If American actors don't get to do these things, how can they get better at doing them? And does it really need to be that precise accent? I know Golders Green is (or was) heavily Jewish, but do we know that is where Fagin is from? And how close is the contemporary Golders Green Jewish accent to the 1830s accent? Would an English actor be likely to do the 1830s accent?
Just as English actors onstage still sometimes do American accents that are not terribly convincing (or even cringeworthy) to many of us but audiences there generally find them acceptable, it really just needs to be good enough for most of us. Of course, I realize that we hear some pretty wretched attempts from American actors, and I would hope that an American actor playing Fagin at Encores! would reach a higher level than we have heard from [fill in the blank] and [fill in the second blank].
My impression, which may be wrong, is that we see a more English actors here than they see American actors in London. Please do correct me if you think I'm wrong. I am not, of course, saying it needs to be completely even, but I really feel that for Encores! it would be good to have an American. |
