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| re: If Milky White is a cow | |
| Last Edit: Chromolume 06:53 pm EDT 09/04/22 | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 06:50 pm EDT 09/04/22 | |
| In reply to: re: If Milky White is a cow - Singapore/Fling 03:37 pm EDT 09/04/22 | |
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| I think the only self-conscious drag performance on my list is Michael Dorsey choosing to pretend to be Dorothy Michaels. (And even then, the conceit is that she is supposed to be a real woman.) The others are very much cis female roles all written to be performed by men. Roles like Mary Sunshine are traditionally played by a male actor credited with a first initial, so as to not call attention to his actual identity. I'm not sure what you're trying to say, but I don't buy it. |
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| re: If Milky White is a cow | |
| Last Edit: Singapore/Fling 10:42 pm EDT 09/04/22 | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 10:35 pm EDT 09/04/22 | |
| In reply to: re: If Milky White is a cow - Chromolume 06:50 pm EDT 09/04/22 | |
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| We’re taking about theater styles, here. Edna is written for a man in drag because the role was originally written for Divine, because “Hairspray” was John Waters first attempt at making a queer film for a mainstream audience, and so he hid the queerness in plain sight, and that continued into the musical; but we as an audience are aware we are watching a man in drag. Mary Sunshine’s entire role in “Chicago” builds up to the reveal that she’s been a man this entire time, and that we were fooled. If we were meant to read her as a woman upon exiting the show, we would stay in the dark about the performer; notably the film chose to cast a female-identifying actress who played the role as cis. You write that the actor is credited by their first initial so as not to call attention to their identity, but their last moment in the show is to snatch off their wig, thus making us aware of their identity, which also makes the first initial a clear act of subterfuge, thus commenting on how much we can trust the media. I’ve read enough of your comments to know that you’re generally much more observant and accurate when talking about theater than you’re being here. Trunchbull goes back to Panto, and we’re also aware that we’re watching an archetype of an un-sexed woman being performed by a man. Bracknell, as mentioned elsewhere, is often performed by a man to reference the sexuality of Wilde and the idea that this character is ultimately a drag persona - and also because of Panto. Dorothy is a weird one to toss out, because she isn’t even real, and I was very surprised that you went there, again because I think I of you as one of the smartest people on this site. Milky White is a female cow who was originally going to be played by female actors in the first human-performed production, but because they couldn’t make a costume that was functional for the female body, they cast a man instead. The costume for that show, as well as the puppet in this new revival, are in a theatrical language in which we understand that the character is an extension of the performer, and nothing in either production tells us that we’re watching an example of cross-gendered casting. I’m sort of amazed at the ire OP is getting for rightfully pointing out that this should be a woman’s part. This isn’t a production that is working outside of gender binaries, and it’s an awkward fit to make the case that this is an example of gender being fluid. Maybe if Alex Newell was playing The Witch or Cinderella, then we’d be in that conversation. But this is a cis-gender show with a man playing a female cow. |
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| re: If Milky White is a cow | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 11:22 pm EDT 09/04/22 | |
| In reply to: re: If Milky White is a cow - Singapore/Fling 10:35 pm EDT 09/04/22 | |
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| Oy. | |
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| re: If Milky White is a cow | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 12:18 am EDT 09/05/22 | |
| In reply to: re: If Milky White is a cow - Chromolume 11:22 pm EDT 09/04/22 | |
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| Wow, man, I really thought you were better than that. | |
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