Originally released in 1970, “Bein’ Green,” written by Joe Raposo and performed by Jim Henson, issued a heartfelt warning to anyone who dare follow in Kermit the Frog’s webbed footsteps: “It’s not that easy bein’ green….”
So color me outside the lines and not one bit surprised that English actor and singer Cynthia Erivo is facing pre-dick-table backlash and criticism from Wicked stans who decided to “update” the upcoming film’s photorealistic poster…to look more like the musical’s original illustrated one.
Is this much ado about nothing? I personally don’t think so.
Not only is the audience not always right…none of them are green.
When I first heard about Erivo being cast as Elphaba, I was excited…and nervous.
(On the other hand, when I first heard about Ariana Grande being cast as Glinda, I was annoyed…and unimpressed. Ms. Grande and her mess are not my cup of tea.)
I first saw Ms. Erivo in the 2018 thriller Bad Times at the El Royale.
As far as I knew, she was a newcomer. Little did I know she’d already won a Tony for her performance in the revival of The Color Purple on Broadway. (I know… bad gay!)
In the film, she sang “Can’t Hurry Love” a capella. For me, it was love at first sight.
So why was I excited and nervous about her casting?
Well, to be blunt, a large contingent of Wicked’s fanbase has been known to get upset whenever Black actors have played Elphaba in the musical’s many productions.
Forgetting the fact the character is green, stans have stood by their stance that the role was originally played by a “white” woman: Idina Menzel. Not that it matters, but most stans probably don’t realize Menzel is also Jewish (of Russian descent). Or realize the character as written is a commentary on being anything but white.
So while stans consider themselves being “purists,” in my book, they’re being racists. Most stans insist they aren’t. But by trying to erase and obscure Erivo’s eyes and face with a more “familiar” image, they’re erasing her humanity in the process. And we all know about ladies who doth protest too much, right? Right.
To some, it may be 'just a poster,” but it’s about much more than that.
Black actors rarely get the opportunity to headline a major studio movie, especially the film adaptation of one of the most beloved (and successful) musicals in history.
As a gay white guy, even I know how much representation does matter. So when folks attempt to criticize or diminish these accomplishments, I feel they are reinforcing the barriers that anyone who colors outside the lines have been fighting to break down for years. Across gender, race, sexuality…and more.
So, my heart goes out to Cynthia Erivo. She’s stepping into a role that already comes with monumental pressure—and now, she’s facing a fandom that wants to rewrite the narrative before anyone in the general public has even seen the film.
But, if anyone can rise above the noise and fly (and sing) higher than the hate and noise, it’s CYNTHIA ERIVO…IN WICKED.
It’s not that easy bein' green, but neither is defying gravity.
Thanks for reading!
Clint
NEWS + VIEWS
ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS: INSIDE OUT REVIEW
(The Guardian)ARE TRUMP’S ‘SWISS-MADE’ WATCHES FROM WYOMING?
(New York Magazine)90 DELIGHTFULLY RANDOM PHOTOS…
(Bored Panda)
ON THIS DAY
BIRTHDAYS
1926 = Chuck Berry = American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1950 = Wendy Wasserstein = American writer
1951 = Pam Dawber = American actor
1951 = Terry McMillan = American writer
1953 = Tim Gill = American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and LGBTQ activist
1960 = Jean-Claude Van Damme = Belgian martial artist and actor
1987 = Zac Efron = American actor and singer
1990 = Brittney Griner = American basketball player
CELEBRATIONS
EVENTS
1867 = United States takes possession of Alaska after purchasing it from Russia for $7.2 million. Celebrated annually in the state as Alaska Day.
1907 = A debate occurred surrounding Paragraph 175, Germany's sodomy law, drawing in 2,000 participants. Paragraph 175 was key legislation utilized by the Nazis to persecute and incarcerate LGBT individuals, reportedly used by the party to arrest 100,000 men between 1933 and 1945.
1922 = British Broadcasting Company (BBC) is founded, later called British Broadcasting Corporation
1931 = Gangster Alphonse “Al” Capone is convicted on five of the 23 counts of tax evasion against him, later fined $50,000 and sentenced to 11 years in jail.
1946 = Aaron Copland's 3rd Symphony is first performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra led by Serge Koussevitzky
1958 = Ritchie Valens releases “La Bamba,” based on the Mexican folk song.
1961 = West Side Story is released in theaters.
1977 = According to Oregon State University Pride Center: "Citizens United to Protect Our Children, an organization in Portland, Oregon, announced they had failed to get enough signatures to get a recall election of Mayor Neil Goldschmidt after he declared Portland Gay Pride Day."
1990 = Former Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell proclaimed that he made a mistake in voting to uphold Georgia's sodomy law in the landmark Bowers vs. Hardwick case. Powell stated that he had voted the wrong way in his decision to declare that the Constitution doesn't protect rights to privacy for individuals engaging in sexual acts with members of the same sex.
1990 = Three white supremacists were convicted of conspiring to blow up a gay bar in Seattle named the Neighbours Disco. One of the defendants reportedly lived on the notorious Church of Jesus Christ Christian-Aryan Nations compound.
PHOTO + QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I'm a guy, but i'm not afraid to cry. Not all of the time. But when i'm watching a movie, i'll sometimes shed a tear, especially Moulin Rouge.”
Zac Efron
Whenever I run into something like this my first thought is nearly always, "Must be nice to have a life that gives you enough discretionary time that you can make an existential crisis out if this. I've never had that experience."
I don't know anything about the story at all, but it just seems odd that anyone even cares about the skin color of whoever plays characters in an imaginary world. I'm really falling to see how it matters.
I'll be honest. I completely failed to follow your description of the other side's argument, so maybe my opinion is too uninformed to be of value.
Form vs Content. Sign or Symbol vs Meaning. Surface vs Depth. As an ex-psychotherapist/clinical psychologist, I take note of the former but actually mainly focus on the second . What is the mechanism, meaning, purpose and significance? The Why more than the How. Don't merely look at the label on the soup can but taste the contents.