Should theatres produce an all-white 'Sister Act'?

by Chris Peterson, OnStage Blog Founder

Whenever I get into a discussion about roles that can be played by any race, a couple of them surprise me. For instance, while you might not immediately think it, the role of Deloris Van Cartier in Sister Act can actually be played by anyone from any background, obviously including someone who is white. On an annual basis, I’m told of local theatres performing the show with an all-white cast.

There is nothing in the licensing material that states that the role has to be played by a Black performer. In fact, when the movie was being developed, the role was initially offered to Bette Midler, who ultimately passed on it. It was then offered to Whoopi Goldberg with one caveat: the script would be filmed as written. Meaning Goldberg didn't want anything having to do with her race in the film. Thus, she is playing a woman who happens to be Black rather than having the film point out the fact that she is black. 

It’s a small detail in the final product, but huge when you think about the movie landscape of the mid-1990s.

In the musical adaptation, there are references to Deloris being Black. So then why doesn’t the licensing material require such casting? Without such language, this would lead theatres to simply make their own edits to the script to allow non-Black performers to portray the role, which should be a violation of copyright.

The creative team could follow in the footsteps of the team at Hairspray, which decided to require roles to be cast as written. But the need for Black performers in Hairspray plays a much different and vital role than in Sister Act.

So can theatres cast a White performer Deloris? The answer is technically yes. But does that mean a community theatre company should?

I personally wouldn't and would recommend that theatres try to find the diverse casting this type of show deserves. Given that there aren’t any racial requirements, theatres could be as diverse as possible with a show like this. However, in the same vein, they could cast an all-white production as well.

I think a community’s diversity among the talent pool will drive these types of decisions. While it may be awkward at first to see a white woman play a role that Black women originated, if the authors say it’s fine, I guess it’s okay. But as always, I would hope that theatre groups try to be as inclusive as possible.