Minnesota theater cancels its own Cinderella production because cast was ‘too White’

Not precisely a fairy story ending.

A suburban Minneapolis theater firm abruptly canceled its production of “Cinderella” because the cast was “too White.”

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres was planning to stage Roger & Hammerstein’s traditional play later this 12 months however a director scrapped the present this week — slamming its lack of racial range, twincities.com reported.

“It was 98 percent White,” the theater’s director, Michael Brindisi, mentioned of the present’s actors Wednesday. “That doesn’t work with what we’re saying we’re going to do.”

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Brindisi mentioned he thought-about recasting however as an alternative determined to place a self-inflicted spin on cancel tradition — and “scrap this and start fresh with a clean slate.”

The production firm has employed a range advisor and says it plans to deal with changing into “a more intentionally anti-racist theater” with “identity-conscious casting,” it mentioned in a statement. 

“After careful consideration and with our ongoing commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, we have made the decision to cancel our upcoming production,” it states.

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“In addition to changing future programming, we are establishing new pre-production protocols. We will be inviting and paying [Black, Indigenous, People of Color] artists to analyze the production with our creative teams through a new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion lens.”

But the theater agency — which is predicated within the largely White Minneapolis suburb of Chanhassen — might have hassle discovering individuals of coloration to fill roles. Chanhassen’s inhabitants is 92 p.c White, 3 p.c Hispanic and 1 p.c Black, in line with latest Census information.

In place of “Cinderella,” the theater will now stage the dance-centric musical “Footloose” in 2022, in line with the report. It additionally plans to reopen a production of “The Music Man” in July.