Latest casting controversy with 'In The Heights' reveals work needed from regional theatres
by Chris Peterson
Chris Peterson is the Founder of OnStage Blog which was launched in 2014.
This past week controversy erupted at a regional theatre in Virginia over a Caucasian actress who was cast as Vanessa in their production of ‘In The Heights’. The production was then canceled by the theatre’s all-white executive team and is now back on with certain deadlines to replace cast and creative members. While on the surface this looks like another example of whitewashing, what actually transpired at Mill Mountain Theatre exposes deeper casting issues that all regional theatres should take notice.
When the Mill Mountain Theatre announced the cast of their upcoming production of ‘In The Heights’, the celebration soon turned to confusion which then turned into outrage. The character of Vanessa, Usnavi's love interest who works at Daniela's salon and who was written to be Latina, was cast with a Caucasian actress instead.
Given the call-to-action of casting BIPOC roles with BIPOC performers, there was understandable and considerable outrage from the rest of the cast who were predominantly Latinx. When their concerns were brought to the theatre’s executive team, a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion(DEI) consultant was brought in to mediate between the cast and creative/producing teams as well as provide workshops for the theatre’s leadership.
While this was going on, sources tell me that the actress resigned from the role. The theatre then put out a statement on social media.
However shortly after that, the cast were called to a meeting where they were told that the show would be canceled.
But, after continued discussions with Mill Mountain leadership, the show is back on - as long as they can find replacements for the departed cast and creative teams. I’m told that they have until 5 pm on March 22nd.
While I am relieved that the show will, hopefully, go on and that these artists will be able to authentically tell this story, questions remain and they deserve answers. The first is, how did this happen? How, after all the industry-wide discussions about casting equality and making sure roles like this were portrayed correctly, did this happen on a professional Equity production?
The truth is, the work needed to get it right, just wasn’t done. Furthermore, looking at the history at Mill Mountain Theatre, this was a disaster just waiting to happen. Let’s dig in.
Casting Questions
The first question that needs to be raised is how was a Caucasian actress cast as Vanessa? Why would a Caucasian actress even submit or even accept the role?
Well, when looking at the audition notice for the show, it might suggest that the creative team was open to Vanessa being of any background. In the audition notice posted on BroadwayWorld.com, many of the principal character descriptions have their ethnicity listed, but not Vanessa. Usnavi is listed as Dominican, the Rosarios are listed as Puerto Rican, but there is no ethnic background listed for Vanessa and Carla.
Does this mean the creative team was thinking of having these two characters be portrayed by non-Latina performers? It’s fair to ask that question. It’s even fairer given the reports that the creative team was going to change Carla into a male-identifying character.
But changes like these would be an exact violation of the authors’ (Quiara Alegría Hudes and Lin-Manuel Miranda) intent and the casting requirements listed in the licensing materials. According to Concord Theatricals’ ‘In The Heights’ website, not only are both Vanessa and Carla listed as Latina, but there is also a statement that reads, “Company members must match the character definitions as written in the script.”
And to be clear, while Hudes and Miranda have stated that they are fine with school productions that don’t feature Latinx performers, they draw the line with productions like the one Mill Mountain was trying to stage.
If the Mill Mountain Theatre was going to make such changes to these characters, they would need to get permission from Quiara Alegría Hudes and Lin-Manuel Miranda, which they likely wouldn’t receive.
For those saying that the actress should have known better than to accept the role - 1. I’m told she didn’t audition for it but was called back and offered the role. 2. With the way the theatre set up auditions, it’s fair to ask if she thought her Italian background was in line with what the creatives were looking for.
This also seems like the right time to, again, call attention to the need to change casting rules to allow creative teams to inquire about someone’s BIPOC identity for BIPOC roles.
I completely understand why those rules were set up in the first place. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from engaging in hiring practices that discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, and sex (amongst others),. But the second part of that law would give the clearance for casting professionals to ensure these roles are properly filled. It states that “unless the protected characteristic is part of a “bona fide” occupational qualification or ‘BFOQ.’”
Maybe I’m misinterpreting the law, but I would say that in these sorts of casting situations “BFQQ” would apply. And furthermore, with shows like these, those should be the only times BFQQ applies.
Because at this point, all casting professionals can do is rely on what performers tell them. Whether those performers are being truthful in order to get the job, is left to chance. I’m not saying that was the case here at the Mill Mountain Theatre, but by allowing BFQQ questions, this might never have happened in the first place. But this doesn’t let Mill Mountain Theatre and its leadership off the hook, not by a long shot.
Mill Mountain Theatre’s tokenism in their past seasons
If you’re familiar with Mill Mountain Theatre and their show selecting trends, it’s hardly surprising to see that they were ill-prepared to cast a show with BIPOC roles in 2022.
While the theatre does, in most seasons, select a show that would require a majority of BIPOC performers, typically it is only one show with other productions that wouldn’t have the same requirement. For example, in 2018 they produced ‘West Side Story’ along with ‘A Chorus Line’ and ‘Spring Awakening’. The year before that - ‘Little Shop of Horrors’, ‘A Christmas Story’, and ‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’. The year before that - ‘Smokey Joe’s Cafe’, ‘The Odd Couple’, White Christmas’.
I wrote about this years ago, that if theatres want to truly embrace diversity and inclusion, they need to do more than one show per season reserved for BIPOC performers.
“While theaters administrations might not think it, racially dividing their seasons doesn't encourage or increase diversity. If a theater truly wants to make a commitment to inclusion, that needs to be applied to every show they perform. If you are willing to cast performers of color in shows with roles of color, you also need to consider them for open race roles. Implying to them that they only really have one show to shine in is incredibly offensive.”
Does ‘A Chorus Line’ and ‘Spelling Bee’ have BIPOC roles? Yes. But are they equal or in the same majority as a show like ‘In The Heights’ or even ‘West Side Story’? No. It’s fair to say that if the Mill Mountain Theatre had a better history of BIPOC involvement, as well as BIPOC representation among their leadership, they would have been better prepared to handle a show like ‘In The Heights.’
So this speaks to a larger issue that I want regional theatres to take notice of - if you’re going to commit to DEI initiatives, you have to do the work, prepare to prevent mistakes, and properly atone for those mistakes. Admitting you were wrong and then canceling a production isn’t close to the answer.
It’s fair to say that those at Mill Mountain will never make this error again, but it shouldn’t have been made in the first place if people in charge were prepared.
I am thrilled to hear that the performers of this show were able to convince the creative team to give it another shot and I hope they’re able to open on April 6th.