www.broadwayworld.com: Social media’s role on Broadway has been increasing over the last couple of years. Shows like The Great Gatsby and Maybe Happy Ending have been able to ride social media virality to either help overcome early struggles, or outperform expectations based on critical and awards reception.
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When it comes to casting social media content creators and Broadway shows, I think I lean more towards the direction of not thinking it's a good idea. With that being said, I do understand it. I think a lot of what we've seen right now is that Broadway is really struggling post covid and shows are struggling more and more to break even, and stunt casting might be a way to help with that revenue. I don't think it's fair to discredit someone who was cast just because they have a large following on social media. I think about Charlie Demilio and her casting in And Juliet. Like she does have a background and dance and that being a super dance heavy show, I don't think it's necessarily fair to say that she got it solely off of being a content creator. On the flip side, Trisha Paytas being cast in Beetlejuice is gross. Honestly she's just a gross person who will do anything for money even if it means harming marginalized communities and I think that's really harmful and so it's a horrible precedent for who can and should be making money out of entertainment.
Don't get me wrong. I like a stunt cast, especially if its done well. Jordan Fisher and Jack Wolfe in Hadestown, Eva Noblezada and Orville Peck in Cabaret, Sadie Sink in John Proctor is The Villain. Those actors/performers are all wonderful! But, it makes me quite sad to realize that people oftentimes will only go see a show (at least recently) if there's a stuntcasted actor. Like, thinking back to the John Proctor advertising, it was all about Sadie Sink. What about the rest of the talent? What about the fact that the show was nominated for 7 tony awards? Everyone else hads to be amazing, too. But all I head about was Sadie Sink from Stranger Things is Shelby Holcomb! The same is to be said about the "Beetlejuice" thing with Trisha Paytas, or the "and Juliet" thing with Charlie DeAmelio. I wish people would go see the shows because they wanted to see them and the artistry. But I know that's not the case, unfortunately. Theatre is an art as well as a business, so they make decisions to increase revenue.
Obviously I completely understand why casting directors would choose these big stars especially social media Stars because it's a means of promoting a show. However, it does make me sad to think about all of those actors that could have played those parts but simply didn't prioritize social media or weren’t previously famous or well-known but would have been just as amazing as all of those stars that were chosen for the roles instead. It is also upsetting to think about the fact that a lot of people see the shows just because the stars are in it and don't pay attention to any of the other people that have worked so hard on these shows. They can also be very disrespectful and that can be very disrespectful in the theater by either being on their phones or talking during the show.I also think that one of the main issues of this is that when this particular star that they expected to see isn't on, people can be very disrespectful towards the swing that goes on in their place .
Content creators 100% boost ticket sales. If you have a platform or a product that people buy, and cater to an untapped market, there will definitely be at least a little bit of success. Though the clear targeted audiences may not buy tickets or go to see these shows, they create a lot more buzz surrounding the show. I feel like a lot of people get irritated when they see content creators or influencers on stage because it reveals how thought out and honestly unfair casting is. A lot of people feel like these people don't have that much talent, and can't perform as well as others who auditioned, which I personally agree with. But I'd also like to keep an open mind and maybe believe it could be a case by case basis, just like casting normal performers is. It ultimately feels like Broadway is just trying anything to get younger audiences to pay their ticket prices.
I get when directors cast famous people in their shows and that it brings more attention to the show and brings in more money/boosts ticket sales but I personally don’t think that’s worth it sometimes. Sometimes casting these content creators or famous people that can’t act or fit well in the role/show is just not a great idea despite the traffic it may bring to social media. When casting directors do this it just takes away opportunities for genuine trained talent to have these parts and perform them well. I really didn’t like the fact that Trisha Paytas was casted in Beetlejuice and it just felt very out of place. I had seen video of her in the show and people think she did well but I couldn’t separate the fact it was Trisha Paytas from the character she was playing and all I saw was the weird things she posts online.
I find stunt casting to be a very complex issue that doesn’t have a super clear answer in my brain. On the one hand sometimes it’s very successful, if done with performers who are very talented but happen to be famous already such as sadie sink in John Proctor is the Villain. however my problem with that specific case is how the marketing of the show focused so heavily upon the one actress. every add i saw for it included that sadie sink was starring in the show, and when it was first announced that she would be in the show, I attempted to figure out what character she was playing and could not find anywhere on the internet which one she would be playing. this furthers my view that stunt casting is often pushed in a way that means people aren’t coming to see a show they’re coming to see a specific person which i think is a bit of a negative thing.
I am someone who is really against this practice personally. It feels very similar to nepotism, and we already have enough of that. While yes, casting people who are already popular on social media may increase sales, that doesn’t mean that the end product will be good. A lot of content creators get just given these roles for their popularity and not talent, which ruins the art of it all. Not only that, there’s also the question of if we should even be giving these people such a platform. As someone who often listens to videos about internet controversy and conflict while working, I know all too well the cautionary tales of Ms. “Toxic Gossip Train” and Trisha Paytas. I am not as familiar with Trisha’s situation, but with Colleen, I know for sure that she does not deserve a platform and should no longer be in the spotlight. She’s done horrible, disgusting things using her platform as leverage, and that last thing we need to be doing as an industry is amplifying that power. Of course, this isn’t just a problem with content creators, it's with celebrities in general, but we’re not going in the right direction, and we are worsening the issue if social media influencers are being added to the mix.
I think content creators on shows can be a good idea, depending on who it is and what role they are playing. I think Charlie D’Amelio was a smart casting choice. She’s young and has a lot of dancing experience, and they didn’t put her in a major role just because of her popularity and instead one that was better suited for her. There are other people that I believe should have been thought of more carefully before casting them. Sometimes I believe they only allow people to join because of their popularity and not really their skill or talentI think it definitely helps to bring content creators on the stage because it also gives people an opportunity to see a different art form rather than just watching their phones all the time. People love to take opportunities to see their favorite creators so it definitely gets people out to go see theatre shows and hopefully find a new love for another form of entertainment.
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