| They didn't change the text of "Der Rosenkavalier" when they had black Sophies like Kathleen Battle or Barbara Hendricks and despite taking place in 1740s Vienna, it doesn't and shouldn't matter. Cast "Music Man" with whoever can do the roles, but don't tinker with a book and songs that Meredith Willson went through something like 35 drafts of to make it Broadway worthy, as well as writing plenty of songs along the way that he discarded to make the show "just right" for the River City he envisioned and was honoring, and not making a cartoon of or ridiculing, which some of the reviews seem to think this production has done. |
