Hamilton is the hottest musical to hit broadway in decades. It dominated the Tony awards and is completely sold out in every venue for the foreseeable future. This is an American story told in the American medium of the musical and features a diverse American cast. Hamilton is a nearly all black cast. Founding fathers like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington are played by black actors. These past few years have been celebrated as the best time for minority actors in Broadway history. “Tonys made history by giving the awards in all four of its musical acting categories to people of color; and the two designers of color who were nominated.” reported Diep Tran on the 2015 Tony awards (Tran) Other musicals such as Eclipsed and the revival of The Color Purple also feature black actors; however, in stark contrast, the past years of Oscar nominees have been heavily criticized for being almost completely white. The question remains: Why is
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It’s not as simple as one is racist and the other is not. It comes from the fundamental way the system is created. It comes down to audience, and what that audience encourages. I spoke to Tom Bryant who is an expert on Broadway business. Tom is Director of the theater department at Crafton Hills Community College, and has worked in Los Angeles and New York as a Dramaturge. To start with, he explained that Broadway has a much more affluent audience. To go to a Broadway musical tickets can cost upwards of $200. Even Off Broadway tickets are $50 at least. People who can regularly go and see plays are not only living in a richer area close to nice theaters, but are also making enough income to spend hundreds on tickets. Even for community theater, many patrons are subscribed to their local theatre company’s season, which can be fairly expensive. One does not pay such a large sum of money for just any old play. One expects a deeply touching and truly amazing piece.
It’s not as simple as one is racist and the other is not. It comes from the fundamental way the system is created. It comes down to audience, and what that audience encourages. I spoke to Tom Bryant who is an expert on Broadway business. Tom is Director of the theater department at Crafton Hills Community College, and has worked in Los Angeles and New York as a Dramaturge. To start with, he explained that Broadway has a much more affluent audience. To go to a Broadway musical tickets can cost upwards of $200. Even Off Broadway tickets are $50 at least. People who can regularly go and see plays are not only living in a richer area close to nice theaters, but are also making enough income to spend hundreds on tickets. Even for community theater, many patrons are subscribed to their local theatre company’s season, which can be fairly expensive. One does not pay such a large sum of money for just any old play. One expects a deeply touching and truly amazing piece.