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Post by inthenose on Mar 16, 2022 12:00:54 GMT
Enormously predictable casting.
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Post by sprampster on Mar 16, 2022 12:33:02 GMT
Shame this wasn't Sophie Isaacs as we previously rumoured she would have been FAB
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Post by LaLuPone on Mar 16, 2022 12:37:21 GMT
Shame it’s not Vicki Manser either, but I get that they want to move away from the traditional “white, slim” casting for Elle. I hope Vicki gets some other big role soon anyway, she’s such a talent.
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Post by sph on Mar 16, 2022 13:35:21 GMT
Shame it’s not Vicki Manser either, but I get that they want to move away from the traditional “white, slim” casting for Elle. I hope Vicki gets some other big role soon anyway, she’s such a talent. I understand that, but I do on the the other hand, think that well... isn't the whole "white, slim, pretty, blonde" thing kinda the whole point of the character?
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 16, 2022 13:52:35 GMT
Given that Elle is likened to Marilyn Monroe at least once, the lyrics do seem to have a certain aesthetic in mind.
We shall just have to see how things develop and how it all looks in reality
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Post by danb on Mar 16, 2022 14:06:59 GMT
Well I like Lauren Drew…
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Post by Seriously on Mar 16, 2022 14:18:51 GMT
Perhaps we could, I don't know, change a line or two to accommodate the casting?
Perhaps use "blonde" as a metaphor?
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Post by sph on Mar 16, 2022 14:44:00 GMT
Non-traditional casting is fine. Sometimes though, a character is written as a specific physical "type". And the plot of the play/musical/movie/whatever hinges on them being that specific type, so casting against it just... well it doesn't entirely work without a significant rewrite.
If you were doing Hairspray for example, you wouldn't have a skinny Tracy Turnblad because that would subvert the entire point of the character. I'm not trying to offend anyone, I'm just trying to see how modern-day casting works when it opposes one of the main points of a story.
(please don't cancel me)
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Post by stuartmcd on Mar 16, 2022 14:48:02 GMT
Non-traditional casting is fine. Sometimes though, a character is written as a specific physical "type". And the plot of the play/musical/movie/whatever hinges on them being that specific type, so casting against it just... well it doesn't entirely work without a significant rewrite. If you were doing Hairspray for example, you wouldn't have a skinny Tracy Turnblad because that would subvert the entire point of the character. I'm not trying to offend anyone, I'm just trying to see how modern-day casting works when it opposes one of the main points of a story. (please don't cancel me) Is Elle Woods being skinny a main point of the story?
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Post by FairyGodmother on Mar 16, 2022 14:56:36 GMT
Isn't there a line where she says she used Brooke's video to get into shape to become Miss June or something? And they bond over it, although it's probably secondary to being Delta Nus. I think it's how she recognises her.
People in general weren't bothered by a clearly pregnant Gina Beck playing a character who definitely wouldn't have been pregnant.
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Post by sph on Mar 16, 2022 14:57:44 GMT
I meant that more as a Tracy Turnblad thing.
But, regarding Elle Woods - I guess... she IS supposed to be judged based on her conventionally attractive outward appearance, fitting the white valley girl "look". It is a specific stereotype. But that's... the point... is it not?
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Post by FairyGodmother on Mar 16, 2022 15:01:14 GMT
Everybody in Legally Blonde is a stereotype.
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Post by sph on Mar 16, 2022 15:04:47 GMT
Everybody in Legally Blonde is a stereotype. Well... yeah, that's what makes the story work.
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Post by princeton on Mar 16, 2022 15:07:32 GMT
I notice that they've added a dramaturg to the creative team - so I expect that there will be some tweaking or at least a reappraisal/reinterpretation of the source material.
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Post by FairyGodmother on Mar 16, 2022 15:09:58 GMT
Yes — it's a quick shorthand. Both the audience and the other characters judge them based on the stereotypes. Like "if there's a brain in that hair" about Brooke. The whole thing is basically "don't judge a book by its cover", and the covers aren't particularly subtle.
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Post by sprampster on Mar 16, 2022 16:16:50 GMT
Have to say Urdang did a great production of this with a diverse cast and several roles cast against normal "type" and they did also change or exclude some characters or lines or phrases as the production team and cast felt that they were no longer relevant or in some ways offensive.
Interesting that Gay or European still stayed. Which is essentially a musical number where the main character minces around on stage and delivers a totally stereotyped and in some ways offensive portrayal of a gay man.
This show HAS dated in a short space of time. However also its entertaining, funny and when done well also moving. Do we need to be ticking boxes with every show now produced for fear of upset.
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Post by LaLuPone on Mar 16, 2022 16:34:47 GMT
I hope Gay or European doesn’t end up getting taken away/toned down. I’m gay as can be and find it hilarious and I’m sure most of us do!
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Post by FairyGodmother on Mar 16, 2022 17:51:09 GMT
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Post by princeton on Mar 16, 2022 18:21:47 GMT
Not her hands - that's the poster from the original Broadway production (with a bit of DIY photoshopping going on!)
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Post by LaLuPone on Mar 16, 2022 18:21:53 GMT
I’m pretty sure she’s photoshopped herself in to a Laura Bell Bundy photo so they’re not her hands!! princeton great minds!
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Post by pomegranate on Mar 16, 2022 18:34:39 GMT
Lmaooooo her hands??? You didn’t notice the floating head first?? Lol
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Post by mrbarnaby on Mar 16, 2022 20:03:08 GMT
Well this casting is spectacularly wrong. Pass.
Getting a little sick of appropriate casting being sidelined to be ‘diverse’.
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Post by FairyGodmother on Mar 16, 2022 20:34:27 GMT
Of course it is. I just thought they'd copied the poster but it looked awkward. I'll have to go and look at the hands in the 'proper' version now!
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Post by pomegranate on Mar 16, 2022 20:52:39 GMT
Well this casting is spectacularly wrong. Pass. Getting a little sick of appropriate casting being sidelined to be ‘diverse’. What’s wrong about it?
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Post by shady23 on Mar 16, 2022 20:55:04 GMT
I'm guessing it's a fictional story so I really don't see how the roles need to always be played by the same kind of performer.
If you do then putting the same show on time and time again would soon become very boring.
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Post by poster J on Mar 16, 2022 20:59:34 GMT
I seem to have missed the memo that says only people with naturally blonde hair and a size 6 figure can play Elle Woods.
Oh wait - Reece Witherspoon isn't a natural blonde either.
Well done to Courtney Bowman, I'm sure she will smash it.
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Post by h86 on Mar 16, 2022 21:01:09 GMT
Well this casting is spectacularly wrong. Pass. Getting a little sick of appropriate casting being sidelined to be ‘diverse’. I wish there was a thumbs down button to dislike this post.
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Post by sprampster on Mar 16, 2022 21:14:54 GMT
Well this casting is spectacularly wrong. Pass. Getting a little sick of appropriate casting being sidelined to be ‘diverse’. I wish there was a thumbs down button to dislike this post. Why ? I think it’s a pretty valid statement to make. It does seem in some respects like an intentional statement casting as opposed to casting for the most relevance to the role as written ??
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Post by danb on Mar 16, 2022 21:18:21 GMT
Theres nothing ‘wrong’ with it, it just won’t be the same show as before.
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Post by inthenose on Mar 16, 2022 21:25:10 GMT
I just hate the predictability of it. When it was announced, immediately I knew this would be "non-traditional" casting. My issue with this is that producers should be about *everyone* getting a fair shake at audition. Keeping every option open, seeing people who previously wouldn't get seen. And who knows, you can uncover a gem of a performance just from keeping an open mind.
So many shows right now are actively going out and looking to hire POC and minorities, which absolutely defeats the whole point of harmony and inclusiveism. Affirmative action is no better or more progressive than whitewashing. The best people for appropriate parts is all anyone wants.
In an ideal world, the best auditionees of all backgrounds would get the parts they are appropriate for, without a show having a preconceived "vision", or intention to make a statement by casting non-traditionally.
It's all just so terribly predictable.
That said, I was never going to see this anyway, it's not a show I enjoyed at the Savoy.
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