Happy ending, maybe? Closing thoughts on my chutzpah-filled racial-casting essay

Why "Cast only Asian robots" STILL does not compute

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Shalom, Broadway lovers!

In today’s issue of MARQUEE: The Broadway Maven’s Weekly Blast: A) an essay further exploring the topic of casting a Jewish actor in a robot role in Maybe Happy Ending; B) a Broadway Blast about Gypsy; C) a “fun fact” you’ll want to tell your friends; and D) a Last Blast about Parade.

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ESSAY: Well, THAT fired your circuits!

Last week, I published an essay expressing disappointment with the consternation over casting a Jew in a Maybe Happy Ending robot role previously held by an Asian. The issue was more widely read and shared than anything else I've written all year, and reactions were quite mixed, although the loudest responses disagreed with me. (Bring it on!)

In this issue, I hope to wrap up the discussion. Expect some fresh musings, as well as the voices of people who disagreed with me and my reactions.

• First, there's this irony: the day my essay appeared, Broadway was celebrating Cynthia Erivo’s turn as Jesus in Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl—a casting almost tailor-made for my point that Jews are often left out of racial-casting debates. Many of the same voices objecting to Andrew Barth Feldman as a race-unspecified robot were cheering a Black queer woman as one of history’s most famous Jewish men.

• One under-discussed aspect of the controversy is that "don't replace a person of color with a performer of another race even when the role is race-neutral" has become almost a rule in Broadway casting culture. There's nothing specifically Black in the Genie in Aladdin, and in fact the iconic role was first played by the very white Robin Williams. But since James Monroe Iglehart won a Tony for playing the part, more than a half-dozen Black performers have played the role, with nary another race represented. (For those who don't remember, the animated Genie was blue.)

Similarly, there's nothing "Black" about the Leading Player in Pippin. Yet Patina Miller was replaced in her Tony-winning role by Ciara Renée, who was replaced by Carly Hughes—all African-American women. See a pattern?

This unspoken rule suggests a lack of imagination—or bravery—on the part of Broadway productions, a problem likely to be exacerbated by the Feldman affair. While the practice helps protect the "real estate" of every ethnic segment of the performing world, it also blocks some people from a chance at roles they are perfectly capable of. It also may have the negative effect of ghettoizing some people of color into "Black roles" and "historically Black-held roles." A more open casting approach would give everyone a shot at every role of every race (with the important exception of Blackface).

Online responses to my essay were all over the map. Many of the most thoughtful critical comments were sent privately (so I won’t respond here), but the ones posted publicly are certainly worth examining:

Arguments that made me recalibrate my system:

MARQUEE readers Sara and Hannah May pointed out that some Jews are Asian, and such a casting would be uncontroversial. They made me realize I should have used the word "Ashkenazi" to specify I was talking about Feldman's specific ethnicity, not his religion.

Another commenter, Ana, made the relevant point that a Jewish person did indeed get cast, noting there had been "little to no backlash" due to the fact he is Jewish. I'm certainly grateful for that, and I think I could have been clearer that I was making a broader point than "cast this Jew."

Error: Logic Not Found:

A few responders went the ad hominem route and suggested it's my own Jewishness ("self-centering" said Julian) that led to this opinion. My reaction to that is to speculate whether they'd use the same test for Asian commenters who disagree with me. It made me wonder how far Broadway's double standards go when it comes to Jews and our voices.

DANGER: Will Robinson:

Others, sadly, seemed to think my point of view simply should not be expressed. For example, Destinee Rea wrote "I fear you’ve missed the point. I’d implore you to truly seek a deeper understanding of what our AAPI community is saying. Really listen. Really hold space. I’d love to see a further writing once that is done." And one message board commenter reacted with the Yiddish phrase "geh kakn afn yam, Benkof"—essentially, go shit in the ocean.

Powered by the Same Code:

Comments by Jason Ward, a clear fan of Maybe Happy Ending, displayed expertise regarding the show's robot world and wrote that "there seems little reason to cast by race for these roles because there does not seem to be a specific reference to race in the book—unless I missed it."

And a commenter who goes by the initials FJV praised Feldman (whom he knew as a youth) and his kind-heartedness and patience, writing: "How can his racial or religious group make any difference? Plug in that mechanical man to entertain us!"

Many pixels have been spilled over this issue, few of which openly support Feldman's casting. And MARQUEE doesn't usually get involved in contemporary controversies (next week's issue is about Avenue Q and the following week we're doing Fiddler.) But I'm glad to have my voice included this time, and I appreciate the thoughtful way many dissenting readers (including those who wrote me privately) approached their disagreement.

Now, time to reboot...

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BROADWAY BLAST: In the restaurant scene in Gypsy, Madame Rose casually tells Herbie she “welched,” meaning she backed out of their plan to get married. The term comes from a stereotype about Welsh people reneging on promises—and here’s the sly kicker: another ethnic group linked in slang to the same kind of trickery is the Roma, also known as Gypsies. The equivalent slur to “welched” is “gypped.” So in a show named Gypsy, its indomitable heroine drops a second swindle-related slang term without batting an eye. It’s pure Rose—ambitious, brassy, self-invented—instinctively wrapping even matters of the heart in the language of the hustle.

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FUN FACT: The average Broadway score has 20 songs. That’s right — a score is a score. (h/t: Peter Filichia)

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Note: A full calendar of upcoming classes is always available at TheBroadwayMaven.com.

• Monday, August 18 7 pm ET Broadway: the Last (Twenty) Five Years with UW Prof. David Armstrong (Members only)

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Exciting announcement: Lyricist Richard Maltby, Jr. will be visiting us in November to talk to MEMBERS ONLY about writing Miss Saigon. Details forthcoming.

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LAST BLAST: In Next to Normal, Gabe is the baby Diana lost—but the way he storms the stage tells us more than grief. He’s manic, magnetic, boundaryless: an imagined son who mirrors Diana’s bipolar highs as if even her hallucinations carry inherited wiring. Meanwhile Natalie’s struggle is explicit—perfectionism curdling into anxiety, depression, and self-medication—so the family portrait is complete. Gabe isn’t just the child Diana mourns; he’s the illness she fears she’s passed on, the genetic echo she can’t silence. That’s why his entrances feel like a rush and a relapse at once: he’s love, loss, and legacy—alive because the illness is, too.

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