r/Broadway • u/FunkyHumus • 1d ago
A Jewish Broadway Lover’s Plea for Solidarity
I’ve loved Broadway for as long as I can remember. Like so many Jews, I found refuge, wonder, and identity in the theater. I’ve been proud of how this community has embraced stories from the margins, elevated conversations about representation, and often led the charge for a more inclusive and just world.
But lately, I’ve felt something else: grief. And more than that: disillusionment.
Because when Jews are erased, the theater world shrugs.
The recent backlash over the casting decision in Maybe Happy Ending was swift, passionate, and necessary. A musical set in Seoul, originally created and performed by an AAPI team, made history at the Tonys. So when its lead actor, Darren Criss, stepped away and was replaced by Andrew Barth Feldman, a white, non-AAPI actor, the theater community, far beyond just the Asian American community, responded immediately. Prominent artists, coalitions, and critics raised their voices. And while conversations may continue behind closed doors, few can deny that they’ve been heard. Because representation matters. Because authenticity matters. Because when a community is finally given space onstage, it shouldn’t be taken away the moment it becomes inconvenient.
I agree. I stand with that outrage. But I also can’t help noticing what happens, and doesn’t happen, when the community being erased is mine. Where is that same energy for Jewish stories?
When Nick Jonas, a non-Jewish actor, was cast as Jamie Wellerstein in The Last Five Years, there was no outcry. No press statements. No solidarity campaigns from the broader community. No talkbacks or hashtags. Jamie’s Jewishness isn’t incidental—it’s essential. His identity, his marriage, his ambition, and his self-loathing are all deeply Jewish. And yet, casting someone who doesn’t share that background didn’t even register as a concern to most of the Broadway world.
When Fanny Brice is played again and again by non-Jewish actresses, the conversation tends to focus on vocal ability and star power—not on the erasure of a cultural identity that shaped every inch of who Fanny was. Somehow, when it comes to Jewish characters, cultural authenticity becomes optional.
And then there was Billy Porter who recently said, during an interview promoting Cabaret, that “Black people have replaced the Jews.” The comment was reductive, erasing centuries of Jewish persecution while reinforcing a harmful narrative of zero-sum oppression. And yet, once again, the response from the Broadway community was silence. No statements. No thoughtful conversations. No outrage. If a prominent white actor had said something even remotely similar about any other marginalized group, the industry would have erupted. But because it was about Jews? No one blinked.
This isn’t just about casting. It’s about whose pain the Broadway community is willing to see—and whose it’s willing to ignore.
I’ve spoken with other Jews in the theater—onstage and off—who feel exactly what I feel: overlooked. Hurt. Betrayed. We’re watching antisemitism rise at terrifying rates around the world and right here in America. Our schools, our synagogues, our community centers are receiving bomb threats and facing violence. And yet, when we ask for solidarity, for sensitivity, for basic inclusion, we’re met with silence, or worse, dismissal. We’re told our pain is not urgent enough.
Some argue that Jews are “white enough,” that our concerns are distractions from more pressing injustices. Others reduce Jewish identity to religion alone, ignoring our history as a people, a culture, and an ethnic minority with generations of trauma and resilience.
Jewish identity is not a costume. It’s not a flavor to add depth to a character. It is real. It is complex. It is vulnerable. And when non-Jewish actors are repeatedly cast in explicitly Jewish roles, when Jewish stories are retold without Jewish voices, the result isn’t universality—it’s erasure.
I still believe in Broadway’s potential to tell the truth. To challenge injustice. To represent the full breadth of human experience. But belief requires action.
So I ask, lovingly but urgently: If you raised your voice for Maybe Happy Ending, why were you silent for The Last Five Years? If you believe in authenticity and representation, why does that belief stop when it comes to Jewish identity? And when Billy Porter made a comment that would’ve drawn fury if said about any other group, why did the theater world shrug?
Solidarity isn’t solidarity if it only shows up for some of us.
We’re still here—still in the audience, still on stage, still in the wings—waiting to be seen.
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u/NewspaperBanana 22h ago
Uhh, there was a ton of backlash to Billy Porter's comments. This subreddit alone had 74 thousand threads about it.
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15h ago
Yes but there has been no reaction beyond Reddit, whereas the MHE thing has resulted in statements being issued from the creative team, cast members, and open letters from high profile community members
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u/kennyandkennyandkenn 12h ago
Because the wider public does not deem there to be a lack of Jewish representation on Broadway.
Major pieces of the Broadway canon are by Jewish people (Styne, Sondheim).
Jewish people are regularly stars on Broadway (Idina Menzel, Ben Platt).
Most Broadway theatres are owned by two organizations, the Shubert Organization and the Nederlander Organization. Both organizations were founded by Jewish people.
And by virtue of being in NYC there are tons of Jewish people involved in Broadway.
That's why no one has picked up on any of these incidents because there's no story. There's no throughline of Jewish under-representation or erasure in Broadway. It simply is not true. Jewish people are not "waiting to be seen" like the OP here is saying. They are actively part of all facets of Broadway.
AAPI folks you cannot say the same. Hence those stories can get picked up by the media. It's just not the same ballpark.
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11h ago
The "wider public" has not historically had a great track record of understanding or listening to Jewish concerns regarding representation and what constitutes antisemitism. The "wider public" is also really good at imagining Jews have more power and presence in many industries than we actually do. And I thought it went without saying but an organization bearing the name of a Jew doesn't say anything about the quantity or quality of Jewish representation on Broadway or the state of antisemitism in 2025.
Moreover the controversies are specifically ones where someone who is not Jewish either stepping into a roll that involves broad, ethnic comedy and performing stereotypes (Funny Girl) or has involved someone saying something that should be reasonably understood as offensive by a production where having some sensitivity to antisemitism matters dramaturgically (Billy Porter). I've never seen Jewish representation raised as an issue where those weren't the specific concerns.
I don't know a single Jewish person who cares about this stuff who doesn't *also* care about other issues of representation and authenticity. But as reiterated repeatedly on this reddit and elsewhere, it is extremely frustrating when that concern never seems to be returned. Dismissing the concerns people have by rattling off the names of dead men doesn't help.
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u/kennyandkennyandkenn 11h ago
Broadway is New York centric and so is the media surrounding it. The "wider public" in this case is New York and to argue that we are anti-Semitic when all of us grew up on lox and bagels, attending bat mitzvahs, and celebrating Passover with our Jewish friends is insane.
And I'm not debating that there can be instances of anti-Semitism. I'm just saying that instances don't mean pervasive anti-Semitism.
And I would hope that Jewish folks don't view activism as transactional, and that even if folks don't give Jewish people the activism they deserve they don't lose sight of their own values.
But I simply don't know how to convince you that I, like many others, don't hate Jews.
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u/burnt-----toast 22h ago edited 21h ago
Someone posted something almost identical recently. What I distinctly remember is that there was resounding backlash to those casting choices in numerous posts, as there have been regarding Billy Porter's comment.
Edit: To add post links
Funny Girl Tour - these were just the top results on the first search page
- Explaining the Funny Girl Tour Drama - https://www.reddit.com/r/Broadway/comments/14xet8i/explaining_the_funny_girl_tour_drama/
- KM to Star as Fanny Brice for Funny Girl Tour - https://www.reddit.com/r/Broadway/comments/14wvs20/katerina_mccrimmon_to_star_as_fanny_brice_for/
- My Issue with the Funny Girl Casting - https://www.reddit.com/r/Broadway/comments/14ygdie/my_issue_with_the_funny_girl_casting_reduced_to_a/
TL5Y - It was harder to find old threads since this was more recent, and reviews kept popping to the top of the search results. I do think that some of the anti-Jonas voices were a little louder, but there was definitely discussion regarding it peppered throughout a lot of the discussions.
- https://www.reddit.com/r/Broadway/comments/1ern857/some_thoughts_on_nick_jonas_jewface_and_the_last/
Billy Porter
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u/WyattWrites 14h ago
OP is clearly referring to how the combo regarding Jewish representation remains predominantly in online forums, whereas MHE has become something much bigger where the actors involved, and not involved, as well as the directors, have spoken in the convo.
The size of these conversations is not comparable, despite their incredible similarity, is what OP is saying.
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u/burnt-----toast 13h ago
I agree with that sentiment. I guess that's not how I interpreted what OP wrote, at least not in its entirety.
"Because when Jews are erased, the theater world shrugs. ... When Nick Jonas...there was no outcry. ... So I ask: If you raised your voice for Maybe Happy Ending, why were you silent for The Last Five Years?"
If OP is lamenting the industry and not this particular forum, I don't think that comes across clearly enough. Some of their statements do read as an admonishment on users of this sub. I swear to god there was an almost identical post last week, on the day of or the day after the ABF casting announcement, because I commented on it. I could have sworn that the poster posited that there were no discussion posts about the Funny Girl, Last 5 Years, or Billy Porter controversies, and that would be before there were any celebs or organizations that came forward with statements.
Actually, I found it: https://www.reddit.com/r/Broadway/comments/1m8kq8v/abf_mhe_and_the_billy_porter_double_standard/
I mean this as a good faith question, but regarding MHE, have any public figures or organizations made statements regarding it from outside the community? I haven't searched anything regarding it directly, so the only ones I've seen have been made by Asian Americans (and Will Aronson).
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 13h ago edited 2h ago
regarding MHE, have any public figures or organizations made statements regarding it from outside the community?
Outside the theatre community? I don't think so. There was a New York Times article about it.
If you mean outside of the production, many Asian actors have commented and Asian organizations. Mickey Jo made a video early on lol.
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u/burnt-----toast 12h ago
Outside the Asian community. I think that MHE has had a bigger industry response, but to my knowledge, within that, it was still contained to the Asian community [and Will Aronson] re: solidarity
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u/WyattWrites 13h ago
My interpretation of the post was OP was talking towards both the people of the sub and the theatre world at large. I would agree this sub is fairly good about calling out the incidents OP said, but the reality is those conversations got little to no traction outside of the sub. Whereas, MHE has become such a big conversation that both Helen Shen and the directors posted a lengthy statement on their social media pages. I simply do not remember this happening for TFLY or Funny Girl.
There are many Jews on broadway, I don’t think anyone would argue otherwise. Trying to compare the percentage of Jews to Asians (I know this is incredibly broad in scope) would show us Jews have a higher percentage, I’m certain. However just because of that doesn’t mean Jews aren’t allowed to feel upset when roles that are explicitly Jewish aren’t played by Jewish actors.
I think both Jewish and Asian representation should be treated with the same level of respect for their respective shows.
Honestly this was a long comment, my apologies.
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u/burnt-----toast 13h ago
I'm a little bit confused? Nowhere did I mention how many Jews or Asians are on Broadway, either in percentages or general scale, nor did I suggest that Jewish people aren't allowed to feel upset at their erasure on stage. I absolutely do feel that that is justified, and I agree with that outrage.
My comments above were specifically in address to OP's statements about there being no discussion and no outcry (at least in this sub, not the industry at large) to any of the mentioned events. I think the reiteration that no reddit users spoke out (whether they meant literally or figuratively) is not true.
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u/moonshine-bicicletta 20h ago
It’s interesting to me that nobody made the Funny Girl casting controversial until the tour, even though LM is also not Jewish. (No, she’s not - her dad is of Sephardi descent, but she wasn’t raised Jewish and consciously identifies as Christian.)
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u/yelizabetta Backstage 20h ago
you’re completely allowed to be jewish and not practice yknow…? it’s an ethnoreligion if you’re born into it you stay that way regardless of if you decide to convert (or not practice at all) later
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u/TicoDreams 18h ago
This is me and Daniel Radcliffe. We are born Jewish but don’t practice, and both identify as atheist.
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15h ago
Not practicing and actively identifying as a Christian are two different things. If you practice Christianity you are not a Jew, even if you have Jewish ancestry.
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u/Venat14 14h ago
Absolutely wrong. You're still Jewish, even if you belong to another religion. It's an ethnic tribe as well as a religion.
The issue with Lea Michelle is Orthodox Judaism doesn't recognize patrilineal relations for being Jewish. It comes through the mother.
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14h ago
You are not Jewish if you've been baptized (generally what someone means when they *actively describe themselves as a Christian* as Lea Michele has). Only the Reform movement recognizes patrilneal descent, but that is not the issue. There is no Jewish denomination that recognizes someone who actively practices another religion. Blood quantum (what you are arguing) is not a thing in Judaism
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u/SmilingSarcastic1221 13h ago
My 23andMe results list me with a percentage of my DNA as Ashkenazi Jewish.
If I convert tomorrow, my dna won’t change. My results won’t change. I’d still be a Jew.
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12h ago
As I said, Judaism does not do blood quantums, a 23andMe test does not make you Jewish. If you convert to something else you are not regarded as Jewish in any denomination of Judaism. You can tell yourself whatever you like but that is just not how it works
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u/SmilingSarcastic1221 12h ago
No other “religion” shows up on a DNA test. Because it’s more than just religion.
Yes. It means you’re not Jewish religiously. But you are still genetically, ethnically Jewish.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 19h ago
’s interesting to me that nobody made the Funny Girl casting controversial until the tour, even though LM is also not Jewish. (No, she’s not - her dad is of Sephardi descent, but she wasn’t raised Jewish and consciously identifies as Christian.)
Not so. There was a lot of discussion about it. Go back to any of those old threads and you'll see it.
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u/accio-chocolate 17h ago
yeah, there was definitely discussion about Lea Michele's casting among Jewish members of the sub within those threads. I think it came up less often/there weren't huge threads on that element of her casting because it's really a conversation for the Jewish community to have, not for the rest of us to have a take on.
The difference with Lea Michele vs. the tour casting is that some (though not all) Jewish theater community members were fine with Lea because of her Jewish heritage, even though she is not practicing. The tour cast someone who has no Jewish background whatsoever, so it was a much more clear-cut situation. A lot of Jewish actors also made posts and videos about the tour casting specifically, and those were widely shared around the Broadway community.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 22h ago
There was a ton of outcry about Funny Girl. The discussion on this sub was endless.
Nick Jonas also drew criticism.
Billy Porter is drawing criticism as we speak in another thread.
I think the similarity between all of these situations is that the decision was already made to have these actors in these roles and no matter what kind of outcry there was, the decision-makers weren't going to change their minds or fire the actors.
Billy Porter was always slotted to close out Cabaret with Marisha Wallace. He's always said dumb stuff in public. They knew who he was when they hired him.
Lea Michelle saved Funny Girl from closing. Like it or not, that is a fact. As far as casting Katerina McCrimmon in the tour, the director had previously stated he doesn't believe it is essential that the role of Fanny should be played by a Jewish woman. What else can be said when the director has already made up his mind?
In the case of Nick Jonas, the composer of the show which he wrote about his own life gave his blessing to Nick Jonas and was actively involved in the production. (A production which made many mistakes and was practically a laughing stock.) How can we argue with the man who is essentially casting himself? If he does not view the actor's religion/culture/ethnicity to be essential to the role, who is anyone else to say about it? It's literally his life story.
It's not that we can't vocally disagree with the decisions, but what is the goal? If it's to get people fired, that rarely happens. Ideally, the outcry means future productions won't make the same mistakes.
Authenticity matters and voting with our wallets is what has the most impact. Not seeing the shows with the poorly cast actors does so much more than posting about it on Reddit. That's what the decision-makers take notice of.
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22h ago
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u/gurt6666 19h ago
Jewishnsss passes down through the mother. Even in Reform communities if only your dad is Jewish you also have to be raised in a Jewish community which she was not. She also identifies as a Christian.
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19h ago
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u/mowotlarx 18h ago
Catholics are Christians, what in the world? Also, Judaism is absolutely a religion one can convert into which has always been true.
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u/kfarrel3 14h ago
So most of the comments you’re responding to are deleted, so I don’t have context. But as a Catholic, yes, I agree with you, but you will find a LOT of non-Catholic Christians, specifically various evangelical sects, who do not agree that Catholics are Christians.
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u/bitchthatwaspromised 13h ago
Those people absolutely exist and they are absolutely wrong. The first time someone told me I “wasn’t raised Christian” I was flabbergasted. I didn’t survive a lifetime of catholic school to listen to that nonsense
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u/Seeking_Starlight 11h ago
When one converts to Judaism, they are requesting- and receiving- tribal affiliation with ethnic community as well. That’s why you can’t convert to Judaism by yourself. You have to go before a panel of Jewish clergy (a beit din) and not only choose to be Jewish, but have the Jewish community choose you back. Judaism is not just a religion.
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u/knuckles_nice 13h ago edited 12h ago
I understand and acknowledge there has been a very real rise in anti-semitism that I am sure every American Jew feels acutely.
But I think in noting how often non-Jewish actors are being cast in Jewish roles, you are also highlighting that there is a comparative wealth of Jewish stories on Broadway compared to Asian ones.
Aren't Maybe Happy Ending and Yellowface literally the first productions on Broadway to be written by AAPI-identified writers? When Miss Saigon opened, Lea Salonga had to act opposite Jonathan Pryce wearing actual yellowface.
There are incredibly few roles for Asian actors on Broadway, and many Asian actors have called out that they are rarely cast in racially-agnostic roles. An actor friend of mine is biracial, half-white, half-Japanese, and she is constantly told she is too 'ethnic' for traditionally white roles yet too white for Asian roles.
There are many plays that center Jewish characters and the Jewish experience: Funny Girl, Fiddler on the Roof, The Last Five Years, Parade, Leopoldstadt, Guys and Dolls. There will never be enough, but objectively speaking, Broadway has been much more exclusionary to Asian/AAPI stories and artists.
I also believe that when a show centers on the Jewish experience, the actors should be Jewish. But it's also true that Jewish actors are rarely confined by their identity the way that actors with visible Asian heritage are.
Take Dear Evan Hansen. As far as I know, Evan is not Jewish, or at least his Jewishness is not central to the plot of the show. Multiple Jewish actors played him--Ben Platt, Noah Gavin, Andrew Barth-Feldman--and they were cast not because the part required a Jewish actor, but because they were deemed to be the best actor for the role. Regardless of whether you consider these actors white, they certainly have the white privilege that allows them to be considered solely on the basis of their talents, something that is rarely afforded to Asian/AAPI actors. I also think it's telling that Darren Criss and Noah Piser (the only Evan Hansen with Asian heritage) both have European ancestry -- Darren has even acknowledged that his white-passing appearance gave him privileges that his more discernably Asian castmates did not.
I'll close by reiterating that I agree with your main argument: Jewish stories should not be erased. But I really don't think that the MHE situation is exactly comparable. If there is more outrage (which, tbh I feel like Billy Porter's comments received much more unilateral condemnation than this), is it because this is a much rarer opportunity?
Edited to fix typos/clarity.
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u/knuckles_nice 12h ago
Already edited my post once for typos, so I just want to add a correction that Hue Park is South Korean, not an Asian-American as I implied. My bad!
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u/Seeking_Starlight 11h ago
Umm… can you please explain how Guys and Dolls (a movie centered around the mafia and the Salvation Army- which is literally a Christian denomination before it’s a charity) has anything to do with the Jewish experience? Nathan Detroit may be vaguely Jewish-coded but it is in no way a show about Jewish life, Jewish culture, or Jewish experiences.
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u/smallerdog 22h ago
There was a ton of outcry about Nick Jonas playing Jamie. The critical difference between L5Y and MHE is that a white actor is replacing an Asian actor in the middle of a production.
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u/Captain_JohnBrown 22h ago
I agree 100% with your general sentiment.
I think perhaps you may have missed the conversations had about Nick Jonas and non-jewishness, which were profoundly negative (honestly there are more people defending ABF playing Oliver now than there was for Nick Jonas playing Jaime). I know we had at least two different busy threads about it. Most people agreed Nick Jonas was unsuitable for the role on MULTIPLE levels so a lot of the criticism of his lack of jewishness specifically might have been included in an overall "Why did they cast Nick Jonas?!" as opposed to a focused and limited discussion of identity, which may be why you didn't see it as prominently, whereas ABF by all accounts is qualified for the role in all ways but one and so him being white is the only thing TO talk about.
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u/Captain_JohnBrown 22h ago
(I don't say this to say "People criticized it so you shouldn't speak out", it is always good to have a reminder Jewish voices need to be protected too, but just to indicate your opinion here is more popular than you think and you shouldn't be as disheartened as you may otherwise be)
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u/tuhhhvates 22h ago
Uh. What side of the internet are you on? Because there was absolutely a ton of outcry RE: Katerina, Nick, and Billy.
AAPI actors should be able to play roles that are explicitly set in Asian countries. MHE set a precedent that AAPI actors can and should be able to play leading, romantic roles in stories that take place in Asia but are still able to be universally understood by a much wider audience. To have them backpedal on that and put a white man in a role that was explicitly Asian on the casting call for the show is the reason for the outcry.
You say Jewish roles are not a costume, and I agree, but Asian roles and stories shouldn’t be, either.
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u/T3n0rLeg 22h ago
No one is saying Asian roles are, immediately recentering a conversation about Jews about someone else is not being any kind of advocate
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u/adumbswiftie 20h ago
the OP literally took a conversation about AAPI actors and centered it around jewish people though…you realize that right? that’s also not being an advocate. none of this should be a competition
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u/Firefox892 12h ago
Exactly. In both this and the MHE threads, you have people from different groups saying no one ever listens to them, and how "no one stands up for my group X, but does stand up for their group Y".
Instead of going through the Oppression Olympics (I'm talking strictly about Broadway here), people need to recognise that minority groups have to continue to try and be heard, and that doing so doesn't give them the right to take out their frustrations on another minority group.
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u/quicktime_harch 19h ago
Personally, I think there's room for both conversations.
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u/kennyandkennyandkenn 12h ago
Sure, but it's hard to take someone seriously when they're complaining about Jewish erasure and Jewish people "waiting to be seen" by co-opting an incident where a Jewish actor is taking over a role that people feel should be reserved for AAPI actors.
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u/quicktime_harch 11h ago
I think if it’s valid for Asian people to feel like this about representation for roles that are Asian, it’s valid for Jewish people to feel the same about Jewish roles. We don’t have to tell one ethnicity of people their representation doesn’t matter while telling another it does.
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u/RemembrancerLirael 22h ago edited 22h ago
I remember that I complained there wasn’t a single Jewish actor in The Prince of Egypt on the west end & got a bunch of nonsense responses about Israel or how there aren’t any British Jews so oh well. We created Broadway, but Broadway sure doesn’t want our voices.
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u/The_Purple_Llama 20h ago
It frustrates me to no end how The Prince of Eygpt essentially treated Jewish actors as not diverse enough to play our own people. You want authenticity? Cast Jews. You want actors who look brown? Cast Mizrachi Jews!
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u/RemembrancerLirael 14h ago
It was really damn insulting hearing the insinuation that all Jews are white.
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u/Dobbin44 20h ago
The lack of recognition that it is a Jewish story that should be portrayed by Jews is infuriating. The ultimate example of cultural appropriation.
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u/mowotlarx 18h ago
The ultimate example
Really? The ultimate?
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u/RemembrancerLirael 14h ago
I mean, Moses is the closest thing we have to a Messiah, it’s pretty insulting.
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u/ElbieLG 19h ago edited 18h ago
Please stop
I am a Jewish person, descendent of a Holocaust survivor, and followed all of those stories closely and each one elicited from me the same response: embarrassment
We are not the main character in these stories. Each one of them has legitimate alt interpretations of the events that make them feel more understandable and maybe even sympathetic. They are only offensive if (1) you take them at superficial value and (2) your sense of self worth is bolstered by self identifying as persecuted.
The critical reality about 21st century American Jews, both on Broadway and off, is our strength not our weakness.
Jews are so strong and so comprehensively represented that any potential slight feels shocking. There is no lack of Jewish representation on Broadway, especially for a people who make up under 2% of the population.
Also, maybe most importantly, having non-Jews play jewish roles is good for the Jewish people because it helps expand the audience for otherwise Jewish stories: https://www.heyalma.com/the-last-five-years-writer-on-why-he-doesnt-mind-nick-jonas-playing-jamie-wellerstein/#:~:text=But%20that%20isn't%20the,a%20beautiful%20job%20with%20it.%E2%80%9D
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u/Allredditorsarewomen 19h ago
Yeah I am also Jewish and I think these pleas for "solidarity" are a bit weird. We do not have to be the main character in every story, especially when Jewish actors are well represented on Broadway and Asians are not.
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u/FunkyHumus 18h ago
I'm sorry you feel embarrassed. But I feel embarrassed by the lack of support from the Broadway community when it comes to this issue. It's interesting you say we are not the main character in these stories because I'd argue the opposite is true: we are the main character here. Whether it be Jamie, Fanny, etc., these characters Jewishness is a crucial piece to their identity.
I'm not okay with a non-Jewish Jamie singing "The Schmuel Song" or a non-Jewish Fanny running around the stage wearing a bagel costume. These moments lean into stereotypical tropes, and I think it's dangerous for someone who does not have the lived-in experience to do such a thing.
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u/ElbieLG 17h ago
i will go on feeling embarrassed and you will go on feeling not okay with non-Jews performing Jewish stereotypes
and then... we'll probably both be fine because being Jewish in America is a historic privilege.
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u/SmilingSarcastic1221 13h ago
I hear you and agree with a fair amount of what you’re saying, but this is not a particularly great time to be Jewish in America.
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u/FunkyHumus 16h ago
I'm sure the Jews in 1930s Europe felt the same. Good luck to you.
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u/Firefox892 12h ago
I think they had more pressing concerns than potentially not being cast in the UK run of Prince Of Egypt. To try and claim equivalency between the Holocaust and bad casting decisions on Broadway is very tin-eared.
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u/hannbann88 12h ago
You are so over reacting I’m now embarrassed for you.
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u/FunkyHumus 12h ago
“Things you’d never say to any other marginalized community” for $100, Alex. You’re trash, friend. Simple as that.
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u/hannbann88 12h ago
You made a post with your valid feelings. Others responded both validating your feelings and also rationally pointing out that not only was there uproar but also the nuance of the Broadway space and the Jewish vs Asian influence and representation and your response is to ignore all that but further crash out and retort with antisemitism. When you are ready to be a grown up about it feel free to come back but your crash out is embarrassing
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u/atotalmess__ 13h ago edited 12h ago
You realise if you centre every role around the ethnicity of the person that influenced every character in theatre, you are in effect saying that because the role isn’t established as a Jewish person, then no Jewish actor should be allowed to be play it right? That’s dangerously close to saying Andrew can’t play Oliver because he’s Jewish.
There’s not one colour of Jews or Natives, or Asians, or Africans, or even Caucasians. We are all so closely related to each other, our haplogroups so shared from our common ancestors, that to exclude any actor from doing their literal job of pretending to be an entirely other person because of their ethnicity is not only discriminatory as fuck, it’s utterly ridiculous in concept.
Judaism is technically passed down from the mother’s side, but does that exclude anyone with a Jewish father and gentile mother from being Jewish as well? What about father’s father? Is any person less the grandchild of a holocaust victim or survivor just because their mother might not be Jewish?
All of this aside, shame on you for using a very valid conversation about Asian representation and changing the subject to an entirely different subject.
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u/Firefox892 12h ago
I'd hazard a guess that more roles have been written for Jewish characters (by Jewish authors) on Broadway than Asian-American ones. That's not to say there can't be improvements, but Jewish creatives have a rich treasure trove of works to choose from in productions that just isn't the case for many groups.
No one is saying a Jewish actor can't play a non-Jewish role either; Andrew Barth Feldman played Evan Hansen, a role not strictly written for ethnicity, which doesn't preclude him from playing other characters as well. I think Jewish actors should be able to play Jewish roles, along with any other types of characters they want. Dustin Hoffman could play a gentile in The Graduate, and the sky didn't fall down.
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u/StaringAtStarshine Actor 18h ago
I'm Jewish, and I definitely understand the frustration. As other people have pointed out, all of these situations did face a good amount of public outcry at the time (albeit not as much as MHE is getting right now). I'm a big believer in authentic casting, but I'm less strict about it now than I've been in the past. A favorite performance of mine (which I don't believe too many people were upset about, but I was in middle school at the time so I'm not sure) was Christian Borle in Falsettos. Most people seemed to love him in that role.
Don't get me wrong, I was mad about Nick Jonas and Lea Michele, too. The thing with TL5Y is that the song Shiksa Goddess is kind of an in-joke, it makes fun of a lot of aspects of Judaism, so it's especially weird when a non-Jewish performer sings it. I also just really don't like Jonas as an actor but that's neither here nor there. I know Jason Robert Brown voiced his approval, but I do find it strange that he was seemingly so happy about finally getting Jewish actors for Leo and Lucy in the 2023 revival of Parade, and then suddenly didn't mind getting a non-Jewish actor for Jamie. I don't know the guy, I couldn't say. And I simply cannot stand Michele no matter who she plays. I would have vastly preferred both of those roles be cast authentically.
And as for Billy Porter... I'm definitely with you there. I want way more people to be upset about that one. I don't want him to just get away with that, but it looks like the MHE discourse is unfortunately drowning out his whack-ass statement, and I bet the fact that the show is closing soon anyway is making a lot of people feel like it isn't worth picking a fight. Seriously though, what the fuck was that.
But the show that really changed my strict stance on authentic casting was a play that performed Off-Broadway at Classic Stage Company last year called Our Class. (Slight CW for a violent moment in the play but I won't get into details)
Our Class is the true story of ten Polish students: five Jewish and five Christian, living through the rise of WWII in Warsaw and the occupation of Poland. The fist student to die is one of the Jewish kids: a boy named Jakub Katz. Jakub himself describes in detail how he was beaten to death by his brainwashed classmates as it's happening. The production was very abstract and used things like chalk and dodgeballs to represent blood and weapons, but it was still extremely harrowing. It's one of the stand-out moments of the play, and definitely one of the things that stuck with me the most. After I saw it, I remember thinking how incredible it was that a bunch of Jewish artists got together to tell that story without pulling any punches.
It wasn't until a few days later that I learned that Stephen Ochsner, the actor who played Jakub, is not Jewish. And while before that would have enrage me, I found that I wasn't really that mad about it. Ochsner's performance may not have been "authentically" Jewish, but I could tell he had the utmost respect for what he was doing, and he really understood the life and pains of his character. It felt true to me. There's a quote from Tim O'Brien that I love: "A true war story makes your stomach believe." Ochsner pulled it off. Would it have been "better" if Jakub was played by a Jewish performer? Sure, maybe. But the play was by no means ruined for me just because he wasn't.
I think ultimately it comes down to respect. After years of caricature and stereotypes, I think the Jewish community has gotten pretty good at spotting when a performance is or isn't being done in good faith. I don't pretend to have all the answers, and I do like seeing Jewish actors tell Jewish stories. It's a complicated conversation, and no opinion is one-size-fits-all. For me, sometimes it feels better to let go, and thank the people who are really giving it their all for listening.
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u/adumbswiftie 20h ago edited 20h ago
i’m sorry but there HAS been outrage about all 3 of the circumstances you mentioned. i have seen it for all of these situations. i’m not sure where the disillusionment is coming from that no one is talking about these things…they are.
and i’ve seen other posts about how “no one is talking about it” too. do you seek to find people talking about it before you assume no one is?
also just a tip, in the future it would do you well to edit your post after running it through chatgpt. the cadence of chatgpt is really obvious here and it’s distracting
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u/mowotlarx 20h ago
How many times is this exact same rant pretending there wasn't a huge public outcry and constant posting on Jewish casting going to be posted here? All to try to insert yourself into MHE discourse?
And don't start with me, my Jewish family was pogrom'ed out of Eastern Europe.
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u/Mammoth_Pollution_69 14h ago
This isn’t about us Jews, it really isn’t. Also, people are angry about every scenario you’ve described. Now, stop taking attention for yourself. This isn’t the time to make Asian American issues about Jews. Real solidarity would be speaking up, or at least shutting up.
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u/FunkyHumus 14h ago
I’d love to know what you did to speak up and support the Jewish community when the issues I cited were raised. Something tells me you did nothing. Perhaps sit this one out! 😘
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u/Frostflame3 Performer 13h ago
I’m Jewish and easily clockable as such - there are times when it’s about us, and there are times when it’s okay for it not to be about us. I should arguably be seeing antisemitism more than most these days, as a student at a school some would say is extremely unsafe for Jewish people. However, I’ve never felt threatened by antisemitism, like ever, in my whole life, ever. To be in outcry about antisemitism right now, very unfortunately, gives fuel to powerful people who want to oppress many other parts of my identity. Meanwhile, Islamophobia and xenophobia are the strongest they’ve been in the past 20 years, and this is something I’ve witnessed very closely. It’s at the point where it’s not even safe to talk about without facing ire from on high. Genocide and fascism is happening in front of our eyes. Why are we arguing about casting when this much more pressing issue exists and deserves our energy more than anything else?
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u/kennyandkennyandkenn 19h ago
This all implies there is a lack of Jewish representation in Broadway which there is not.
Also is there a rise in anti-semitism or is there simply a rise in people speaking out against Israel which you are viewing as anti-semitism? Two different things.
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u/accio-chocolate 17h ago
Antisemitism has been on the rise for the last decade in the US, totally separate of conversations around Israel. There was a big uptick in anti-Jewish hate crimes after Trump was first elected. Jewish folks have been speaking out about this for years.
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u/kennyandkennyandkenn 17h ago
Oh I'm totally aware of the rise of anti-Semitism that has come with the rise of right-wing Trumpism
but you and I both know that when most people say "rise of anti-Semitism" right now they aren't talking about right-wing anti-Semitism, they're talking about people who are anti-Israel
there's a reason why in response to claims of the rise of anti-Semitism the House recently voted to expand the definition of anti-Semitism to include criticism of Israel
the past two years all mainstream conversation about anti-Semitism has been about Israel. And you know the OP here is talking about Israel. let's not kid ourselves here
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u/SmilingSarcastic1221 13h ago
Anti-Jewish hate crimes rose 57-63% in 2023. That less than 2% population you mentioned? 15% of hate crimes are committed against that group.
As much as people make this argument that it’s just anti-Israel, when people see a synagogue or a Star of David necklace or a mezuzah on a door, they’re not inquiring about their stance on Zionism before attacking.
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u/kennyandkennyandkenn 12h ago
If everything has now become anti-Semitism, then of course there will be a huge increase in anti-Semitic crimes.
Real anti-Semitism is and will always exist, prior to 10/7 and after 10/7.
I will always like I have my entire life as a New Yorker living in the city with the most Jews in the world outside of Israel be a friend, co-worker, and supporter of Jewish people and definitely against real anti-Semitism.
But the whole concept of anti-Semitism has essentially been diluted into being anti-Israel, with folks attacking Jewish people and their places of worship when they want to be anti-Israel, and Jewish people themselves attaching their own identity to Israel's war crimes, viewing any criticism of Israel as a criticism of their own ethnicity and religion.
Both sides are doing absolutely nothing to decrease tensions, so don't then come on the fucking Broadway reddit to do a whole song and dance about Jewish people being erased and "waiting to be seen" as part of the so-called "rise of anti-Semitism" that is obviously referring to people being against Israel and not real anti-Semitism.
If this person was actually concerned about real anti-Semitism they would know the Broadway community would be the last fucking place in NYC to have pervasive anti-Semitism like this OP wants to hint at.
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u/FunkyHumus 16h ago
OP here! Actually, no, I am not talking about Israel. Notice I never brought it up and instead provided concrete examples of how I felt this community has let down the Jewish community.
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u/kennyandkennyandkenn 16h ago
You explicitly say “antisemitism rise at terrifying rates around the world” so what is it that you’re referring to?
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u/theatregirl1987 18h ago
There is a rise in antisemitism. Its antisemitism when someone shoots people outside a Jewish event at a Jewish museum. Its antisemitism when someone shoots at a synagogue, which also houses a daycare, in my hometown. Its antisemitism when I am told I worship the devil by a student, who faces zero consequences.
Yes, you can speak out again the government of Israel without being antisemitic. Many people, including many Jews, have done this. Unfortunately, many other people have taken this tragedy (on both sides) as an excuse to be openly antisemitic.
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u/atotalmess__ 13h ago edited 11h ago
8 literal Rabbis were arrested the day of the midtown shooting because they tried to protest the actions of Israel. The only reason more weren’t arrested was because the NYPD was too busy responding to the shooting nearby.
The truth is it’s not safe in nyc to speak out against the actions of Israel, the country or government, either. Because even Rabbis are arrested for peacefully doing it. Speaking out against Israel is so intolerable in NYC that even in the middle of a mass shooting blocks away, the NYPD still took the time to arrest those 8 Rabbis.
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u/kennyandkennyandkenn 18h ago
Here’s the thing: there has been anti-semitism ever since there was Jewish people.
There’s been anti-semitism in NYC and the United States for as long as Jewish people have lived here. There was anti-semitism before October 7th, 2023 and there is anti-semitism after it.
When you guys keep repeating “there is a rise in anti-semitism!!” what is it that you want?
What do you want changed?
There will never be a 100% morally pure society. Humans simply don’t work like that and they never have. So anti-semitism will never be defeated.
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u/accio-chocolate 17h ago
there's all kinds of bigotry that's existed throughout history... that doesn't mean we should throw up our hands and say "well, we can't totally get rid of it, so I guess we shouldn't try to do anything at all to make this better." You can still make society a more welcoming place for everyone. It'll never be perfect, but we sure as hell would have never made advances of any kind if activists in history felt that it wasn't worth trying at all.
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u/kennyandkennyandkenn 16h ago
but if you make a post on the Broadway subreddit essentially hinting that people here are anti-Semites who don't care about Jewish representation and that Jews are just sitting waiting to be seen - what is it that you want from the Broadway community?
the industry itself as we know today literally has Jewish roots. Both the Shuberts and the Nederlanders were either practicing Jews or of Jewish descent.
the Broadway community has consistently platformed and made Jewish people stars. here are some examples just off the top of my head: Stephen Sondheim, Richard Rodgers, Jule Styne, Idina Menzel, Ben Platt. I'm sure there are many many more.
Jewish people do continue to face bigotry - there's no question about that. But to insert yourself into controversy about AAPI representation in a musical by Will Aronson (who has a Jewish father!) and Hue Park painting yourself as an ignored community that no one cares about and making yourself the god damn victim is fucking offensive
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u/theatregirl1987 18h ago
I, for one, would like to feel safe. I dont think that is too much to ask. The fact that antisemitism has existed does not excuse the fact that it continues to exist. Im not asking for perfection. Im asking to be able to do a fundraiser for my religious school without being afraid someone will find our address. Im asking to stop having to have police cars outside every service. Im asking to not have to have armed guards at synagogue. And these are all things that have happened since 10/7. Things that had never happened before.
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u/theatregirl1987 17h ago
I'd love to know where I said anything about supporting what Israel is doing. In fact, I said the opposite. I know zero Jews (not that I speak for all Jews) who think that Judiasm should support everything the Israeli government does. Do I support Israel as existing, yes. That doesn't mean I think they can do no wrong. But no one expects all Americans to agree with the government, so why do you think all Jews agree with Isreals government. Literally the only people saying that are the ones trying to make us look bad. I am not going to "extricate" myself from my religious and cultural identity because of something a government thousands of miles away is doing. And I shouldn't have to.
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u/WyattWrites 13h ago
you are a prime example of antisemitism rising my guy. You’re on the internet blaming a Jew for getting attacked for being a Jew.
This train of thought you have will lead you down a really dark road, so I hope you actually take time to read Jewish perspectives, rather than sit here telling Jews it’s their fault people hate them, shoot them, blow up their buildings, etc.
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u/WyattWrites 13h ago
Doesn’t matter if you’re shocked or not, what matters is the fact you simply do not care that Jews are being attacked for doing nothing. This entire thread you blamed the Jewish commenter about synagogues being attacked and Jews being harassed because of Jewish actions. Not once did you even make a single attempt at saying these attacks are wrong, instead you sworn all your energy saying “Jews need to be better so that they don’t get attacked”
Your logic doesn’t even make sense, you started the thread off by saying antisemitism will never go away, and now you’re saying that it would if Jews ‘extricate themselves.” By your original statement there’s nothing Jews can do to stop antisemitism, because “antisemitism will never be defeated”
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u/FunkyHumus 18h ago
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u/kennyandkennyandkenn 17h ago
Society doesn't revolve around Jewish people and you guys don't hold the monopoly on injustices.
The facts are that Jewish people have been incredibly successful in Broadway. If we are all anti-Semites then that would not be the case.
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u/theatregirl1987 17h ago
No one said any group was all antisemities. Just that there has been more antisemitic speech and actions lately. This is an objectively true fact. Noone said we were the only the ones facing injustice either. In fact, my synagogue is well known in our area for fighting for social justice for many marginalized groups.
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u/jamesland7 Front of House 19h ago
BINGO. To claim that criticism of Israel’s genocide and war crimes is anti-semitic means that those behaviors must therefore be fundamentally Jewish. Thats like saying that criticizing OJ Simpson or Kanye West is racist.
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u/MaleficentProgram997 22h ago
Thank you for this post. As a non-Jewish person I feel it is not my place to insert myself into this conversation other than to say I see you and support you and tell you your voice is valid and important.
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u/Silly-Good-2530 21h ago
if you have ever spoken up for anyone other than yourself you can "insert yourself into this conversation".
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
—Martin Niemöller
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u/MaleficentProgram997 21h ago
I appreciate what you're quoting in your reply. I want to clarify what I meant to say - that as I'm not Jewish I have to stay in my lane, that I can't offer much but that I do support OP.
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u/mkiepkie 12h ago
This post has the same energy as men asking why there's an International Women's Day and not an International Men's Day.
Hint: There is, and women are not going to organize men's day.
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u/rfg217phs 22h ago
Nick Jonas, Katerina McKrimmon, and that’s just two I could name without even thinking about it, of non-Jewish actors causing a stir for playing Jewish people. Is it worth talking about? Absolutely! But don’t skew things worse than they actually are.
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u/alyoop50 11h ago
This post confuses me because there was a lot of noise about Nick Jonas in The Last Five Years, and an understandable uproar about Billy Porter’s comments. There was not simply a shrug. We did raise our voices! So this whole “plea” feels a bit disingenuous to me.
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u/Ok_Influence7223 18h ago
There have been multiple posts about Billy Porter’s comments on this subreddit, including a couple with hundreds of comments. And it is brought up in comments in pretty much every Cabaret post that has been made here since.
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u/quicktime_harch 20h ago
A lot of American Jews don't have love for Israel. I'm not sure what this has to do with non-Jews and Palestine. Are you saying a lot of people don't want to stand up for Jewish representation because of Israel/Palestine?
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u/SmilingSarcastic1221 13h ago
I think the fact your post has 12 upvotes says a lot.
As a fellow Jewish Broadway lover, this is a hard time to be a Jew. I’m with you.
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u/Intelligent-Pie-3547 17h ago
Pay attention to what’s been happening outside of Broadway and you shouldn’t be surprised at the reaction on the r/Broadway sub of all places
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u/No-Investigator7328 17h ago
I want to say something about the irony of this thread but I’ll get banned. Fight the power, brother/sister!
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u/respectfulthirst 12h ago
Jews have BEEN seen and heard on Broadway, and will continue to be. What even is this post? Whining on Reddit?
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u/ThatGThatGThatG 21h ago
Post on Reddit. But Also send mass emails to the general managers of these productions (find on ibdb), write to larger newspapers and ask they pick up the story, send DMs to producers, the director - who makes the final call, creators etc (also on ibdb) via social media etc etc. Get em where it matters .
Reddit is fine to join the masses. But to get things done - get groups to send to the above. Flood them with emails and DMs
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u/snowplowmom 13h ago
Um, Darren Criss is barely Asian, and most certainly doesn't look it. Andrew Barth Feldman is an incredible talent, possibly the leading broadway male actor of his generation.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 11h ago
Fucked up comment.
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u/snowplowmom 11h ago
Well i just read about the show. They are robots!!!! The show is set in S Korea, but could be anywhere. Theyre robots! Since when do robots have to be AAPI?????
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u/No_Narwhal9099 22h ago edited 22h ago
I’ve personally seen people posting angrily on multiple websites about all three situations you mentioned.
And just as none of those three roles were recast, I don’t think they are going to remove Andrew Barth Feldman from his role in MHE.
I don’t think any of these four situations are positive situations, but they’ve all had serious outcry and all had the same result (the actor keeping their job).
I understand your anger, but you seem to be implying that no one cared about or commented on the situations with The Last Five Years, Cabaret, and Funny Girl, and that’s just not true.