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| re: The Legend of Georgia McBride | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 10:15 am EDT 10/26/17 | |
| In reply to: The Legend of Georgia McBride - BillEadie 01:48 am EDT 10/26/17 | |
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| I guess I understand your point of view, but I strongly disagree. I loved the play in its Off-Broadway production. So did several friends of mine, and we aren't part of the straight audience :-) | |
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| re: The Legend of Georgia McBride | |
| Posted by: gothamplaygoer 02:33 pm EDT 10/26/17 | |
| In reply to: re: The Legend of Georgia McBride - Michael_Portantiere 10:15 am EDT 10/26/17 | |
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| I thought it was a delightful play and am happy to learn that it has "legs." The New York production raised an issue that continues to confuse me. In a case that a role is cast with an actor of a race other than the one we are expecting, when are we supposed to ignore the actor's race and when are we supposed to find it significant? If a north Florida cracker like Casey (a/k/a Georgia McBride) was brave enough to marry an African-American woman, that casts his willingness to assume a drag persona in a new light. I was therefore disappointed when I learned that in an earlier production his wife had been played by a white actor. My point is that it is often hard to know whether a role in a new play has been filled by an actor of color because of or irrespective of that consideration so that the audience knows whether to notice or ignore it. | |
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| re: The Legend of Georgia McBride | |
| Posted by: BillEadie 07:09 pm EDT 10/26/17 | |
| In reply to: re: The Legend of Georgia McBride - gothamplaygoer 02:33 pm EDT 10/26/17 | |
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| The wife in the San Diego production was played by an African American actor. I didn’t particularly see it as a comment one way or another. She did a fine job. As did the rest of the cast. I count myself in the group of gay men for whom drag is not an attraction, but I found myself having a good time. My comment was about the play, which was a fair amount different from the other two Matthew Lopez plays I’ve seen, “The Whipping Man” and “Somewhere.” The reason I saw it as a throwback is that I’ve observed that, historically, there has been something of a formula for writing plays aimed at gay men and part of the formula was that there would be some male “skin” shown at some point. While the lead took off his shirt multiple times in the San Diego production it was clear that he was not gay nor was doing so explicitly to titillate gay male viewers. I concluded that the play may have been aimed more at a straight audience (and, indeed, the audience at the performance I attended was heavy with women, due to a pre-show “women’s night” promotion). I’m sorry if my comments came off as harsh. I actually liked the show and am glad that it is being produced regionally. Bill, in San Diego |
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| re: The Legend of Georgia McBride | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 04:52 pm EDT 10/26/17 | |
| In reply to: re: The Legend of Georgia McBride - gothamplaygoer 02:33 pm EDT 10/26/17 | |
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| "My point is that it is often hard to know whether a role in a new play has been filled by an actor of color because of or irrespective of that consideration so that the audience knows whether to notice or ignore it." Agreed, and I don't think it only applies to new plays. I have already read and heard some people wonder if, for example, Joshua Henry will play Billy Bigelow as if the character is actually a black man, or if rather this should be viewed as "color-blind casting." As you noted, it can be very hard to know the intent for sure unless the actor or the director makes a statement about it in interviews. Whenever this issue comes up for discussion, I remember what S. Epatha Merkerson said around the time she did COME BACK LITTLE SHEBA -- that she doesn't like the term "color-blind casting" because, she said, "It makes me feel like I'm not there." |
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| re: The Legend of Georgia McBride | |
| Posted by: gothamplaygoer 05:01 pm EDT 10/26/17 | |
| In reply to: re: The Legend of Georgia McBride - Michael_Portantiere 04:52 pm EDT 10/26/17 | |
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| I thought it was an extremely interesting example of "reverse" alternative casting when Christine Lahti was cast in the role of Hester in Signature's revival of Fucking A, a role traditionally played by a black actor. It removed race as a source of her oppression and put the emphasis on class instead, giving the play an entirely different slant. I assume the playwright wanted to see how it played with an alternate interpretation. It worked beautifully. | |
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| re: The Legend of Georgia McBride | |
| Posted by: writerkev 03:10 pm EDT 10/26/17 | |
| In reply to: re: The Legend of Georgia McBride - gothamplaygoer 02:33 pm EDT 10/26/17 | |
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| Why would you ever ignore anything? In the production you saw, there was an element that led you to have a certain interpretation, and in another production it was different. That doesn't mean that element is worth ignoring in the show you saw. It was part of the show you saw. | |
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