Falsettos – The Other Palace

[ABr]

Aug 13, 2019 9:35:42 GMT daisy24601 said:

Sounds like he just had trouble doing both! Hmm, I had booked a second night, I wonder if they'll do refunds.

I would hope not, with it being a limited run, all the rest of the cast will be ready, and performers have come into shows with less time and bigger roles and been fine, so lets hope it doesn't come to that!

[idinafanzel]

He could be competing on the X Factor All Stars season with Leona, Alexandra & Shayne. Maybe he wasn’t allowed the time off for filming if he is on the show too

[jgblunners]

Well I was quite excited to see Cardle in this after he impressed me in JCS, but I can't deny that I'm even more excited to see Joel Montague - loved him in Funny Girl and School of Rock!

[theatre241]

Aug 13, 2019 9:20:56 GMT daisy24601 said:

JCS extending perhaps?

I hope!!!

[daisy24601]

I don't know if anyone else here is bothered enough, but fyi they've given me a full refund.

[theatremadness]

So from the sounds of this press release (which is refreshingly honest), it was simply the combination of performing in JCS in the evening and rehearsing Falsettos during the day that has led to his departure. It's a gruelling schedule at the best of times, but for an untrained performer (talent notwithstanding), that's where experience really starts to show. Takes a lot of stamina!

lwtheatres.co.uk/joel-montague-joins-the-cast-of-falsettos/

[Deleted]

Aug 13, 2019 9:41:51 GMT idinafanzel said:

He could be competing on the X Factor All Stars season with Leona, Alexandra & Shayne. Maybe he wasn’t allowed the time off for filming if he is on the show too

I could be wrong, but I recall Matt wanting to sever ties with the show after Simon Cowell dropped him from his record label. I’d be surprised if he wanted to work with him again, but I could be wrong.

[theoracle]

This is disappointing but understandable of course. He had less than a week to go to a different role completely, barely any time to get out the headspace is Pilate. Still, I’m excited about Joel Montague and of course, Oliver Saville should be fantastic along with the rest of the cast.

[Bickers]

for anyone interested, the Falsettos Facebook page has a video from the press launch event which showcases a medley of songs from the show - sounding great!

[n1david]

22 distinguished members of the Jewish theatre community have written to The Stage, concerned about "Jewface" - the inappropriate portrayal of Jewish people and culture by people who have no background of Jewishness. They are particularly concerned that this production of Falsettos has no Jewish actors nor anyone significant in the production team, given the importance of Jewishness to the plot. They are not saying that non-Jewish people cannot play Jewish roles, but they are concerned that a "lack of Jewishness in the rehearsal room" runs the risk of turning the portrayal of Jewish culture into stereotype or cliché.

www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/letters/2019/jewish-theatremakers-speak-out-against-cultural-appropriation-on-stage-your-views-august-22/

In 2019, in London, it seems impossible that a production of a show as obviously concerned with Jewish religion and culture as Falsettos could announce a cast with no Jewish representation whatsoever. Even more troubling is the way the theatre industry as a whole has failed to notice this glaring omission – or perhaps has failed to care. In a time of increasing anti-Semitism, of verbal and physical attacks on Jewish people and wholesale, violent shootings in synagogues, Jewish schools and cultural centres forced to be protected by security guards, it feels more crucial now than ever to make accurate representation of and cultural sensitivity around Judaism a priority in theatre.

The writers are Miriam Margolyes, Maureen Lipman, Elijah Moshinsky, Adam Lenson, Sarah Sigal, Stephen Laughton, Guy Woolf, Lee Ravitz, Frances Rifkin, Abigail Symons, Emma Jude Harris, Josh Seymour, Sam Brown, Helen Monks, Isla van Tricht, Joel Fisher, Emily Rose Simons, Tamar Saphra, Tash Hyman, Noga Flaishon, Freyja Winterson, Rachel Hosker

[alece10]

How do they know none of them are Jewish?
I didn't think it was a requirement to put on your bio your religion.
This PC lark is really getting silly.

[HereForTheatre]

Personally i was shocked and appalled when none of the cast or creatives of Jesus Christ Superstar were actually from Jerusalem in 33 A.D.

[theatrelover123]

Is Elphaba not a real witch???

OH FOR THE LOVE OF........!!!!!!!!!!

[juicy_but_terribly_drab]

I don't think there is anything wrong with raising concerns tbh. They aren't saying the production shouldn't go ahead or anything. I think this is more or less a good reminder to make sure that the actors' portrayals are authentic and not caricatures which is maybe needed since it sounds like there's almost no one Jewish in the cast or creatives to voice these concerns and in a show so heavily rooted in the religion of the characters I don't think it's wrong to be a little worried that there's no one of that faith in the cast. That said I'm still excited to see this and I think they'll do a good job.

[alece10]

Are the cast of Book of Mormon actual Mormons?
If not I'm going to start a petition.

[theatremadness]

Oh my lord. Do people not read? They are not saying cast only Jewish people in Jewish roles, or cast only [insert heritage] people in [insert heritage] roles, they're saying that even simply employing or consulting with people behind the scenes with a background in the heritage that is being portrayed on-stage may be beneficial to the realism/authenticity of the portrayals if it's required for that certain production. Why is this a bad thing? What is wrong with people?

[missthelma]

William Finn who wrote the book, music and lyrics is Jewish. I would understand if this was written by somebody out of the faith but given that it is close to 40 years old with numerous revisions in that time, surely any flagrant problems would have been flagged already?

I can see the point of what they're saying as it's important to have authentic voices around but wonder if this is the right vehicle for that point?

[theatremadness]

I think what set off this discussion was more the creative team/actors of this production as opposed to the content/writing of the musical itself. I would say that it's not an "attack" on this production (though no one has ever said it was), but an opportunity to voice an opinion was taken when it had risen.

[mrkringas]

The one constant is this message board having a range of posters with reactionary views.

[kathryn]

'Jewface'

Really?! I mean....come on.

If you want to make an argument about cultural nuance and sensitivity you've got to find a better way than talking about it than that.

Edit to add:

www.theguardian.com/stage/2019/aug/23/jewface-row-west-end-musical-falsettos-decried-for-cultural-appropriation

And then you get to the end of this article about it and find out that the production does have a British-Israeli consultant working on it. The show doesn't open until next week and no-one who signed the letter can have seen it. Nor can they be sure that the presumption that no-one in the cast is actually Jewish is correct - because the producers don't even know. 

What they mean is that no-one asked *them*. 

I know there's justifiably heightened sensitivity in the Jewish community at the moment, but this is pre-emptive offense. 
What ever happened to actually watching something and then making up your mind about it?!

[theatremadness]

The blindness people choose to have on this subject is quite staggering. Maybe this board isn't the place I once thought it was.

[Seriously]

"Hello. And what are you going to sing for us today? Lovely. And if you could just read this scene.... And now the dance. And just to check, what religion are you? Oh, sorry, we've already got enough Catholics. Would you consider converting to Judaism?"

[Rukaya]

Aug 23, 2019 22:24:17 GMT Seriously said:

"Hello. And what are you going to sing for us today? Lovely. And if you could just read this scene.... And now the dance. And just to check, what religion are you? Oh, sorry, we've already got enough Catholics. Would you consider converting to Judaism?"

Missing the point entirely! No one is demanding that every Jewish role should be played by a Jew, simply that with shows like this there should be representation in the room to ensure that the portrayals are authentic. How is that so hard to understand?

[kathryn]

Aug 23, 2019 23:32:20 GMT Rukaya said:

Aug 23, 2019 22:24:17 GMT Seriously said:

"Hello. And what are you going to sing for us today? Lovely. And if you could just read this scene.... And now the dance. And just to check, what religion are you? Oh, sorry, we've already got enough Catholics. Would you consider converting to Judaism?"

Missing the point entirely! No one is demanding that every Jewish role should be played by a Jew, simply that with shows like this there should be representation in the room to ensure that the portrayals are authentic. How is that so hard to understand?

[twitter url="https://twitter.com/AdamLenson/status/1164944932

047642624"]

But they are just assuming that it isn’t already happening, when evidence suggests (at least in this case) that it is.



They also specifically criticised Angels in America for a non-Jewish cast, but that production definitely had a Rabbi working as a consultant and teaching them the Hebrew prayer - they talked about that at the platforms discussions they had. So saying that they just want cultural consultants is not true, because they are specifically criticising productions that did have them.

[Deleted]

My God, if I got upset every time the portrayal of gay culture was turned into stereotype or cliché, I would never leave the house!
And this IS often by my fellow gays, so having gays in the cast and creative team makes no difference at all.

It hasn't even opened yet.
Watch it first, then judge!