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    alter_egoClover Hope
    3/30/16 10:19am

    I thought that theatre was one of the exceptions to typical rules about employment discrimination. Like, they aren't going to force you to audition white men to play othello, or black men to play Hamlet? Does it matter that all the people in Hamilton were real, white people?

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      norbiznessalter_ego
      3/30/16 10:23am

      The results won’t matter if you truly are seeking an all-minority cast, just don’t say it explicitly in the open casting call. Don’t say “[ANYTHING] ONLY”

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      AltairaMorbius2200ADalter_ego
      3/30/16 10:24am

      Why wouldn’t black men be able to play Hamlet? I get that Othello is pretty specifically black, but virtually every other character except maybe Shylock in the Shakespeare canon is ethnicity-free, and new interpretations playing with gender and race are WAY more interesting because of it.

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    SodburgerClover Hope
    3/30/16 10:21am

    If Hamilton wasn’t wildly successful, no one would care. Now that it’s the hottest Broadway show on the planet white people are all “Wait praise, prestige and high paychecks? That’s my job!”

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      mjoneslostherburnerkeySodburger
      3/30/16 10:26am

      Truth. So much truth.

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      Crispin WaughSodburger
      3/30/16 10:33am

      I’m pretty sure there’s a segment of white America that would raise a fuss about this even if it were an audition notice for Spiderman the Musical 2

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    The Noble RenardClover Hope
    3/30/16 10:17am

    Remember, it’s reverse racism if you don’t cast John Lovitz as Martin Luther King Jr.

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      MessO'Espresso is a noodle-bodied slothThe Noble Renard
      3/30/16 10:20am

      I feel like there’s an EEO violation lurking somewhere in that audition notice tho...

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      norbiznessThe Noble Renard
      3/30/16 10:24am

      “Have you really been to the mountaintop, Dr. King?”

      “No! Of course not!”

      “But I..”

      “ACTING!”

      “GENIUS!”

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    VoteyMcVotefaceThePartyVoteDriverClover Hope
    3/30/16 10:19am

    As a matter of law, they probably did fuck up and probably will get punished. This is one time where the “what if” actually holds water. OTOH with all the institutionalized racism in the entertainment industry I can’t really find the effort to care. I’m sure the white people who were bothered by this can take solace at all the hundreds of other Broadway shows that are casting mainly whites that they can try to get roles in.

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      BJNVoteyMcVotefaceThePartyVoteDriver
      3/30/16 10:37am

      My understanding is that casting notices for film/tv specify race (among other characteristics) for parts very often. Maybe this is a case where stage performance is different, but let's not pretend like this is new.

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      assmonkeysaysI'mBRITNEY, BITCH!BJN
      3/30/16 10:51am

      It seems to be the real beef is that there is a conflict on whether or not the union approved the casting language. That is a WHOLE different ball of wax. Like, if what the direct says is true, and the union DID approve it, there would be no issue with the language. The issue the union seems to be taking is that they did this without discussion it with them, which in lots of circumstances, can be a labor law violation (I’m a labor lawyer so this is my wheelhouse). In summary, its not the language, its the (maybe) failure to get to the union to sign off on it that is at issue.

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    LaComtesseClover Hope
    3/30/16 10:34am

    Legally speaking: would it have made a difference if the casting call had said “non-white actors strongly encouraged” or something to that degree? Just out of curiosity.

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      mazzieDLaComtesse
      3/30/16 10:47am

      I’m guessing yes. You can encourage anyone you want, that’s their decision to apply or not. You just can tell people not to apply based on something like their race or gender.

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      Blueberry JonesmazzieD
      3/30/16 11:30am

      I imagine the reason they even did it in the first place is that since Hamilton is the hottest show on Broadway, they wanted to make sure people who auditioned were in line with what they are looking for. I can imagine there are lots of people scrambling to be in that show and they wanted to cut down on time wasters.

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    adultosaur married anna on the astral planeClover Hope
    3/30/16 10:26am

    i would like to push this person down

    like just two hands to his shoulders, push him down playground style

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      comeonpoppetadultosaur married anna on the astral plane
      3/30/16 10:30am
      GIF
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      GeezMabeladultosaur married anna on the astral plane
      3/30/16 10:34am

      And a noogie for good measure!

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    Mrs. FingerbottomClover Hope
    3/30/16 10:22am
    “What if they put an ad out that said, ‘Whites only need apply?’” he tells CBS.

    They don’t have to! It’s already implied in most job ads.

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      SportsicleMrs. Fingerbottom
      3/30/16 10:38am

      Are we working to eliminatate that, or accept it as long as the opposite is also accepted?

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      T_McGeeMrs. Fingerbottom
      3/30/16 10:46am

      God damn so true. I learned very quickly how to tell in job interviews when the HR person had chosen me as their one Latina candidate and is surprised to see my pale Latina self walk in. I had a person ask me what I was post interview.

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    HubcapJennyClover Hope
    3/30/16 10:18am

    “What if they put an ad out that said, ‘Whites only need apply?’” he tells CBS. “Why, African-Americans, Latinos, Asians would be outraged.”

    That’s because there are vast differences between how whites and non-whites are treated, both in general and in the entertainment industry in particular. These arguments are bullshit false equivalence. Equal treatment is not the same as fair treatment, and it’s ridiculous that a production trying to give representation for non-white people for once should be coerced to jump through hoops to salve white peoples’ feelings.

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      norbiznessHubcapJenny
      3/30/16 10:26am

      But nobody is going to question the subjective final decisions of the casting director, you can’t just erect the barrier in the advertising with its being an EEO violation. And who knows, maybe they actually like a random cracker who brings something to a particular role.

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      SportsicleHubcapJenny
      3/30/16 10:39am

      True, but it's difficult to change that if you accept the precedence of allowing the inverse.

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    Paranoid Android (sometimes says dumb things)Clover Hope
    3/30/16 10:41am

    Somebody get Clover Hope a ticket to Hamilton-with a quickness!

    (No shade but am I the only person in the universe that has no interest seeing Hamilton?)

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      SheeshTheseNamesParanoid Android (sometimes says dumb things)
      3/30/16 10:51am

      I don’t wanna see it.

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      many bells down wears many stupid hatsParanoid Android (sometimes says dumb things)
      3/30/16 11:06am

      I love it, but I told my husband never to try and get me tickets because I ugly-cry through act 2.

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    Space_RockerClover Hope
    3/30/16 10:29am

    I, however, can confirm that I’m still trying to get tickets to Hamilton.

    Same. :(

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      dramamonkeySpace_Rocker
      3/30/16 10:40am

      Trying to figure out if I can afford to drop $500+ on a resale ticket because I want to see the show that badly.

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      starliliesdramamonkey
      3/30/16 11:23am

      I'm vehemently opposed to scalpers tickets. They're part of the problem.

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