SLAM-ILTON
Show hit for seeking ‘nonwhite’ actors
THE HOTTEST Broadway ticket in town is shooting down accusations its casting is racist.
“Hamilton” got some blowback Wednesday after releasing a cattle call for auditions with specific age and race requirements.
The trouble started with an open casting announcement on the blockbuster’s website.
“Hamilton” is “seeking NONWHITE men and women, ages 20s to 30s, for Broadway and upcoming Tours,” the ad said.
The no-whites-need-apply requirement struck some as racist — not to mention illegal under the city’s human rights law.
But civil rights attorney Ron Kuby said it’s legit.
“‘Hamilton’ is about having minority actors in the position of Founding Fathers,” said Kuby.
The advertisement might violate the city’s human rights law, he said — but not necessarily the Constitution, the document Hamilton helped create.
“It’s almost always illegal to advertise on the basis of race, but when you’re casting . . . it can be a bona fide occupational requirement,” he said.
“Same issue on age. I don’t have to cast an elderly white guy if my (project) is about a young black man,” Kuby said.
But the all caps “NONWHITE” drew criticism from Actors’ Equity and other theater professionals.
“The language . . . is inconsistent with Equity’s policy,” said spokeswoman Maria Somma. “Hamilton” honchos said the “confusion” caused by the ad was regrettable.
“It is essential to the storytelling . . . that the principal roles — which were written for nonwhite characters (excepting King George) — be performed by nonwhite actors,” the statement said.
A stagehand at the hip-hop history lesson said he was “surprised” by the ad.
“If it was the other way around, (Rev. Al) Sharpton would be down here in a frenzy,” he said.
But actress Abigail Whittington, 15, visiting for spring break from Charlotte, N.C., said it was show-biz as usual.
“Auditions are often like that. I’m not saying it’s right . . . I definitely don’t agree with (it), but that’s kind of how it’s always been,” she said as she stood in line for “Hamilton” tickets.
Super-fan Tina Pepe, 57, of Armonk, Westchester County, who has already seen “Hamilton” twice, believes in author and star Lin-Manuel Miranda’s multicultural concept.
“In an effort to be inclusive to all races, (they) may be reaching out to nonwhites,” she said.
Her son, Daniel Pepe, 18, an aspiring actor who hoped to try out for “Hamilton,” said tough breaks are part of an actor’s life.
“People of color don’t have enough opportunities as it is in the business,” he said. “I, as a white male, have more of a chance to get something, to get a role. I’m totally fine with it.”
Theater professionals said casting calls should be as carefully crafted as “Hamilton” lyrics.
“It is advisable to take an affirmative approach, rather than an exclusionary one,” said Howard Sherman, interim director of the Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts.