Diversity and Representation in Theatre
For my last blog this semester, I wanted to focus on the past Tony Awards. In 2016, the 4 main awards for actors and actresses went to individuals in the BIPOC Community. Renée Elise Goldsberry won Featured Actress in a musical for “Hamilton”, Cynthia Erivo won Lead Actress in a musical for “The Color Purple”,
“Cinderella” was my favorite Disney princess growing up. I had everything “Cinderella” themed: pajamas, posters, shirts, shoes, etc. The original “Cinderella” movie was made in 1950. Between 1949 and 1950 the BIPOC community was segregated from whites by law. Brown v Board of Education declared segregation unconstitutional in 1954. Looking back Disney failed at representing
“Hairspray” is a comedic musical with a lot of fun characters, that deals with serious subjects throughout the musical. “Hairspray” addresses important themes of racism, body image, activism, etc. The movie is set in Baltimore, MD in the 1960s and segregation takes center stage. In the Corny Collins Show, a main white cast performs every
“The Color Purple” was first known as best selling book than Oscar winning movie before it entered the stage. Alice Walker, the author of “The Color Purple”, was the first black woman to win both the Pulitzer and National Books awards. The story surrounds the character, Celie, a survivor of incest who lives most of her
“Miss Saigon” had its first premiere in 1989. After that, people have been protesting and supporting the musical ever since. I first saw “Miss Saigon” a couple of years ago. Most musicals have a signature moment of the story. “Phantom of the Opera” has the Chandelier and “Le Mis” has the barricade. For “Miss Saigon”
The musical “Show Boat” was written in 1927 by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II. This musical dealt with serious issues such as racism and miscegenation. The musical was written during the time of segregation. A lot of the current social issues of segregation led to the displays of racism seen throughout “Show Boat”. The
“In the Heights” is a beautiful musical that tells the story of individuals living with a minority immigrant community. It shows the systematic racism of being Dominican in the neighborhood of Washington Heights, New York City. The writer of “In the Heights”, Lin Manuel Miranda, once said “An artist’s only responsibility is to be authentically
Don’t get me wrong The Tap dances in Anything Goes are truly immaculate. The style of the music and the rhythm of dance is so much fun. Here is just a little clip of one of the dances for you: To be honest, Anything Goes is a great musical full of enjoyment. Disappointedly, there are
The musical Rent has such accepting characters with a variety of genders, ethnicities, and race. One of the most amazing parts of Rent is the Character Angel. Angel is the first character in a Broadway show that is gender fluid. Angel was also the first character in a Broadway show to change their pronouns to
There are too many different topics to speak about for Hamilton: Race, History, etc. Lin Manuel Miranda’s vision for the musical is full of complexity. Miranda’s idea for Hamilton is a fan-fiction. He wanted everyone, no matter their race or ethnicity, to see themselves in the story. In an Interview Miranda speaks about how we