Ellen. She has to be a magnificent actress ad singer. Amy Adams or Anne Hathaway. Unfortunately both of them don't sing well enough for this material, so I hope they will see a lot of Broadway/West End girls for this role.
Thuy: I don't know enough young charismatic Asian male singers to cast this one. Any tips?
John: Difficult. Can be white or black. Can be different types. Any ideas?
No no no no to Hugh Jackman as the Engineer. First, he's not funny enough. You need a comedian first and a singer second. Second, people will throw a fit if the actor cast is not Asian.
Anna Kendrick would be my pick for Ellen.
Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!
Right; the reason you shouldn't cast a white guy because people will pitch a fit. Forget about just plain old doing the right/not racist thing. Think of the blowback first.
Gosh, I hate those uppity Asians!
/am Asian //uppity?
"you know what I quit this board, you all can go **** yourselves." - thismyshow
Toward the end of the run (don't know if it was Broadway or West End), an Asian actress was cast as Ellen and the love triangle took on a whole new dynamic. One critic who re-reviewed the show asked "Why didn't they think of this in the first place?"
BD Wong would be brilliant...but is he a big enough name? I say cast someone from overseas that is a big hit, therefore you are guaranteed your financial backing to make the film. Do a talent contest for Kim and case Jake Gyllenhaal as Chris.
I still kind of love the idea of Chris Evans as Chris. I know it's entirely hypocritical of me because I am sure that his singing would not be good enough.
Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!
John Lone for the Engineer. He was a member of the Beijing Opera before coming to the United States.
On the other hand, as I recall, he was very critical of "Miss Saigon", not so much the casting of Jonathan Pryce but rather its depiction of Asian women as subservient.
This is a musical that is almost MADE for being a movie. My husband and I were talking about this being a very cinematic show when we saw it. I can't wait for them to do this one.
joined:12/23/11
Posted: 12/30/12 at 05:49pm