HAMILTON Casting Controversy Spotlights the Importance of Diversity

"...as rightly celebrated as [Hamilton] is, it would be shortsighted to assume that it solves the industry’s diversity problem, any more than electing Barack Obama solved America’s. Indeed, the theater is a microcosm of the nation, in terms of the forces at work and the problems that need remedies. Certainly, one should expect that entrenched power brokers throughout the industry may dig in their heels to defend existing paradigms, as power brokers do in just about every other context. Nor should Hamilton and similar shows be expected to satisfy some kind of diversity quota, allowing the rest of the status quo to stand unchallenged. While it could be argued that some diversity is better than none, this is simply not good enough." –KATE SHINDLE, President of the Actors' Equity Association (AEA).

The company of Hamilton.
Photo by Joan Marcus.

Check out Actors' Equity Association President Kate Shindle's guest column in Variety magazine regarding the recent controversy about a casting notice asking for "non-white" actors for replacement cast and touring productions by clicking here.