| re: Isn't Ruthie Ann Miles playing the Beggar Woman n/m | |
| Last Edit: Chazwaza 04:11 pm EST 12/15/22 | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 03:56 pm EST 12/15/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Isn't Ruthie Ann Miles playing the Beggar Woman n/m - AlanScott 03:31 pm EST 12/15/22 | |
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| I think if Sondheim didn't already write or leave behind lyrics for non-white actors to do this, then his estate is likely going to hire/approve someone else doing it, if they haven't already. I mean, the Beggar Woman has already been played by Audra... twice, one of them being on TV (with Emma Thompson). I don't remember any words being changed though. We are assuming it's an issue because though the song is about his imagination of Johanna... she has to, you'd think, appear to be believably the off-spring of the actors playing Sweeney and Beggar Woman. I'm not sure audiences will question it too much though. But of course this gets even more complicated if Sweeney and beggar woman are both POC, and why Sweeney is dreaming of his daughter being blonde and pale... which is already even odd if just Sweeney is poc. It's an interesting situation because the show deals in the realities of England in the mid-1800s, and the class system, etc... of course race would have played into a lot, presumably, had the characters in the story not been white... and historically it would have been a different thing for Sweeney/Barker to have a non-white wife, or for the Judge to "adopt" a mixed race daughter or keep her as his wife. You also don't want to telegraph who the Beggar Woman might be. Seems best to provide an alt for that lyric that isn't about the color of her skin, so anyone can play it and there isn't an added clue. But I think audiences are smart enough to deal with this. |
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| Previous: | re: Isn't Ruthie Ann Miles playing the Beggar Woman n/m - EvFoDr 03:56 pm EST 12/15/22 |
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