Introducing: The Racialicious Casting Couch
By Kendra James
“Casting Couch” by Derek Lane. Image via Flickr Creative Commons.
Sutton Foster and Kelli O’Hara-esque young white ingenues are a dime a dozen on Broadway, but can you name three Asian women who have risen to that level of fame on the Great White Way? And we all know it’s easier to become the next Julia Roberts than it is to become the next…is there an Asian American Julia Roberts in Hollywood?
All the talk concerning casting in film, television, and theatre this week (plus the advent of television pilot season) had me diving back into my favorite source of online Casting Fails, a few of which I’ve posted under the cut.
… Then Came Elvis:
Here we have an NBC optioned pilot for…Then Came Elvis, based on producer DJ Nash‘s life. Despite being pitched for television, the breakdown for the role of the protagonist’s best friend, Runyen, actually goes along quite nicely (unfortunately) with one of the main points Jezebel’s Laura Beck made last week. Beck points out that while many casting calls declare they’re looking for actors who can “play Asian,” what that often turns into is the casting of white actors in Asian roles.
The description for Runyen doesn’t ask for actors who can “play as Asian,”no…but it does demonstrate a willingness to abandon the one assured spot of diversity in the cast so far. Remember, “open to all ethnicities” isn’t the diversity safeguard network execs would like you to believe.
The Jungle Book:
The trend continues here, as I try and figure out how–even for a non-Broadway production–one justifies sticking “or other ethnicity” at the end of a casting for Mowgli. It’s Mowgli!
Aladdin: A New Musical:
It seems the people behind Disney’s latest musical aren’t even going to bother with the pretense of appropriate casting. With all roles clearly listed as “any ethnicity,” it’s very possible that when Aladdin takes over the New Amsterdam Theatre in 2014, we’ll be watching some very pale faces sail through on that magic carpet ride.
I guess it would be too much to ask whether they’d consider searching specifically for a Chinese male, as Aladdin was in the original tale? Granted, this is Disney, where Mulan can’t even catch a break–that’s probably a lot to ask.
South Pacific:
This Chicago production of South Pacific is one more to drive the point home. Why find an Pacific Islander to play the role of a native Pacific Islander in Bloody Mary when you can just find an “exotic looking” actress with a tan instead? (Well, there is precedent …)
And finally, one more that struck me as particularly bothersome…
Infinitely Polar Bear:
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