Colorlines: The perpetually sold out Broadway musical “Hamilton”—Lin-Manuel Miranda’s brainchild that uses hip-hop, R&B and pop and a cast full of people of color to tell the story of founding father Alexander Hamilton—took fire this week. After producers posted a casting call looking for “non-White men and women,” the New York City CBS affiliate ran a story on Tuesday (March 29) criticizing the show’s producers for being exclusionary.
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On one hand it sounds like advertising a preference for a specific group based on race could very well be illegal in this circumstance. To be honest if that is the case I don’t think Hamilton has any special right to be an exception to that rule. However I also think that there is absolutely nothing that should stop them from being able to hire a suitably multiracial cast as they see fit. It is an important element to the story of the show that it is able to be inclusive in telling a story that for so long has been told as the story of white America to the exclusion of many including the man who Hamilton celebrates. I really can’t wait for the day where it doesn’t have to be a controversy when we talk about race or women in theatre and it is just the norm.
I understand the importance of adhering to equity rules and being inclusive, but this seems a little ridiculous to me. Hamilton is known for its diverse cast and this diversity helps to make the story of the founding fathers much more relevant to today's world. Like John Walker said, the presence of diversity is an element that is crucial to the way that the story is told. I'm happy that they changed the wording of the posting to conform to equity standards, but ultimately this speaks to the larger problem of white entitlement. It seems like whenever white people aren't eligible for something the world freaks out. Take for example the controversy that arose after Wiz Live premiered. Many people were angry about the all African-American cast, but these same people wouldn't bat an eye at an all-white cast. I'm hoping that we're moving towards a time that this won't be an issue anymore, but people need to realize that white entitlement is a very real problem.
While I’m not surprised that this casting call received so much backlash, stuff like this never fails to make me mad. The definition of racism means that it’s virtually impossible to be racist against white people, because white people have had the upper hand in society for so long. This backlash makes me upset, especially in the context of a casting call, because so many casting calls essentially say “only whites need apply” in some hidden or blatant way, and/or ask for people of color specifically only to portray stereotyped, dumbed- down roles for a cheap laugh. The reason Hamilton has been so revolutionary is because it takes roles seen as being exclusively for white people and flips them around to create a hip-hop inspired soundtrack celebrating diversity. People don’t seem to get very angry at the everyday microaggressions against people of color, but suddenly when a show is making strides towards a more accepting theatrical community, people seem to think that white people are being attacked. There are millions of shows in which white people are almost always exclusively cast even if their race isn’t important to the storyline since white is seen as “default”- I’m sure that not being able to audition for one show isn’t going to ruin their careers.
There are so many articles about this Hamilton casting call mess up right now and it’s a little overwhelming. It makes me frustrated because this whole ruckus is white people fearing that they might be left out of something while for years upon years they have done the same thing to people of color. The article cites that attorney said that the artistic team could hire whomever they wanted, but that they couldn't say it from the beginning. And that’s a whole mess that is at the heart of most racist job hirings or college acceptances- while everyone can apple, people of color are time and time again turned away. The other problem is that if there was a role that was specifically for one nationality, the casting call would of course require that the actors be for that race, it would only make sense. With Hamilton’s whole goal to be as diverse as possible, they are of course going to find the most diverse group of people, and that means giving it a rest on all of the white people everywhere.
I was shocked when I saw all the uproar that arouse when Hamilton put out a casting call. They called for non-white actors, and everyone lost their mind. It’s not like this has never been done before, and the article points that out clearly. Allegience, The Color Purple, Lion King, Book of Mormon, just to name a few are all shows that have characters who just can’t be white, they are written for people of a certain race and it would not be the same if the role was played buy a white guy. So why is this any different? Well, the same reason people freaked out when there was a black Jean Valjean, or Javert, people believe that some roles need to be a certain race for historical accuracy and casting a white guy to play a founding father doesn’t seem inaccurate. But the fact of the matter is it would be inaccurate to the story being told. The artistic desire and accuracy to the script would be broken if there was a white actor, in the same way that the Color Purple would be a little wonky if it were a fully white cast.
So, I do understand the position that Hamilton faces legally. You can’t make a loop-hole through a law for one show. And luckily enough for Hamilton, that small change in wording was enough to push through with auditions where we all know that non-whites will be cast. But really, we’ve decided the one time to enforce this law was Hamilton? Shows get cast ‘all white’ all of the time, but now we’re complaining? And we all know exactly why. I highly encourage Hamilton to continue casting people of color, despite the backlash the show will receive. And for all of the white people complaining that they won’t have as large of a chance to be a part of the show, it must *really* suck to have your entire race relegated to one part. I’m *so* sorry for you. If you really want to be a part of Hamilton, try applying for one of their off-stage jobs. It’s just as rewarding as being in the cast.
This uproar about the casting call is ridiculous. I was so angry when I first read about it a few days ago. There are shows that involve people being of a specific race or gender. Sometimes it doesn't work if the person is white or black or Asian and that's just the way it is. What annoys me is that there is no uproar at all when people hire an all white cast for absolutely no reason. If the casting call had been for all white people yes there probably would have been a lot of people who had a problem, but just because there wasn't a casting call sheet that said "only white people" doesn't mean that that isn't what happens. It also doesn't mean that we don't ignore it when it does happen. Maybe the "non-white" casting call broke a rule, but everyone needs to calm down, because when shows cast all white people there aren't 10 articles to put on the PTM blog about it because no one notices. What makes Hamilton so great is how innovative it is, and that innovation gets stumped if the director can't hire the people that he wants. Let's just all relax and stop pretending that this isn't a race issue, because it obviously is, and we need to let everyone else have a shot for once.
Hamilton was written for a specific actor. There is a reason why the producers only want non-white actors. The way the story is told and the effect of the production would be so different if white actors were the ones portraying it. I am really upset at the backlash the casting call got because the only reason people are angry about it is because it is "exclusionary". NO. It is just advertising the necessary people for this production. As other comments state, this wouldn't happen with the Lion King, The Color Purple, or Book of Mormon. It is just the recent fight to make entertainment more diverse that is letting people think they can react this way. Now white people are the ones who feel excluded just because they can't audition for a show made to be interpreted through actors of color. Please, there will be a billion other broadway casting calls for a white-only population soon enough.
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