Posted by By Nicholas Kutzin, Writer
Bright lights, vibrant sound, the roar of the crowd as a singer finishes belting their heart out—these are the images conjured when you hear the word “Broadway.” You might picture a throng of fans cheering and screaming, tear streaks running down faces, or actors glowing in the spotlight as they dance at the speed of light. However, the reality is that several actors on Broadway and in the theater industry have experienced injustices that are hidden behind fabricated smiles spreading throughout a performance. Ranging from gender prejudices, especially toward trans and non-binary actors, to uncomfortable costuming and body shaming, performing has ended up being the opposite of fun in many cases.
However, even in a place as welcoming as the theater industry, there are always naysayers hiding, ready to pounce on the vulnerable when they least expect it.
Theater has always been lauded as a place for anyone, no matter the way you look or how you identify, but the fact of the matter is that this, in many cases, is far from true. Gender prejudices, much like in the real world, are far from being gone in the theater industry.
Current Emerson student and Theater Education major, Isabella Cantone, was quick to point out how “the privilege that males in theater get is very obvious as a woman. It feels like I have to work harder than men do to earn bigger parts.”
While Isabella acknowledges how this is often due to the gender breakdown in theater (fewer men than women), she also discussed the unfair imbalance of female lead parts to male lead parts, despite the fact that, generally, more women partake in theater.
Mrs. Foti, a music teacher at New Paltz High School, shared a similar sentiment. For example, only 41% of roles in theater are female, while 59% are male, despite the fact that women make up two-thirds of all theater performers. This gap is even greater in Hollywood, with 85% of lead roles being male.
Not only do women face grievance in the theater industry, but, as proved by the article entitled “‘Jagged Little Pill’ Arrives with 15 Tony Nominations, but also Intensifying Controversy” by Michael Paulson of The New York Times, transgender and non-binary actors have also faced intense stigma in the theater industry. The article discussed a primary instance of controversy within the Broadway hit, Jagged Little Pill, related to non-binary erasers and prejudice. That instance is the gender swap of the character, Jo. When Jagged Little Pill first premiered outside of New York, the character of Jo was non-binary (one of the first non-binary characters to exist in media ever); however, once the show transferred to Broadway, Jo’s gender identity was subsequently changed to female, and all plot lines related to it were removed. This caused major controversy surrounding the eraser of non-binary representation and forced the producers to issue an apology.
The theater and Broadway industries have more than just gender injustices plaguing them. Body shaming, specifically related to costumes, has been a prevalent issue within the community.
“A lot of directors hand you a costume and tell you to try it on with little room to protest it,” describes Sophia Dunn, a Marlboro High School Theater student. “There are rare moments when you can tell a director that you are not comfortable wearing a costume, but even in those situations, they look at you expecting that you love the costume, so you feel obligated to wear it anyway.”
Isabella Cantone also shared a similar experience in which she stated that “I’ve been put in costumes that were not sized correctly that made me uncomfortable and were never fixed for me even after I said something to the director or costumer.”
Not only are there issues with costuming, but body shaming has also come with the continuance of negative typecasts in theater. For example, Isabella Cantone pointed out that “my friends who have a bigger body type are usually typecast into ‘park and bark’ or older character roles.” Sophia Dunn agreed, stating that because of her body type, even when she was younger, “I would constantly be cast as the oldest character in every show. The directors would say it’s because I have an ‘older body type,’ which effectively destroyed how I viewed myself in the future, especially when I had to audition for a new show.”
Issues with body shaming in theater have not only been private. A story entitled “Renee Rapp Says She Endured Body-Shaming While Starring in ‘Mean Girls’ Musical” made many headlines earlier this year when actress and singer Renee Rapp came forward about the abuse she endured from “fans” and production staff during her run as Regina George in the hit Broadway musical adaptation of Mean Girls due to her “curvier” body type. She described how production staff “would say some vile f—ing things to me about my body,” along with discussing how she would get hate mail and even death threats all because she did not have as slim of a body type as previous actresses who played the iconic antagonist. Due to these awful conditions, Renee Rapp explained in the aforementioned article how she developed an eating disorder, which got so bad that her parents “flew to the Big Apple and tried to convince her to leave ‘Mean Girls’ because they were worried about her health.”
Broadway and the theater industry can be deceptive places. Theater is known for being open and accepting, no matter the person, gender, or appearance. However, even in a place as welcoming as the theater industry, there are always naysayers hiding, ready to pounce on the vulnerable when they least expect it.
Although these stories and situations may sound scary, I in no way mean to condemn the theater industry. In fact, I believe it is one of the few places where everyone is free to express themselves. However, that does not stop there from being problems. Gender discrimination and body shaming are two current issues that remain within the theater industry, much like in the majority of the world. Thankfully, these problems continue to improve over time, and in joining the theater industry, there is usually a promise from the entire community to help and protect one another in all the ways they can. The vast majority of fans, actors, directors, and production staff do their very best to make every performer feel as immense as their talent.
“Especially in this time, we try really hard as directors to be conscious of all issues,” Mrs. Foti, who is one of the directors of the New Paltz Drama Club, stated eloquently. “We want to make sure that everybody is always cared for in a really thoughtful way.”
The Maroon 