San Diego Theater Draws Barbs for Casting of Play Set in China
July 17, 2012 | Read Time: 1 minute
A prominent nonprofit California theater has drawn a hail of criticism on blogs and other social media for hiring a largely white cast for a play set in ancient China, writes the International Business Times.
Few Asian actors were cast in the upcoming production of The Nightingale at San Diego’s La Jolla Playhouse. The play, an adaptation of a Hans Christian Andersen story, takes place in feudal China.
Negative comments about the casting on the theater’s Facebook page prompted a defense from Christopher Ashley, La Jolla’s artistic director , who wrote that Mr. Andersen’s tale, though set in China, is “not about Asia. What’s really important to the piece is to have completely colorblind casting.”
Mr. Ashley’s response fueled a larger online backlash, with bloggers arguing that if the Tony Award-winning theater wanted to cast non-Asian actors it should change the play’s setting.
