I want to say thanks Meade, but I am not sure why. Must be that aging memory or something.
Bill--that's a valid point, but one I personally don't really agree with. FWIW, I doubt if the founding fathers, including Hamilton, danced and sang their way through their lives in the way the play shows; if we can turn them into dancing girls, why can't they be played by someone of another ethnicity o f gender? Don't get me wrong, I really don't want to see Lebron James playing Napoleon (
Meade--I thought of one), but in many cases the racial appearance of the character is of no import. Again, I don't want it to change the story (e.g. I don't want to see Thomas Jefferson coming to terms with his black heritage or Sherman considering gender reassignment surgery), but otherwise it doesn't bother me. Again, once we are comfortable with it, generaly acceptable lines will be drawn.
As a way of example, as a white singer in churches, one thing I have always been uncomfortable with is singing spirituals which incorporate the broken English they were written with (indeed, I didn't really like white singers doing so). But a number of years back I got a summer job singing at a predominantly black church in Newark; I had to sing two pieces each week, one classical and one spiritual, both selected by the music director (who was black). The first couple of weeks I resisted those broken English spirituals, but eventually I relented and they were received well by the congregation, which made me much more comfortable with the songs. The comfort extended both ways, and they were comfortable with a white man singing them. I think the same thing can happen with racially blind casting.
