The cultural appropriation issue is in the DNA of the piece, unsolvable with consultants and a cascade of research. As others note, a theater piece focused on the immigrant experience conceived by four white men cannot become more authentic adding two more, no matter the genius. That is the 2021 prism on cultural ownership and artistic representation. I respect the argument here even if I honor the painstaking attention to excavating and correction. To me, the result is spectacular. But I don’t get to decide for those depicted.
