No Safe Spaces: Re-casting Race, Ethnicity, and Nationality in American Theater

Five. The Theater, Not the City: Genre and Politics in Antirealistic Drama

chapter five The Theater, Not the City Genre and Politics in Antirealistic Drama Walk softly on your white feet. White? No, black. Black or white? Or Blue? Red, green, blue, white, red, green, yellow, what do I know? where am I? —félicité Here, it is the theatre, not the city. —archibald jean genet, The Blacks The ‹rst American production of Jean Genet’s play Les Nègres, closed on September 1, 1961, after 974 performances at the St. Mark’s Playhouse on September 1, a run that broke all records for an Off-Broadway dramatic production. The same press release that announced the closing of the play also stated that a national tour was being planned. In February 1962, a cartoon inspired by these events appeared in the Village Voice. The cartoon shows the marquee of the St. Mark’s Playhouse advertising The Blacks. Next to the entrance is a sign that reads “Casting Replacements Today 1–3 pm.” Standing outside the doorway are ‹ve men, one of whom has apparently just emerged from an unsuccessful audition. He explains to his fellow actors, “They said I was too short for the role.” The ‹gure in question is indeed noticeably shorter than his competitors; he is also white whereas they are all black.1 While the self-evident humor of the situation can still be appreciated, the cartoon acquires new implications in light of the debates that have 141 arisen around nontraditional casting practices. In another context, the cartoon could be seen as a comment on what critics of nontraditional casting have called the double standard or one-way street that calls for roles originally written for white actors to be open to actors of color, while “racially or ethnically speci‹c roles” are reserved for actors of that race or ethnicity. We have seen how this position was articulated in relation to the Miss Saigon casting controversy. As recently as 2002, the issue surfaced in Oregon when two related articles appeared in the Sunday edition of the local paper: one was an interview with actor and director Andrea Frye, and the other a piece with the headline “Integration of Shakespearean casts made a belated entrance.” The latter article notes, “Historically, black actors were lucky to be seen in black roles, let alone ‘white’ roles.”2 In her interview, Frye, who is also artistic director of Jomandi , an Atlanta-based company that is the largest African American theater in the United States, expanded on this point: “If a character is not culturally speci‹c, there’s no reason you can’t cast somebody [black]. . . . Black actors should be allowed to play the roles that are there.” As an example, she said, “Othello is culturally speci‹c. . . . Take away that, and you’ve altered the story. Macbeth is not culturally speci‹c.”3 A reader took exception to Frye’s statement and OSF’s casting policies in letters published a couple of weeks later: Actress Frye stated that the current placement of a black actor in the role of Macbeth, “is OK but a white Othello would not be.” . . . Also in the current OSF repertoire, a black actor plays the Roman, Cassius, in the Bard’s “Julius Caesar.” No word from anyone at OSF about this character’s “cultural speci‹city.” Two years earlier, another writer had raised similar objections, making the following proposal: In keeping with Ms. Appel’s current policy, may I suggest a revival of “A Raisin in the Sun,” with the red-headed Celt Dan Donahue in the role of Walter B. Younger in an otherwise all black production. Such objections are in fact covered by the Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts’ formulation, which makes it clear that it is not the static setting and racial, ethnic, or national identity of the character that is at issue, but whether or not race, ethnicity, gender, or physical capability is germane to the character’s or the play’s development. 142 • no safe spaces Othello’s blackness is an issue in Shakespeare’s play; Hamlet’s “Danishness ” is not. Whether or not Macbeth’s “Scottishness” affects the play’s action or the character’s development is a more complicated question: given the proximity and closely intertwined histories of England and Scotland, it very likely was considered a crucial factor in Shakespeare’s time and would still have strong connotations throughout the United Kingdom today; but in...