Black Glinda- Page 7

[ClumsyDude15]

Posted: 1/12/19 at 10:08am

I have been a fan of Brittney since I saw her as Eponine in Les Mis awhile back and I had always said she should play a princess specifically Tiana in a Princess and the Frog musical. Last night, I got to watch her be a princess and while it was yet another big moment in Wicked and Broadway history, it was a fantastic night for a truly fantastic actress.

Everything Brittney did as Glinda was wonderful - she wonderfully brought Galinda to Glinda in a fantastic arc. She never overdid anything and everything she did was spot on. Her chemistry with the company was wonderful and she and Jessica proved to be quite the pair.

Her voice is stunning and she made the vocal theatrics of Glinda seem effortless. Her Thank Goodness was incredible and hearing her sing the bridge about dreams and what you want got me.

I am so glad I took the chance to go see her and when she does go on again I cant recommend highly enough going.

I also just want to add that regardless of the historic nature of this turn of events, Brittney gave one of the best Glinda performances I've seen in my time seeing Wicked. Yes, the moment is historic for Wicked and Broadway, but tonight a fantastic understudy got to come and go by bubble and killed it.

Updated On: 1/12/19 at 10:08 AM

[John Adams]

Posted: 1/12/19 at 10:49am

LesWickedly said: "Dave, you make some interesting points but I still don't understand why you think it's wrong to celebrate her race."

Because if/when the day comes that it's universally acknowledged that race is never a factor when it comes to opportunities in life, then the struggle for equality will truly be over.

Theres a kind of "dog chasing its tail" situation when it comes to trying to demonstrate the progress made toward equal opportunity. Dave's perspective/view (recognizing and acknowledging the talents of the actor vs the color of their skin) is a very positive, forward-moving perspective in terms of eliminating racial bias.

On the other hand, people want and need to see their likenesses equally represented (JBS3's comment, 'Representation matters'.  That doesn't happen enough, so when it does, there's cause for celebration.

The vicious circle happens because there are two ideals in play: one of equal opportunity and one of representation. 

Unfortunately, the two ideals cancel each other out. To demonstrate equality or an absence of bias, you have to eliminate race and see people as individuals; by their talents and skills only. But then (after equality is demonstrated) acknowledging the representation deletes the absence of bias because there's a celebration based on skin color/ethnic background/gender/minority group, etc... 

[rodrigo_ca]

Posted: 1/12/19 at 4:09pm

bdn223 said:There is no mention of Skin color in any of the Harry Potter Books regarding Hermione....It's actually one of the thorns any of the fans have against JK Rowling for retconning Harry Potter lore and characters to make the books seem more progressive then they are. The original covers of theHarry Potter and the Prisonerof Askabanhave Harry and Hermione riding on ahippogriffon the cover and she is not black.... If it was JK Rowling's true intention for the character to be black she would of vetoed the cover art. As someone who works in Publishing, I can tell you JK Rowling had final approval on her cover art. But I digress.

She was not allowed to use her own name on the cover of her book but she would have final approval of the cover? hahahaha

Updated On: 1/12/19 at 04:09 PM

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 1/12/19 at 5:31pm

All I know is that she is gorgeous and sounds wonderful as Glinda. Her Thank Goodness made me tear up. I sincerely hope she gets promoted to lead when KRC departs. Its always nice to get some fresh blood in the Wicked cast.

[Dave28282]

Posted: 1/12/19 at 7:28pm

Very well said John Adams, you explained the situation perfectly.

I also think we are really running out of victories, poc can be found in everything, so there comes a point when insisting that one race is inferior is no longer appropriate. I think Glinda was the last role on Broadway that just didn't happen to have a diverse casting yet. After this, what's next? Is it really only a victory when every role in existence is played by every race? I hope in the future we have situations that not every race is included in everything, because it simply should not matter. That's a victory. I think this essential change in mindset will break this vicious circle. 

Updated On: 1/12/19 at 07:28 PM

[phan24]

Posted: 1/12/19 at 7:38pm

Dave28282 said: "Very well said John Adams, you explained the situation perfectly.

I also think we are really running out of victories, poccan be found in everything,so there comes a point when insisting that one race is inferior is no longer appropriate. I think Glinda was the last role on Broadway that just didn't happen to have a diverse casting yet. After this, what's next? Is it really only a victory when every role in existence is played by every race?I hope in the future we have situations that not every race is included in everything, because it simply should not matter. That's a victory.I think this essential change in mindset will break this vicious circle."

I assume you’re white?

[Dave28282]

Posted: 1/12/19 at 8:08pm

Actually, I'm mixed. But that has nothing to do with the point John Adams explains so perfectly.

Because as long as we don't get out of this vicious circle, there will never be true equality.

But like I said, that time seems to come closer now, when there are no victories left.

Updated On: 1/12/19 at 08:08 PM

[JBC3]

Posted: 1/12/19 at 8:50pm

He is definitely tiring.

[QueenTwinnied]

Posted: 1/12/19 at 11:43pm

So I got to see Brittney Johnson's debut last Thursday and was absolutely blown away by her performance. I bought the ticket on a whim to see Jessica and Katie together, but literally gasped when I saw Brittney's name on the cast board. From the moment Brittney came down in the bubble I knew this would be an incredible, special performance. The crowd gave her a huge, extended applause (and a few loud cheers). Her NOMTW was by far the most beautiful I've seen vocally. Brittney has a stunning, clear vibrato. 

Brittney's wig was a darker strawberry blonde, so there weren't any line changes in What is this Feeling. Her acting and comedy were on-point, but not over the top campy like some previous Glinda actresses. 

Her Thank Goodness was absolutely divine. Her belt was soaring and the final note was clear as a bell. Some of the lines ("Happy is what happens when all your dreams come true" were especially poignant and beautifully delivered. She also threw in a beautiful little riff during For Good. 

I don't have enough good things to say about Brittney's debut. I hope one day she gets to lead the Broadway company because she has the voice and acting chops. She is probably my favorite Glinda overall. Getting to see such a historic performance was a real treat and is a night I'll never forget. 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 1/13/19 at 1:32am

I dont know, I still like to celebrate when women are successful in jobs that arent gender specific because they get fewer opportunities even though theres no shortage of talented women. Even if we run out of firsts, its still cool to celebrate their accomplishments.

Weve had women win Tony Awards for Best Play, Best Score, Best Direction of a Play and Musical... but how often do we actually see women being featured in these capacities on Broadway? We should absolutely be allowed to celebrate Cyndi Lauper for being the first woman to win Best Score by herself, and ditto Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron for being the first female writing team to win. We simply dont see women being allowed to create work, even though there are so many itching to get seen and produced and acknowledged.

Now, what about performers of color? Well, there is also no shortage of talented performers of color, and yet there are fewer opportunities for them to shine, whether you want to believe that or not. Weve only had two Asian women win Tony Awards for musical performances ever (Lea Salonga and Ruthie Ann Miles). There has been zero Asian women nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars. Constance Wu is the first Asian woman nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy at the Golden Globes. And now here is Brittney Johnson breaking barriers and earning her opportunity, and were supposed to only celebrate her for being good and not because shes good AND black? People are allowed to be proud of who they are, what makes them different, and for being the first to do something. Dont steal that joy from her and an entire community of people.

[Dave28282]

Posted: 1/13/19 at 6:01am

That's not really a good comparison. Nobody displays this kind of reaction when a woman plays a role on Broadway. Because it's normal. Now, with Glinda basically being the last of all roles on Broadway that just didn't happen to have poc actor yet, it has now. So basically this is the end of an era, and everything has been done now, which is the beginning of normalization. So just like with women, when everything has been done, there comes a time when color counting or gender counting just isn't appropriate anymore. We need to learn that many things can just be, without being the result of color or gender counting. 

[ViniFromBrazil]

Posted: 1/13/19 at 7:40am

Whenever I'm lurking around the board to see what's up because I only travel to NYC twice a year, I always get sad and tired to see a topic in which Dave is in. So much visual pollution.

Updated On: 1/13/19 at 07:40 AM

[steven22]

Posted: 1/13/19 at 9:00am

I didnt get a chance to see Brittney this past week when she was on. Anyone know if she has any upcoming planned dates?

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 1/13/19 at 10:31am

There are still many things women and POC havent been able to do, and at the very least dont get the same amounts of opportunities to do them as white men, so I will continue to celebrate and spread joy when something like this happens. If that makes me a horrible person, so be it.

[binau]

Posted: 1/14/19 at 7:04am

Shocking that it has been 15 years and no black Glinda....I am dubious sometimes when people look at outcomes and assume discrimination has occurred when we ignore things like what are the demographics of people auditioning for roles, writing musical scores etc. However, in 15 years to have no black Glinda at all means that it is highly likely the casting for this role has been intentionally excluding black people.

It is nice to see that the mold has finally been broken. I personally would want to revisit the show with two black leads if I could - might breathe some life into the show that is becoming a little tired for me these days.