Minorities On Broadway
There are many minority groups working on Broadway and on Off-Broadway musicals. These minorities include but are not limited to: LGBTQIA+, the disabled, African American, Asian Americans, Hispanics, and many others. While Broadway is becoming more inclusive with minorities, there is still work to be done. In 2018 alone, “Less than 12 percent of the current company managers are members of minority races, and only two lead producers are African-American” (Hershberg), and that’s just with the behind the scenes work. On Broadway there are many shows with an all inclusive cast. Six main diverse cast shows are In The Heights, Allegiance, Rent, Kinky Boots, and Hamilton. Each of these shows’ main focus surrounds a minority group. For example, “The show (In The Heights) takes place in Washington Heights and focuses on the problems of the predominantly Hispanic community that lives there. Throughout the musical, the characters talk about immigration, what it means to be Hispanic and the disadvantages they face as a Hispanic community” (Zelniker). This is a huge show with almost every cast member being Hispanic, with the exception of one character who was played by an African American man, making everyone in the cast a person of color.
Minorities on Broadway are so important for representation for every minority group. One group that has been getting more representation lately is the LGBTQIA+. The LGBTQIA+ is a common abbreviation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Pansexual, Transgender, Genderqueer, Queer, Intersexed, Agender, Asexual, and Ally community. This community, or group, is one that can be commonly hated for being deemed “unnatural”. It is especially important for representation of this group to help show others that yes, people are queer and they love who they love. As well as it is highly, probably even more so, important for transgender representation. Out of the entire LGBTQIA+ community, transgender people are the most likely to be abused in some way for being who they are. “‘We’re being cast specifically for our trans-ness within shows that need it,’ Kate Bornstein says. ‘That says a lot about where we are’” (Snook). Along with trans folk, there are non-binary people. Non-binary means that one does not identity as a man or a woman on the gender spectrum. As for statistics, “out of 365 characters, “nonbinary plural” characters made up 0.27 percent of Broadway’s slate from May 2018 to April 2019; 7.1 percent of characters were not specified by gender. Sixty-one percent of characters were male, and 32 percent were female” (Ates). Not only are we getting representation through characters, but the actors playing those roles are also part of the LGBTQIA+ community.
People who are disabled are also being represented on Broadway. Disabilities on Broadway are including, but not limited to, wheelchair-bodied people, the deaf/hearing impared, those on the autism spectrum, etc. Not only are the disabled being represented but Broadway also makes sure shows are accessible to everyone. There is handicapped seating and a sign language interpreter. “However, Broadway still has a long way to go for full inclusion of actors with disabilities. The 2015 Best Play A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime had one of the first main characters on the autism spectrum on Broadway. However, they cast an actor without autism or any other disabilities for the role of Christopher. Additionally, Broadway’s recent productions of The Cripple of Inishmaan, Richard III, The Miracle Worker and The Elephant Man, whose main characters have physical disabilities, had all of these lead roles played by actors without physical disabilities — with most of them being celebrities” (Kranking). What is most important is for places like Broadway to let actual disabled actors/actresses play disabled characters instead of letting abled bodies play disabled characters. That helps not only show diversity in characters but in actors as well.
There are many actors who are people of color on Broadway as well. Shows previously mentioned like “In The Heights” is an example of a cast with a majority being people of color. Also “The Color Purple”, “Hairspray”, “West Side Story”, and many others. Those shows require the cast to all be non-white actors. There are also long-running shows with previously all white main characters who are now diversifying like “Wicked”. According to the New York Times, “And just 20 percent of shows on New York stages were written by people of color in the 2017–18 season” (Bahr). Those are just the written shows. Within the actors and actresses, “Approximately 23 percent of roles over all at New York City theaters went to Black actors, 7 percent to Asian-American actors, 6 percent to Latino actors, 2 percent to Middle Eastern or North African actors and fewer than 1 percent to Indigenous actors, according to the report. Latino actors were also more than three times as likely to be cast in a chorus role than as a principal in a Broadway musical” (Bahr). Some famous actors best known for their roles in the musical Hamilton are Leslie Odom Jr. and Daveed Diggs. What is so cool about the musical Hamilton is that all of the main characters, minus the King, are played by people of color while their historical counterparts were all white. In one of the songs there is even talk of slavery and how horrible it was while George Washington bows his head, to almost “ask for forgiveness” because he, himself owned slaves. While the actor who played George Washington is African American which seems to give it this whole new meaning to the lyrics and how he responds to them.
There is always more we can be doing for minorities to make them feel heard, especially through Broadway. There is always room to take the stage and let someone’s story be heard. Inclusivity can easily be done just by adding an actor to the cast, but especially by writing roles for these actors and actresses to play. There are so many playwrights who are trying to turn their own stories or stories of others into mainstage musicals or plays. In times when people feel unheard, they tend to turn to creativity or a creative outlook to express themselves. Some choose to write, others choose to do things like act. In order for someone to feel the most “heard” they need to be able to tell a story. Every good story has a telling of hardships and most minorities can relate to that which is why they are so amazing for the performing arts business. Not only have they dealt with hardships, but they want to show how great they are as actors. That’s the whole point to minorities making it on Broadway, not just to “diversify” but because some minorities are regular people with gifted talents in the performing arts. Minorities are regular people like anyone but categorized as minorities simply because they are, “a group of people whose practices, race, religion, ethnicity, or other characteristics are lesser in numbers than the main groups of those classifications. However in present-day sociology, a minority group refers to a category of people who experience relative disadvantage as compared to members of a dominant social group.” (“Minority Group”). Most minority groups do not think of themselves in a “minority” because they believe we are all seen as equals. It is as simple as letting their creative stories be heard and brought to light.
What we can do as people is educate others and ourselves constantly on what is happening and what has happened with minority groups. Did you know as of November 11th, there have been 350 killings of transgender people? Also that as of August 31st there have been 164 African Americans murdered by the police? We need to be able to listen to minorities, to each other, and help each other feel heard. This is why people protest, to help advocate for those who have died or been injured or cannot advocate for themselves. Even those who can still advocate for themselves, there is strength in numbers. We can do our part by helping everyone feel equal because we all are equal to one another. So do your part and listen to minorities when they say they don’t feel heard. Let minorities be creative with how they tell their stories and let them be themselves.
Works Cited
Ates, Alex. “Here’s How Broadway Fares on Gender Diversity in 2019.” 06 Aug. 2019. Web. 23 Nov. 2020.
https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/broadway-gender-diversity-2019-68646/
Bahr, Sarah. “White Actors and Directors Still Dominate Broadway Stages, Report Finds.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 01 Oct. 2020. Web. 29 Nov. 2020.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/01/theater/new-york-theater-diversity-report.html
Hershberg, Marc. “Broadway Steps Up Diversity Push.” 26 Sept. 2018. Web. 16 Nov. 2020.
Kranking, Emily. “Physical Disabilities Take the Rare Spotlight on Broadway.” 19 Apr. 2019. Web. 23 Nov. 2020.
https://www.respectability.org/2019/04/physical-disabilities-broadway/
“Minority Group.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Nov. 2020. Web. 30 Nov. 2020.
Snook, Raven. “Trans Performers Are Finally Making It to Broadway.” Web. 17 Nov. 2020.
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/trans-performers-are-finally-making-it-to-broadway
Zelniker, Nicole. “5 Musicals That Showed Diversity On Broadway.” 15 Oct. 2019. Web. 16 Nov. 2020.
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/5-musicals-that-showed-diversity-on-broadway