I'm finally seeing Hamilton tonight so allow me this theater diversion before we get back to the Emmys and summer movies!
Though the Tony Awards were celebrated for their diversity Sunday night, I knew this sort of thing would crop up afterwards. A site called The Conversation wonders if the diversity of Broadway is overstated. It's an interesting piece with valuable stats even if it seems odd to pursue that impulse in such a strong year for theatrical diversity. Leading up to the Tony Awards I saw a few other articles suggesting that Hamilton was distorting the public perspective about this as well. It's true that Shuffle Along, Hamilton, The Color Purple, and Eclipsed, all nominated popular shows featuring all black casts (and in Hamilton's case latina, black, and asian actors), happened to fall in the same season which is not entirely usual. And, as with cinema, we still have the issue of people thinking of diversity in a binary way (black & white) which is a problem.
But before we give in to negative thoughts (wayyyy too easy), let's give Broadway its due. It is far more diverse than other showbiz mediums and not just this season. Let's take Best Actress in a Play/Musical as an example. One leading actress winner in the 89 year history of the Oscars has been a woman of color - Halle Berry in Monster's Ball (2001) and three leading actress winners in the 67 year history of the Emmys (regular series awards): Viola Davis in How To Get Away with Murder (drama), Isabel Sanford for The Jeffersons (comedy) and America Ferrera in Ugly Betty (comedy).
Viola has an Emmy and two Tony Awards. How soon until the Triple Crown is hers? C'mon Oscar!
There is a lot more diversity in Tony's 70 year history of celebrating talented women. Plus it's not only black women, but Latinas and even an Asian woman (Asian actors have the hardest time getting roles in any medium within American showbiz for reasons we'll never quite fathom.)
Leading Actresses of Color who have won Tonys.
- Diahann Carroll, No Strings (1962)
- Leslie Uggams, Hallelujah Baby (1968)
- Virginia Capers, Raisin (1974)
- Jennifer Holliday, Dreamgirls (1982)
- Chita Rivera, The Rink (1984)
- Ruth Brown, Black and Blue (1989)
- Lea Salonga, Miss Saigon (1991)
- Chita Rivera, The Kiss of the Spider-Woman (1993)
- Heather Hedley, Aida (2000)
- Phyllica Rashad, A Raisin in the Sun (2004)
- LaChanze, The Color Purple (2006)
- Viola Davis, Fences (2010)
- Audra McDonald, Porgy & Bess (2012)
- Patina Miller, Pippin (2013)
- Cicely Tyson, The Trip to Bountiful (2013)
- Audra McDonald, Lady Day (2014)
- Cynthia Erivo, The Color Purple (2016)
(In this decade it's been especially noticeable -- 6 of the 14 Best Actress winners from 2010-2016 have been women of color.)
As for Best Actor Tony winner Leslie Odom, Jr's claim that the roles are just not out there for him and his white counterparts would have been receiving "three or four offers a week" in his situation... how to respond? While the frustration is understandable if he hasn't seen as much interest as he hoped for, that seems an unrealistic expectation. There are only so many Broadway shows produced a year to fill the 30ish theaters. 3 or 4 offers a week seems like an unrealistic proposition for ANY popular actor, of any color, outside of film and television (where there are hundreds and hundreds of productions that might support multiple competing offers). History does not suggest that black male actors can't have long steady careers on Broadway: Brian Stokes Mitchell, Norm Lewis, and James Earl Jones to name just three examples off the top of the head have been at it for years in both leading and supporting roles, multiple shows, and Tony nominations or statues. Plus, the theater is open to color blind casting in a way TV and movies aren't yet. I've personally seen James Earl Jones and Phyllica Rashad play parents to white children in different shows and Audra McDonald play the child of a white man and few people bat an eye -- and that's just in the last handful of years. Hopefully Leslie Odom Jr finds his follow up soon.
The longwinded point: some times it's healthy to be celebratory and important to recognize and honor mediums that are historically progressive, like the theater. Well done, Broadway!
P.S. The ratings were way way up this year for the Tony Broadcast, too, so expect James Corden to become a hot commodity as "Host". People are already suggesting him for Oscar's host but one word of caution. Neil Patrick Harris seemed like a good idea at one time, too, didn't he? How about we get a funny female host at the Oscars? That's far too rare.