Drury Lane has an institutionalized racism problem. As does Marriott. As does Paramount. As does just about every non-PoC centered theatrical institution in this city. To place the problem at the feet of casting is to blame the symptom rather than the cause.
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I agree with this author that when we talk about shows or movies having a casting problem due to a lack of diversity, that is simplifying the issue so much that we possibly approach it with the wrong solutions. Absolutely, casting directors should choose more POC for roles, whether or not the role is traditionally played by a POC or not. However, there is also the issue that POC may not feel like they are welcome to audition for certain roles so less of them audition in the first place, or the issue that if more casting directors themselves were POC they would likely be more open and imaginative when it came to casting, rather than just defaulting putting white bodies onstage as many white casting directors do. These issues permeate both up and down the power structure of our industry. I recently read an interesting article from the creator of Netflix's animated series Bojack Horseman, addressed what he called the show's "original sin" of having an all-white cast, despite having at least one explicitly non-white character. He said that at the time of casting he wasn't intentionally looking at only white actors, he thought he was engaging in "color-blind" casting and just casting the people he thought were best for the roles. However, he now recognizes that both the institutionalized racism of the industry and his own internal biases meant that he ended up with an all-white cast anyway. I believe this is a perfect example of what people mean when they say it is not enough to be non-racist, you must be anti-racist.
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