<p>MusThCC-
you have expressed exactly what upset some of the patrons. The fact that my DD is AA meant that everyone knew that they cast a women in these parts. There were other women cast as men also, and they may have gotten away with it, but sice DD was the only AA and was a women in some scenes it made it very obvious they were using a girl for a traditionally (and I mean traditionally in terms of religion not theatre) mens part. I am not sure how I would have handled this if I was a director.</p>
<p>we're doing fiddler this year at our school. i am black and jewish- it makes me sad that anyone would think it wrong to cast a black person in fiddler- because eastern european jews are darker.</p>
<p>Kayla, My D did a workshop with one of the original Dynomites from the Broadway Hairspray several years ago, and she said that due to diverse casting she can try out for traditionally "white" roles, but "white" actors can't try our for Raisin in the Sun, Smokey Joe's (other than the token "white" parts), Ain't Misbehavin', etc. So she figured she had an edge as a black MT actor. She is still in Hairspray from what I hear.</p>
<p>MusThcc, </p>
<pre><code> I hear you, it's a show about tradition. Perhaps better planning would have been smart, but is it really THAT big a deal, enough to complain to the director? We're talking High School, right?
</code></pre>
<p>Keeping Calm, I'm sending your D's director waves of positive energy at this very moment. My collegues and I put so much energy into our shows. We work sooo hard to get the kids on stage as often as possible and it can sometimes cause costuming headaches. As far as I'm concerned if the kid can dance, get her out there. Youth theatre, including HS is supposed to be FUN! Tell your D to keep auditioning and that many young directors are coming out of universities everyday with a fire in their hearts for bringing persons of color onto the MT stage. I'm certain of it!</p>
<p>Sarahsmom</p>
<p>Keeping Calm,</p>
<p>I find myself feeling a little surprised that some of the Orthodox families in our area objected to females playing male parts. My gut reaction is that if they don't like women dancing men's roles, perhaps some of the men from their ranks should have tried out for the show :) I would hope that most people realize that in most areas it is very difficult to find enough competent male dancers to perform in community theatre. I'm glad that our mutual friend took a risk and cast your D and other women in the male dancing roles.</p>
<p>Sarahsmom,</p>
<p>FYI, the production of "Fiddler" that Keepingcalm was speaking of was not youth theatre. It was a community theatre production. The great majority of the performers were adults. It was a coup for Keepingcalm's D to be cast because of her young age. The director in question has had a lot of experience working with college-age MT students. He was associated with one of the MT "ivies" for many years.</p>
<p>Hi Dancersmom,
I'm working on sending you an email BTW, but in the meantime I saw your post and thought I'd throw in my 2 cents on the bottle dancing. I haven't encountered even one Orthodox MT-er (not that there aren't any! hey, this would make another interesting thread), and I'm not surprised because many Orthodox adults or kids will not perform in shows or even rehearse on Friday nights and Saturdays.</p>
<p>Keepingcalm,
That's funny that our daughters who both wanted to be Victoria the cat when they were little were also bottle dancers in Fiddler! Mine was only at the high school, and nobody could tell she was a girl. Every night I got a knot in my stomach, though, watching that big bottle and praying it wouldn't come down in the lap of somebody in the audience.</p>
<p>Well its hard to know how many people really complained, it could have been one family we don't really know. However, I do understand that there are parts of traditions and their representations that mean very different things to dufferent groups of people. This was actually Ds second round as a bottle dancer, the first time she was very little and in a children's production and dropped the bottle at every performance (ouch).
As for casting girls in mens parts, we have found all the years of dance have helped D in this area since finding men who can dance for community theatre is really a challenge.
MTmommy D is still waiting for someone to do Cats around here. She is less interested in Victoria (although now dances well enough for it) but still really wants to be in cats.</p>
<p>A friend of mine who is Jewish loves Fiddler except for one part: he claims that the wedding scene, in which Hodel dances with Perchik and then Tevye suddenly thinks "Hey, it's OK!" and begins to dance with his wife, setting off all kinds of male-female couples dancing, is highly unrealistic and would <em>never</em> happen in real life. He's probably right.</p>
<p>This discussion about following traditions in casting and peoples' objection reminds me of the show The Drowsy Chaperone. If any of you are in NYC for auditions this season, you should see if you can get tickets. It's a wonderfully funny show, I have never laughed so hard in a theatre in my decades of theatre-going. It pokes fun at the incredible silliness of musical theatre and even those of us who love it have to admit that musical theatre is pretty silly. The individuals who object to something being 'highly unrealistic' in a show never seem to mind that characters break into song and dance at the most poignant moments of a story. That never happens in real life either! :)</p>
<p>Alwaysamom,
I had to laugh when I read your post - because despite being unable to carry a tune in a basket I do "break into song and dance at the most poignant moments" or most any moment. Something I inherited from my Mom who also can't sing. We will be talking and some phase will remind us of a song and off we will go. Or we simply start singing our own made up songs. It is so much a part of our family that at my parents 60th anniversary the kids did a skit of my Mom's most memorable songs. I cant tell you the number of times I have embarrassed my S in public! My D the Physicist who actually has a nice voice has inherited the same gene; shopping with us can be quite fun. One time while shoe shopping with her I was asked where she was performing! However we never have a full orchestra with us!</p>
<p>cluelessmc2, I have to admit that two of my Ds and I also do that! :) I was more thinking of those fighting at a barricade during the French Revolution or your group of friends surrounding you as they think you're dying of AIDS, and they ALL break into song! It's the beauty (and silliness) of MT. :)</p>
<p>I have always loved in opera where someone's last breath is spent singing an aria.
And then they die.</p>
<p>Did you guys ever see those videos on You Tube that some students at Columbia did as a fun "prank" sort of thing? One was during studying for final exams in the library and a guy and girl get up (all planned ahead of time) and break into a musical theater-ish song/dance where they rewrote the lyrics. It is pretty funny. There is another one they did during a lecture class with the professor and they break into song in the middle of class about the teacher, just like in a musical!</p>
<p>cluelessmc2, I was almost going to post the same thing, then I got embarrassed for being "weird"! I've always felt that life should be a musical!</p>
<p>Hi, </p>
<pre><code>I have to admit that my D and I love to torment my son when he has friends over by breaking into "I Cain't Say No" or "Step Sisters Lament!" It's so much fun because at his age, everything I do and say is of course embarrassing.
I just wanted to add to the diversity discussion by saying that in the Boston area, my D and I have both been in several adult community theatre productions with mixed race casts. An AA woman played Mary Magdeline in JC Superstar and was the only AA in the cast. The same gal played Eve/Mother Noah in "Children of Eden" while Adam/Noah was white. Any complaints were ignored if voiced at all. Around here, talent trumps color from what I can see. When North Shore Music Theatre's did "Beauty and The Beast" , "Beauty was AA while the Beast and Gaston were white.
As far as I'm concerned, I'd love for someone to turn "The Joy Luck Club" into a musical! It would be a challenge, but what an wonderful story.
Anyway, my D and I leave Thurs. for Syracuse. We're scheduled for massages that evening, a little reward for the first audition. She's really excited, but says she's tired of preparing! Good luck to all of you who are out auditioning. We'll post something to let you know how it goes on Nov. 10.
</code></pre>
<p>Sarahsmom</p>
<p>Sarahsmom, good luck to your D in Syracuse! We are also in the Boston area and able to enjoy NSMT's policy of diverse casting. I'll pm you to see if we have any crossover, or if our dd's know each other or have mutual aquaintances.
The MT woorld is small after all.</p>
<p>ah, i seem to always be bringing back this topic, because somebody in the Caribbean seems to come up with these horrible things to say about performing arts...:-(</p>
<p>St. George's University in Grenada ( a school for Medicine) called me two night ago...(i went to a college fair 3 years ago and i gave them my number)..so the woman called, and told me that she wanted me to go to their university, and she asked if i was still interested..i told her that i had fallen in love with another career choice...i told her i wanted to do performing arts at university..and that i had applied and that i have auditions this coming february...</p>
<p><em>mind you...for a woman working at a school i was surprised at how she got on</em></p>
<p>She started to laugh, she sat there on the phone and laughed at the fact that i wanted to do performing arts...she just laughed and she laughed for a while...i was in complete shock that she just laughed at me for like a minute, and in my mind i was like..'these people are never going to change...and its upsetting'
after she had finished her nearly 2 minute laugh...she said that i should do such a absurd career....and if i really wanted to do it, which i shouldnt, i should do medicine at her school as my major, and do performing arts on the side as a hobby....</p>
<p>i was getting really upset, and im surprised that i didnt hang up the phone...i calmly let her know that i never felt happier doing anything in my life...i have never felt the happiness that Musical Theatre brings me..and i let her know that i might do some subjects on the side, just so i can probably have more academics..but Performing was where my heart is..and she said...that there will never probably be an actress coming out from barbados...but if i really wanted to do it...ok....and she laughed again...</p>
<p>i was really fed-up about now...and i said bye...and then sat silently in my chair, wondering if there was ever a way i could change the perspectives of some of the close-minded people in the caribbean..</p>
<p>what she said, i did not take to heart..i listened and undertood, but did not take to heart...im kind of used to it by now anyways..but i still felt like venting..lol</p>
<p>so there you have it...my day to day life here in barbados..</p>
<p>Hey Kaylagirl (love the name as my D is a kayla)
Don't worry about what they say. Maybe you will do medicine, but what's the rush. My father spent years in a medical school and working as an advisor, he had all sorts of people who came in while working in other careers - an NFL (american football) defensive lineman who played fulltime football and went to medical school in the off season. He is now a 6'8" 250+ plus pound pediatrician, the little kids love him! My aunt got her degree at 50 after being a french teacher.
I say do what you love now. You must be a strong student and a background and degree in musical theatre may make you the worlds most fantastic MD when you want a less stressful career.
Life is long, pursue what you love and be happy with your decisions.</p>
<p>they should make disney's mulan into a musical... the choreography would be amazing, it would look all kung-fu-ish... seriously, i've been thinking about it forever, being asian lol</p>
<p>runny_babbit, my D's Asian and for several years was a serious taekwondo competitor. I've always thought a martial arts musical (Mulan or otherwise) would be fabulous!</p>