Duh: Jordan Raskopoulos Should Be Cast In Sydney’s Postponed ‘Hedwig & The Angry Inch’
DUH.
After criticism for casting a cis actor as the titular role in an upcoming Sydney production of genderqueer musical Hedwig & The Angry Inch, the show has been put on pause to ‘consider’ the show’s casting. Twitter has one suggestion: Jordan Raskopoulos, and we’re all for it.
The musical, which was set to feature Hugh Sheridan in the lead role, was due to re-open Sydney’s Enmore Theatre as part of Sydney Festival in January.
Written by Steven Trask and John Cameron Mitchell, who originated the role on Broadway and starred in the 2001 film adaptation, Hedwig tells the story of a genderqueer singer who escapes East Berlin during the Cold War by undergoing a ‘botched sex change’ in order to marry her American boyfriend legally, which leaves her with an ‘angry inch’.
While there’s been a rightful push to cast trans actors within trans roles within the last few years (as explored in Netflix documentary Disclosure, which catalogs trans (mis)representation and its effect in film and TV), Hedwig remains a divisive text, as it has a complicated relationship with trans audiences.
In recent productions, the role has been played by both cis male and non-binary actors, including Neil Patrick Harris, Darren Chris and Drag Race‘s Jinkx Monsoon.
For his part, the cis Cameron — who wrote from his own experiences growing up in Germany, and didn’t originally intend Hedwig to be the protagonist — has maintained throughout the years that the show is not a clear-cut trans narrative, as Hedwig is ‘coerced’ into her identity.
“He was a boy who was quite comfortable in his gender and was coerced into a mutilation, really, by a boyfriend, mother and really the patriarchy, if you think about it,” he said in 2019. “[Coerced by] the ‘binarchy’ that says you have to be one or the other for certain things to happen, for you to get married and so on.”
“But it’s not really a trans story. There’s all kinds of gender fluidity and exploration. But to be trans you have to want to be. You choose to be.”
The newly formed Queer Artist Alliance Aus began an open-letter this week asking that the titular role be re-cast with a trans actor, and additionally criticising the lack of trans involvement across the production: reportedly, only the wig stylist identifies as trans.
“The choice to cast a cisgender male as a transgender character is offensive and damaging to the trans community, and continues to cause genuine distress and frustration amongst trans and gender non-conforming performers all across Australia,” the letter reads.
The letter acknowledges that while Sheridan is talented, they question whether he would have been cast if there were trans creatives involved in the musical, saying that the issue extends beyond the role.
And in comments, the Alliance notes that while Cameron says it is not a trans role, it is “still a story about a character that ultimately does transition”, and therefore will only be all the better by having a non-cis person bring their experience to that role — makes sense, right?
The Alliance also clarified that they were not eager to ‘cancel’ Sheridan, and that the problem derived not from any one person from “the power structures” that allowed the casting call to be made, evidently, without non-cis voices being included in the conversation.
“This is about having an advocate for the community telling a story for the community,” they wrote. “Again, this is about representation and respect. The argument is not about whether a gay man can play the role.”
[Sheridan does not identify as gay, but recently came out in a profile as someone who has been romantically and sexually involved with women and men, saying he prefers to keep things ‘label-free’.]
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On Tuesday, two days after the open-letter first circulated, the team behind the production announced they would postpone the show, and that “the issues raised are respected and taken very seriously”.
“In casting Hedwig we auditioned a wide, diverse range of performers and no one from any background was excluded from this process and were encouraged,” they wrote in a statement.
“We wish to assure the Trans and LGBTQIA+ community that the issues raised are respected and taken very seriously. We appreciate your patience in giving us time to properly consider these concerns and respond accordingly.”
Sydney Festival later issued its own statement, supporting the decision to postpone the production, and anyone who has bought a ticket to the now-postponed production will be contacted about a refund.
After the news broke, Twitter more or less unanimously had a suggestion for the lead role: Jordan Raskopoulos. And when her name was mentioned more a few times, she chimed in to say she’d “adore the opportunity to audition”, and even posted a snippet of herself singing Hedwig classic ‘Wig In A Box’. It’s a no-brainer, no? Listen below.
It's ridiculous they didn't cast Jordan in the first place. Jordan as Hedwig, pls. And if they want a queer director, I'm free. https://t.co/E6WUj9yIGg
— Maeve Marsden (@maevemarsden) November 17, 2020
— Jordan Raskopoulos (@JordanRasko) November 17, 2020