guest Artist contract (I know because I was brought in for this specific production) and many times with a Guest Artist (or any Equity contract  really) you don't actually get your signed contract until the first day of rehearsal (which was Monday) so it's possible that this all went down before anything was finalized in ink.

But having to make an announcement leads me to believe that they are trying to get out in front of it. 

Having the Westport Country Playhouse get involved is interesting because as I stated above-they really aren't anything more than a landlord on this.  I don't even think they were at my audition.

[pmensky]

felixleiter said: "I would think that even a buyout would not preclude her (the original actress) bringing legal action. It seems pretty textbook to me.

Also, this is on the Guest Artist contract (I know because I was brought in for this specific production) and many times with a Guest Artist (or any Equity contract really) you don't actually get your signed contract until the first day of rehearsal (which was Monday) so it's possible that this all went down before anything was finalized in ink.

But having to make an announcement leads me to believe that they are trying to get out in front of it.

Having the Westport Country Playhouse get involved is interesting because as I stated above-they really aren't anything more than a landlord on this. I don't even think they were at my audition."

I’m not specifically familiar with Guest Artist contracts, but I do LORT contracts.  Technically the contract is just supposed to be signed before the first rehearsal.  The only way I would hand an actor a contract on the first day of rehearsal would be if their original contract was lost in the mail or they were traveling and either they or their agent requested to hold it.  Knowing her agent, I believe she would have at least requested to be sent a PDF of a signed copy of the contract ahead of time, anyway.  Regardless, I don’t think an unsigned contract would be an issue here that could prevent a lawsuit.  There is most likely an email trail with an offer and an agreement that is sufficient to back up a case by Mills.  

[LizzieCurry]

And Peggy said: "I can't believe that headline has been posted for as long as it has and we aren't already five pages deep into a racially problematic argument with all of the usual players saying all of the same things. Is this growth, or did I just miss something?"

Can you post a link, please? It's already fallen off from the top of the headline box.

[QueenAlice]

I mentioned this to some friends from Argentina at dinner (non theatre people) and they rolled their eyes and were even border-lined offended that someone would think of Eva Peron as being anything other than European. They don't consider her "Latin" at all.

[BJR]

sherie_worshipper said: "I'm from Argentina and I can assure you that Eva Perón is seen as 100% white by us. Actually, the American stereotypicalview of a what a latino person must look like ishighly offensive in the entire South America.Case in point, Colombian actress Sofia Vergara is a natural blonde who had to dye her hair brown and apply lipstick around her lips to make them look fuller to be accepted as a latina in Hollywood. We don't all look the same. Even Hispanic people in the US must learn that. Representation is great, but sometimesit's a grossexaggeration. By the way, Argentina has a very strong Italian heritage, so Patti LuPone and Madonna both look like they could easily have been born here. And we musn't forget that Elena Roger is a blue-eyed white woman whose appearance is not uncommon at all in our country. Let's focus on the right type of representation and stop this madness."

I am also Argentinean and I second this. I happen to have darker features than Eva did, but then mine happen to be darker than my brother's, who has green eyes and fair skin.

And representation is absolutely a major issue in our industry. Absolutely. But on the very specific note of Eva, she should not *have* to have darker features. Others populating the ensemble and cast? Definitely, and they should. But not necessarily Eva specifically.

 

[trpguyy]

QueenAlice said: "I mentioned this to some friends from Argentina at dinner (non theatre people) and they rolled their eyes and were even border-lined offended that someone would think of Eva Peron as being anything other than European. They don't consider her "Latin" at all."

And that's a big part of the story -- would she have been able to rise above her station in life if she didn't have fair features?