If you visit New York City and plan to see a Broadway show, you would think that maybe you’ll run into a celebrity sitting in the audience. When, instead, that celebrity is actually on the stage performing. It gets you questioning, When were they cast in this show? Have they always had stage experience and never said so until now? This has been a small issue for Broadway for quite some time. Although, as of late, it’s become one concern that has Broadway audiences, including myself, wondering about the future of Broadway. Will we get new faces for Broadway, or will it revolve around celebrities?
This type of casting for Broadway can be defined as “stunt casting,” and this essentially means that when a show casts a big-name celebrity – often from film, television, or pop music, with little to no theater experience – for a Broadway show for a short period to boost ticket sales or attract new audiences. Listen, I’m all for a celebrity achieving the goal they’ve wanted to since they were a child. Maybe it’s climbing Mount Everest, getting a tattoo, or even getting to star in a Broadway show. At the same time, sometimes I’ll side-eye a bit when it comes to celebrities who don’t have any experience on stage, or don’t know much about Broadway. It takes away some of the magic when a celebrity who doesn’t have much experience on Broadway all of sudden knows everything about it. I do understand that, especially in society now, it’s difficult to grab new audiences’ attention for Broadway, so having a big name will help sell out more nights and increase ticket sales, which is good. Simultaneously, if the big-name celebrity doesn’t have much experience, how will they perform? Will they change people’s expectations, or would they worsen the experience for first-time audiences?
You may be thinking, Jaden, is this due to the recent news of Megan Thee Stallion being cast in Moulin Rouge!? and my answer is yes. On Feb. 26, it was announced that Stallion will star in the show Moulin Rouge! as Zidler, the Moulin Rouge’s owner. Her run will be about eight weeks – from March 24 to May 17. Don’t get me wrong, I love Stallion’s music; she’s one of my favorite female rappers to this day. But when I saw the news of her being on Broadway, I wasn’t all that excited about it. Even though we don’t know for sure, I’ve never seen Stallion mention that she’s worked on stage or trained for Broadway. Due to the news of Moulin Rouge! closing on Broadway this summer, it only seems necessary for them to add big-name celebrities in order for them to close on a high note.
While I was researching other opinions on stunt casting, I came across this statement in a post on NYU CommClub written by Ally Sutherland: “All this to say, although stunt casting is inevitable and can even be great sometimes, it shouldn’t veto putting in the work to find new and more talented actors. Broadway is a place for audiences to connect with stories, and be inspired by the talent, not just another way to conduct meet and greets with celebrities.”
This statement ultimately summarizes my feelings about stunt casting; while it can be a big chance for celebrities to expand their creativity, it limits those who have worked and trained for Broadway. It just turns Broadway into a celebrity meet and greet and takes the spotlight away from Broadway-trained stars. It then gives audiences the impression that Broadway is more for celebrities than those who work day in and day out just to get a taste of being on stage. As said earlier, it dims the Broadway magic a bit, and seeing that magic flicker away is disappointing.
Overall, I wish nothing but good luck for Stallion. I’m sure she’ll put in the hard work and do very well, but as a message to Broadway producers: please focus more on casting people trained for Broadway or being on stage, rather than focusing more on celebrities who have no business being on the stage.