Chicago magazine | Arts & Culture October 2018: Last week, Chicago Shakespeare Theater announced that Raúl Esparza will play the title role in its three-month run of Hamlet next spring, to be directed by the theater’s founder and artistic director, Barbara Gaines. Esparza’s casting is notable for a few reasons. First, he’s a terrific actor — on Broadway, with four Tony nominations to his name, and on television, where he’s built a following on Law & Order: SVU. Second, he’ll be among the older performers of the modern era to act as Shakespeare’s prince. Those who land the role usually fall within the age range of mid-twenties to late thirties; Esparza turns 48 this month.
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Last week, I read about this exact situation occurring in Australia, and it took me several minutes of researching the history of the issue to understand how this was a problem and why it was happening in the first place. The argument presented in this article is what I was searching for last week. It is not that there is some bias against Australians or Chicagoans, but rather an extreme sensationalization of Broadway celebrities who are not necessarily better than locals. I like that this article points out that these big names often times aren't actually big enough to bring in more ticket sales. I also fully agree that it is not fair to assume you are getting the best talent when you import it from New York and do not bother checking out the young talent around you. I also understand the counter argument that young actors are not experienced enough with Shakespeare, but this seems to be a problem outside of Chicago Shakespeare Theater and even outside of Chicago and the US as a whole. This is a problem throughout the industry all over the world. How can we expect to find new, young talent to replenish the industry if no one is given a chance?
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