To kick off the season, Romeo and Juliet will open October 17 and run until November 8 with Sherri Young and L. Peter Callender directing. William Shakespeare’s iconic story of young love, passion and innocence is set in the 1970s when the world was changing socially and culturally. But undying love dances in the vivid imagination of youth then as now. From December 5  to 20, they present Cinderella, a production that has been delighting audiences for over twelve years. This year will be directed by Shawn J. West. The season continues February 13 – March 6, 2016 with George C. Wolfe’s The Colored Museum. This touching, socially-conscious, satirical comedy is a depiction of Black culture in America that STILL resonates with us today. For the first time in the Bay Area, distinguished directors Velina Brown, L. Peter Callender, Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe, and Michael Gene Sullivan — whom the company calls their “Fantastic Four”– collaborate to bring 12 vignettes to life. Lastly, closing the season May 7 – 29, 2016, is William Shakespeare’s Antony & Cleopatra, where a queen must seduce the one man who can crumble her fragile empire. Jon D. Tracy directs this love story with L. Peter Callender in the title role.

African-American Shakespeare Company was created in 1994 to open the realm of classic theatre to a diverse audience and provide an opportunity and place for actors of color to hone their skills and talent in mastering some of the world’s greatest classical roles. In order to do this, the company produces work not only from classical theatre including Shakespeare, but also great American and international playwrights whose work is lively, entertaining and relevant.

Individual production tickets are now available. Tickets can be purchased from Brown Paper Tickets or ordered by phone at 1-800-838-3006. Subscription sales are also available; if patrons choose to purchase a subscription, they will receive seating for all four productions at a single discounted price. If you sign up now, you are eligible to receive a 10% discount off the regular subscription price until October 16.

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The way my high school history books were written, every single one of those historical figures was white. Manuel did something here. He could have maintained historical “accuracy.”  However, this musical wasn’t about that. He threw out the typical format and hired people of color to fill these roles and guess what? It didn’t matter. Hamilton became an instant hit and no one is criticizing it for its colorblind casting because it’s just that good. The actors make these characters believable regardless of their skin color. What Manuel wanted to create was art, and art doesn’t have a race. It has an impact.

I remember going to see Keke Palmer in Cinderella back in 2014, looking around the theatre, and being brought to tears. I cried because I saw hundreds – and I’m not exaggerating — of young Black girls in tiaras and pretty dresses in the theatre. They were there to see Keke and to experience theatre, some for the very first time. And there was a Black girl playing the princess on the stage. I was so overcome with happiness and joy because it was so important for them, and me, to see. When I was leaving the theatre, a little girl said, “Mommy, I want to do that!” And she can!

What if this could happen all the time? I know we have shows like The Color Purple and Motown, which have no choice but to cast Black actors. However, those shows come and go (that’s another article, for another time). What I’m talking about is something a little different. Oftentimes when I’m catching a show on Broadway, I rarely see faces of color on the stage in lead or featured roles. Sure, I usually can spot them in the ensemble or they may be the understudy, but where’s our full-time Black Elphaba? Does Captain Hook have to be white? Aren’t there Black LGBTQ youth too? Black people go to Paris, right? I’m sure there are tons of Black girls and boys that never want to grow up, so where is their Finding Neverland?

There’s a term in theatre and film called “non-traditional” casting. That term is basically code for non-white actors. For the life of me, I’ve been trying to figure out why they call actors of color “non-traditional.” Are our stories and lives not “traditional?” Do we lack a certain trait to make us “traditional?” What does this even mean?

The answer is something I’ve been trying to discern but, at this point, I don’t think it matters. In the past three years I’ve seen more actors of color in roles that for so long have been cast with predominately white actors. Taye Diggs as Hedwig? Norm Lewis as The Phantom? Condola Rashad as Juliet? Even Trip To Bountiful, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Cat On A Hot Tin Roof cast all Black actors during their Broadway runs. When I see that, it’s a great feeling. My question, then, is why doesn’t it happen more? Is it so far off to believe that as people of color we, too, can live these experiences?

I say these things with a spirit of hope, as I was once a young Black girl attending the theatre. I know the impact of seeing actors on stage that look like you. I also know what it feels like to be automatically ruled out of a role based on the color of your skin. Even now as a Performing Arts teacher, I want to be able to take my students to shows where they can look at that stage and turn to me and say “Ms. Harper-Davis, I’m gonna do that.”

Yes, scholar. Yes, you will.

UPDATE: ***In the featured photo: All black cast of “Oklahoma!” at Portland Center Stage from 2011. A fantastic cast and production, and one of their best selling shows ever. In the photo are Jarran Stepney-Muse as Will Parker and Joy Matthews as Aunt Eller

The post Hamilton To Hedwig: When “Non-Traditional” Casting Becomes Traditional appeared first on Broadway Black.