The cast of Hamilton was praised for lecturing vice president-elect Mike Pence, who attended the show with his family last weekend, but as we look into the actors and producers, they have some skeletons in their closets.
The same cast and crew that are calling for diversity and are “anxious and alarmed” about the incoming administration are part of a system that promotes institutional racism. Yes, and it’s right here in black and white. Casting calls for Hamilton back in April called for “NON-WHITE” singers who rap.
Apparently, white people can’t rap…apparently Vanilla Ice and Eminem don’t exist. But, what really hurts here is that auditioning actors didn’t need prior theater experience. What a huge break it would’ve been for some NYU acting grad to get their start on one of the biggest shows in the world. The Actors Equity Union and other groups said the casting call language was inappropriate and that anyone should be able to audition.
While, according to the New York Times, the rhetoric for the job posting was changed to show all races were welcome, a statement from the producers said “it is essential to the storytelling of Hamilton that the principal roles, which were written for nonwhite characters (excepting King George), be performed by nonwhite actors.”
The article noted “a spokesman for the city’s Commission on Human Rights, which enforces that law (on racial discrimination with employment), said that it had not received any complaints about the Hamilton casting call.” Perhaps the white rejects were afraid to speak up for fear of being called racist and told to check their privilege.
We’ve also found out that the actor who addressed Pence from the stage, Brandon Victor-Dixon, has a lot of explaining to do about some of his past comments about women.
But, don’t expect Dixon to apologize for singling out Pence. The actor told CBS This Morning on Monday, “there’s nothing to apologize for,” although he said the cast would welcome a backstage visit from Trump or Pence.
This culture clash is part of the reason why Donald Trump was elected. Middle America doesn’t relate to the preaching of actors and billionaires. Shakespeare famously wrote, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” Maybe the actors should stick to acting instead of playing with politics.
