Color-Blind Casting

So, here's the first of the opinion entries I said I'd write.

Color-Blind casting. A post on swank just made me think about it, and its effect on shows.

Honestly, it doesn't make a bit of difference, in most cases.

When you enter a theater, and submit to sitting there and watching a performance, you are agreeing to suspend your disbelief. What you will be seeing on the stage before you is the truth, regardless of how silly it is in actuality. Sure, a little boy cannot fly to a world of pretend where little boys don't grow up, but do we complain about this in Peter Pan? No. Lions, baboons and warthogs cannot talk and sing, but is this a bone of contention with The Lion King? Absolutely not. So, to use Aida as an example, what difference does it make that the actress playing Aida is white? Or Amneris black?

In the opening number, "Every Story Is A Love Story", we learn that the Egyptians and Nubians don't get along, and are at war:

Egypt saw the mighty river as its very heart and soul
Source of life for all her people
That only Egypt could control
Destruction of her southern neighbor justified
Nubia exploited, left with little more than pride

Its then established that Aida is Nubian, and Amneris is Egyptian. Shouldn't that be enough? The rules of suspension of disbelief sure say it is. So why must there be a visual distinction in the color of skin of the two characters? Sure, such a separation visually divides the two, and could use the audience's existing knowledge of the world as an aid, but its not necessary, not at all. The Egyptians do not hate the Nubians because of the color of their skin; they were against them as they were rivals for the Nile's great power. As long as you know which side a certain character is on (at least, where the character is coming from), it's enough.

All that said, color-blind casting isn't always acceptable. If the show has a racial element in its storyline, then color-blind casting is unacceptable. Take, for example, Ragtime. Coalhouse Walker, Jr., an African-American character, has to fight for what he believes in because of the color of his skin. It is clear cut: Willie Conklin does what he does because Coalhouse is black. This is vital - a white man in the role would just be foolish, totally defeating the purpose of the piece.