Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: FAME All White Cast??

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tonyboling
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Topic: FAME All White Cast??
Posted: 5/16/08 at 11:09pm

Has anyone done FAME with an all white cast? How did you account for Tyrone?

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SherrieAnne
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Posted: 5/16/08 at 11:58pm

One of my companies did it summer before last - the cast was white & Hispanic. Miss Sherman was a blue-eyed blonde. (That was me, BTW. ) Tyrone (though they kept the name) was played as Hispanic, & the actor (who was fabulous, BTW) rewrote the "Rap" to account for it.

There's a little bit of diva in all of us. Some just have a larger helping than others.

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spikesgirl
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Posted: 5/17/08 at 9:37am

Tony - most folks are going to give you some latitude when it comes to casting. If you have a good Tyron, go for it. When we did "Glass Menagerie", we had a white sister, a black mother and an Asian Tom.

Likewise, when we did "Fame, our tyron was a Samoan. You work with what you get! He was the highlight of the show.

Charlie

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B-M-D
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Posted: 5/17/08 at 11:47am

I'd have to agree that there's some latitude in the castiing of Tyron for this show. I'd be extremely carefull in re-writing ANYTHING in the script. In one of the topics there is an extremely long thread (probably the longest ever in this forum) about changing profanity but it applies to changing any dialog, lyrics, gender, etc. Bottom line is you can't without the authorization of the rightsholder.

And as for having a mixed racial cast for Glass Menagerie I'd be a little carefull with that as well. Considering the local, time frame and character types it almost makes no dramatic sense. I beleive I did hear of an all Black cast at one time. And that to me makes much more sense given the other criteria.

"Dying is easy, comedy is hard."

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spikesgirl
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Posted: 5/17/08 at 5:01pm

I agree with not changing dialogue. As a playwright, I know how it feels to have someone 'improve' a script.

However, our "Glass Menagerie" are was at a school and one of our rules is that we cast the best for the part, without regard to race or even gender (in some cases). We got top reveiws for both the acting and our inventive casting. Same thing in "'Night, Mother", Asian daughter, black mother and it was a great show because we picked the best people for the parts. If we were a professional house, then things are different, but at an educational insitution, I believe we are there to serve the student and that means letting them have access to shows regardless of race, color or creed. At least in our school, dramatic sense isn't a casting consideration.

Charlie

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Author	Message
tonyboling Star Joined: 3/15/08 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 55	Topic: FAME All White Cast?? Posted: 5/16/08 at 11:09pm
	Has anyone done FAME with an all white cast? How did you account for Tyrone?

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SherrieAnne Star Joined: 8/08/06 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 72	Posted: 5/16/08 at 11:58pm
	One of my companies did it summer before last - the cast was white & Hispanic. Miss Sherman was a blue-eyed blonde. (That was me, BTW. ) Tyrone (though they kept the name) was played as Hispanic, & the actor (who was fabulous, BTW) rewrote the "Rap" to account for it.
	There's a little bit of diva in all of us. Some just have a larger helping than others.
	IP Logged

spikesgirl Celebrity Joined: 3/30/08 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 129	Posted: 5/17/08 at 9:37am
	Tony - most folks are going to give you some latitude when it comes to casting. If you have a good Tyron, go for it. When we did "Glass Menagerie", we had a white sister, a black mother and an Asian Tom. Likewise, when we did "Fame, our tyron was a Samoan. You work with what you get! He was the highlight of the show. Charlie
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B-M-D Celebrity Joined: 11/03/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 346	Posted: 5/17/08 at 11:47am
	I'd have to agree that there's some latitude in the castiing of Tyron for this show. I'd be extremely carefull in re-writing ANYTHING in the script. In one of the topics there is an extremely long thread (probably the longest ever in this forum) about changing profanity but it applies to changing any dialog, lyrics, gender, etc. Bottom line is you can't without the authorization of the rightsholder. And as for having a mixed racial cast for Glass Menagerie I'd be a little carefull with that as well. Considering the local, time frame and character types it almost makes no dramatic sense. I beleive I did hear of an all Black cast at one time. And that to me makes much more sense given the other criteria.
	BD "Dying is easy, comedy is hard."
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spikesgirl Celebrity Joined: 3/30/08 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 129	Posted: 5/17/08 at 5:01pm
	I agree with not changing dialogue. As a playwright, I know how it feels to have someone 'improve' a script. However, our "Glass Menagerie" are was at a school and one of our rules is that we cast the best for the part, without regard to race or even gender (in some cases). We got top reveiws for both the acting and our inventive casting. Same thing in "'Night, Mother", Asian daughter, black mother and it was a great show because we picked the best people for the parts. If we were a professional house, then things are different, but at an educational insitution, I believe we are there to serve the student and that means letting them have access to shows regardless of race, color or creed. At least in our school, dramatic sense isn't a casting consideration. Charlie
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Topic: FAME All White Cast??( Topic Closed)