Broadway and Wannabe-Broadway

Today, I was looking at an ad for "A Streetcar Named Desire" on Broadway.  What did I notice?  Two African-American men.  Are Stan and Mitch being played by men-of-color? 

It's important to remember: I did audition for a local community theatre version of "Streetcar" last year and I didn't get a part.  I don't believe this was because of my skin color, however.  The director had already cast Stan and had a great actor in mind for Mitch (that actor is a friend of mine, and I would have questioned the sanity of casting me over him).  He had me read for one other part, but my heart really wasn't into it (my feeling was that if I was going to play a bit part, I might as well play a bit part in "42nd Street", where I would be performing with my kids). 

But, Stan and Mitch were both white.  There are several times when Blanche refers to Stan as being a "Pollack".  With few exceptions, every community theatre I know would insist that it MUST be done that way.  They would insist on that because they aren't just doing a hodge-podge, they are striving for a professional quality show!  They would insist on this even if they, for example, throw a sheet over two boxes and call it a sofa. 

And yet Broadway doesn't seem to do that. 

"Chicago", on Broadway, was set in the 1920's and had whites and blacks intermingling without a fuss or even a mentioning. 

"How to Succeed in Business Without Even Trying": set in the corporate world of the 1950's.  And on Broadway, we had black executives in the corporate boardroom. 

There was a bunch of hub-bub about casting non-hispanics for the clearly hispanic leads in "Motherf*cker with a Hat" . . . but that hub-bub occurred when the show went on tour.  On Broadway, this wasn't a problem! 

And now, "A Streetcar Named Desire" . . . black men, apparently, playing Stan and Mitch.

Now, these are only a few cases.  I don't recall seeing any minorities in "Phantom of the Opera".  But these four instances are enough, in my opinion, to shoot down these community theatre companies that try to mask racial bias with a "professional quality production".