Vocalist.org archive


From:  "Wayne & Elaine Van Dien" <wevdien@c...>
"Wayne & Elaine Van Dien" <wevdien@c...>
Date:  Wed Apr 4, 2001  9:02 pm
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] Roles for Minorities? Broadway/Opera etc


There are some musical theater roles which have traditionally been
undertaken by minority performers, like Bloody Mary in South Pacific
(created by Juanita Hall, a black woman, though the character is Tonkinese)
and the female lead in No Strings (created by Diahann Carroll, though as far
as I know there's no reference in the show to the character's race). Then
there's Anita in West Side Story (LOTS of dancing in that part:)), played in
the 1980s Broadway revival by Debbie Allen, a black woman, though the
character is Puerto Rican. And Porgy and Bess, of course, is required by the
Gershwin estate to use black singers for its African-American characters
when produced in the United States. (Oddly, those prohibitions don't apply
outside this country, so when P&B is produced in Europe, for example, it's
not uncommon for white singers in dark makeup to play those roles.)

But performing conventions in opera and musical theater have changed a great
deal over the last 40 years. There's virtually no role in either genre I can
think of that a minority performer couldn't undertake today, as long as the
company is using "non-traditional casting." Beginning in the 1960s, this
casting method evolved in the 70s and 80s to give minority performers more
opportunities. It became common to see, for example, a black Carrie to a
white Mr. Snow in Carousel; and the New York City Opera production of La
Boehme on PBS last week featured a black Musetta. I think there are very
few casting directors (if any) in professional opera and theater today who
would insist on traditional casting, because contemporary audiences tend to
accept non-traditional casting without reservations.

The only difficulty that might arise would be when the show makes a specific
statement about race. For example, a minority singer-actress playing Nellie
in South Pacific skews the show somewhat, because Nellie has reservations
about marrying DeBecque (at first) because his first wife, with whom he had
two kids, was a native. The same would hold true for Magnolia in Showboat,
since the racial component of that show (whites on top, African-Americans on
the bottom) is very strong.

So rather than look for roles that can be played by minorities, perhaps you
should ask which ones can't they play?
Don't know if I'm making sense. Hope what I've said helps --

Best,

Steve Van Dien



-----Original Message-----
From: Dolphin aura <dolphin_aura@y...>
From: Dolphin aura <dolphin_aura@y...>
To: vocalist-temporary@yahoogroups.com <vocalist-temporary@yahoogroups.com < Subject: Re: [vocalist] Roles for Minorities? Broadway/Opera etc


>This is a correction, I meant to write 'Female Lead
>Roles in Broadway and Opera'
>--- Dolphin aura <
dolphin_aura@y...> wrote:
>--- Dolphin aura <dolphin_aura@y...> wrote:
>> I'm researching female lead roles in Musical Theatre
>> and Broadway which are or can be played by
>> minorities.
>> Can anyone help me with this, I can think of but a
>> few... (also without preferably dancing involved...
>> though not a requirement)
>>
>>
>>
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