Westside Story actress quits role after being accused of stealing role from Latino

[Northern Monkey]

American musical theatre performer Sierra Boggess had been cast as Maria.
Maria is a Puerto Rican character and the BBC is accused of 'whitewashing'.
Boggess has received abuse such as being told 'this isn't your story to tell'
Following a period of 'reflection' Boggess has stepped down from the role.

An actress has pulled out of a BBC Proms performance of West Side Story after the broadcaster was accused of ‘whitewashing’ by casting the white star in a Latina role.

American musical theatre performer Sierra Boggess had been cast as Maria, a Puerto Rican character, in the concert version of the Leonard Bernstein musical.

But after the details were announced last week, the BBC was criticised for not giving the role to a Latina actress.

One accused Miss Boggess, 35, of ‘stealing’ the role – which was famously played by US actress Natalie Wood in the 1961 film – from women of colour, while another said: ‘Step back. This is not your story to tell.’








http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-5653705/Actress-pulls-BBC-performance-West-Story-following-whitewashing-allegations.html

[Denver]

Come thru Tulisa

[Niamh.]

Its a fair complaint imo.

[Nicky91]

never let that boggess woman work in any other musicals either then ;)

[montblanc]

understandable

movies are constantly whitewashed

[Niamh.]

understandable

movies are constantly whitewashed

Yep, if it wasn't such a common occurrence I don't think people would care so much

[jaxie]

I think the best actor or actress should do the role, regardless of colour.

It must be pretty devastating to audition, probably against many others of many ethnicities and then have to give it up because you aren't the right race.

This feels kind of like racial bullying and it's happening a lot lately. Turn the tables and imagine if someone said a black actress was stealing a role. The BBC had a black actress play Nancy in Oliver in a series a few years ago, did anyone say she was stealing a white woman's role? It seems a really nasty kind of precedent to start setting.

I don't think this is the right way to about tackling the issue personally. I think generally more variety of casting like the BBC Oliver is a better way.

[Niamh.]

I think the best actor or actress should do the role, regardless of colour.

It must be pretty devastating to audition, probably against many others of many ethnicities and then have to give it up because you aren't the right race.

This feels kind of like racial bullying and it's happening a lot lately. Turn the tables and imagine if someone said a black actress was stealing a role. The BBC had a black actress play Nancy in Oliver in a series a few years ago, did anyone say she was stealing a white woman's role? It seems a really nasty kind of precedent to start setting.

Unless it's James Bond ...........

[jaxie]

Unless it's James Bond ...........

Sorry I don't really get the reference? What would be wrong with having a black James Bond? No need to make a big deal of it, just give Idris the job right now.

[Niamh.]

Sorry I don't really get the reference? What would be wrong with having a black James Bond? No need to make a big deal of it, just give Idris the job right now.

I might actually watch james Bond if Idris played him :smug:

I just mean when it's reversed people are all up in arms about how James Bond couldn't be black etc etc I need to dig out the thread we had discussing it actually to show you what I mean

[MB.]

I think the best actor or actress should do the role, regardless of colour.

It must be pretty devastating to audition, probably against many others of many ethnicities and then have to give it up because you aren't the right race.

This feels kind of like racial bullying and it's happening a lot lately. Turn the tables and imagine if someone said a black actress was stealing a role. The BBC had a black actress play Nancy in Oliver in a series a few years ago, did anyone say she was stealing a white woman's role? It seems a really nasty kind of precedent to start setting.

I don't think this is the right way to about tackling the issue personally. I think generally more variety of casting like the BBC Oliver is a better way.

But West Side Story is about Puerto Rican immigrants to America, whereas Oliver isn't about a story about a specific race (not to mention that black people lived in Victorian England)

[jaxie]

I might actually watch james Bond if Idris played him :smug:

I just mean when it's reversed people are all up in arms about how James Bond couldn't be black etc etc I need to dig out the thread we had discussing it actually to show you what I mean

Oh gotcha. I think Idris would be a fantastic Bond and I'm not a massive fan of the genre.

That's kind of what I meant about the Nancy story too, a black girl did the part which technically wasn't really historically correct but no one made a fuss and she played the role well. If that happened more and we ignored the colour of people, colour would become less relevant.

[Niamh.]

Oh gotcha. I think Idris would be a fantastic Bond and I'm not a massive fan of the genre.

That's kind of what I meant about the Nancy story too, a black girl did the part which technically wasn't really historically correct but no one made a fuss and she played the role well. If that happened more and we ignored the colour of people, colour would become less relevant.

Yeah but James Bond doesn't necessarily have to be white, just English. I think if a role is specifically about a certain race or ethnicity then it probably should be played by someone of that race of nationality.

[jaxie]

But West Side Story is about Puerto Rican immigrants to America, whereas Oliver isn't about a story about a specific race (not to mention that black people lived in Victorian England)

Isn't acting about playing a role?

So are we going to start categorising people by race and colour, you can only do this if you are the right colour? They called that apartied in South Africa.

[jaxie]

Yeah but James Bond doesn't necessarily have to be white, just English. I think if a role is specifically about a certain race or ethnicity then it probably should be played by someone of that race of nationality.

Well Daniel Day Lewis played Lincoln. If the only certain ethnicities can play themselves then there will be a lot less British actors in US films and TV shows. Half the cast of the walking dead will be coming home for a start and they are going to have to stop casting Liam Neeson as an ex US special agent. :shrug:

[Niamh.]

Well Daniel Day Lewis played Lincoln. If the only certain ethnicities can play themselves then there will be a lot less British actors in US films and TV shows. Half the cast of the walking dead will be coming home for a start and they are going to have to stop casting Liam Neeson as an ex US special agent. :shrug:

Abraham Lincoln was white though, sorry I said nationality the second time when I meant to post ethnicity.

[jaxie]

Abraham Lincoln was white though, sorry I said nationality the second time when I meant to post ethnicity.

Yeah I just think the whole thing is a dodgy if we'll intentioned one to start travelling.

Racial bullying can happen to anyone, including white people. This whole idea just sounds like racial bullying.

[montblanc]

I might actually watch james Bond if Idris played him :smug:

I just mean when it's reversed people are all up in arms about how James Bond couldn't be black etc etc I need to dig out the thread we had discussing it actually to show you what I mean

it reminds me when people were getting pissy at the fact that Rue from the Hunger Games was played by a black actress even though her race was never mentioned in the book :bored:

[Niamh.]

it reminds me when people were getting pissy at the fact that Rue from the Hunger Games was played by a black actress even though her race was never mentioned in the book :bored:

Yeah that's right actually, because there's no black people in the districts? umm ok, that seems like real life..........

[Amy Jade]

Sierra Boggess :love:

I would have watched if she was Maria.

[Oliver_W]

Sierra Boggess is an amazing performer, to the point where the whingers should have shoved their complaints up their ass.

The BBC had a black actress play Nancy in Oliver in a series a few years ago, did anyone say she was stealing a white woman's role? It seems a really nasty kind of precedent to start setting.
Some people believe that only white people can be racist, so they probably apply the same standard to race and casting.
Anyway, there's no reason Nancy (an impoverished woman in Victorian England) couldn't have been black.

[Tom4784]

Theatre tends to be colourblind when it comes to casting, I don't really take an issue with a theatre production casting an ethnicity different to what the characters typically are because it's common. The theatre scene doesn't really have a problem with diversity. This 'backlash' is quite ignorant and ill informed.

I take more issue with it when it's on screen because there is an issue with whitewashing when it comes to TV and film. The theatre scene is diverse as **** and the media industry could learn from them in all honesty.

[Maru]

It doesn't matter to me, their race... I don't tend to notice whatever color they are. If their background brings something to the role that would otherwise be missing (like accent or bilingual, background reference, etc), then absolutely, cast them... but otherwise, it's a bit of a circlejerk if you ask me. We'll be back where we started later on when people start to complain about being typecast...

[Alf]

There's a place for us

Somewhere

[Mystic Mock]

Its a fair complaint imo.

True, but it is ashame that this woman had to quit because of all of the abuse that she was getting.