| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | Chazwaza 05:12 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - SingersRMusicians2 05:08 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| I don't think it's a question of them all being the same race for logical genetic reasons... it's because the show and especially the score are written FOR black performers in a style that is frankly only comfortable to be sung or seen/heard performed by black performers. Of course, non-black people can do it justice, and we're not talking about some holy scripture of black culture... I'm just saying, this is, I'm sure, what people mean when they say it should be kept an all black cast. | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | Greg_M 05:25 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - Chazwaza 05:12 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| You can't have it both ways. If you want inter racial shows you can't pick only the white shows and not the black ones. It's either both on none. | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | enoch10 10:15 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - Greg_M 05:25 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| i disagree. THE WIZ is like disco. one of the great things about disco was that it so clearly sounded like exactly what it was; inner city urban, black, hispanic, and gay. in that order. THE WIZ isn't disco but it came out at the same time and was every bit as specific. again, THE WIZ isn't disco but it's gospel-based the way disco was gospel-based. anybody who heard the score for THE WIZ for the first time when it was new automatically located the music as coming from exactly where it came from. that was kinda the whole point. no one's saying no white actors anywhere (there are certainly whites in the inner city and some made contributions to that sound) but the music of THE WIZ, i think, inherently makes it speak to/for an urban sensibility. one of the great joys of that kind of music made at that specific time was that it managed to be that specific without being exclusionary. as did THE WIZ. | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | Singapore/Fling 08:18 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - Greg_M 05:25 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| No, it isn't. If there were such a thing as a fair playing field for people of all races, then artists wouldn't need to do things like create a version of "The Wiz" that allows black theatre artists to perform on Broadway. Our culture has not changed that much since the 70s. I strongly urge you to look at the book "Some of My Best Friends Are Black", a bad title for a remarkable piece of journalism that explores the systematic exclusion of African-Americans from cultural, economic, and civic parity with White America. | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | Chromolume 05:40 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - Greg_M 05:25 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| Most shows are, IMO, neither "black" or "white," when issues of race (or real historical people portrayed onstage, etc) aren't an integral part of the plot or concept of the show. But when they are - and I think The Wiz is one of those shows that has a clear concept of being an unmistakable African-American perspective on the Wizard Of Oz - I think it's important to honor that. I would have no problem with a mixed-race company of The Wizard of Oz - the story (and the way it's presented as a theatrical property) have nothing to do with race or ethnicity. It's a level playing field (as opposed to being a specifically "white" show IMO), so I feel any actor can potentially play those roles. The Wiz is an adaptation of that story meant to be told from a unique black perspective. I feel there's an enormous difference there. There's nothing stopping anyone from casting it as they see fit, of course - I just think it makes the most sense when the show rings true as a specifically black adaptation. | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | KingSpeed 05:38 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - Greg_M 05:25 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| No. It's not. You can have a black Carrie in CAROUSEL but you can't have a white Bess in PORGY AND BESS. | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | Greg_M 02:07 pm EST 01/18/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - KingSpeed 05:38 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| That makes no no sense, color blind casting is just that, you can have any race playing Bess in "Porgy and Bess" if you're doing color bind casting. People will accept it if it's color bind casting, if they don't they they shouldn't accept it in "Carousel" | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | Brandnuva 04:34 pm EST 01/17/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - KingSpeed 05:38 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| Often with "Black/African American Theater" the themes are explicitly about race or, in this case, a racialization of themes that are present in source material. I grew up on The Wiz. Knew all the songs and material. Then, as a college student, immersed in courses on race and culture in society, went to see a local production, and had an extremely emotional response to the realization that the ideas of (1)being in a foreign land where nothing is familiar (2)being convinced that you lack intelligence (3)being convinced that you lack emotional capability to feel (4)being convinced that you are a beast who lacks courage, etc all take on very different tones when presented through the lens of the Black experience in America. That being said, I don't think this is a show that REQUIRES an all black cast. I think it requires thoughtful inclusion. I think Justin Timberlake as the Scarecrow is a wonderful idea. I don't think you can say color-conscious casting is the same in every instance. Having a lost boy of color in Peter Pan is not the same as having a white actor play a slave in the pre-Civil War South. And when the context of a play is one that is ABOUT race (which, often is the case with Black/African-American Theater) you have to consider that context. | |
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