C'mon. It's intellectually dishonest to say that Michael K. Lee is fine casting for Aladdin but black Elsa is not. Even from the balcony Lee did not look brown, which Aladdin is in the film. Lee would never make it past one cut at a face character audition for Aladdin. White guys were also cast as Aladdin in the show, as well as Latino guys. If there were any real Arabic actors cast in the role, I never saw or heard of them.
Jafar, who is paler skinned in the film than Aladdin and not black in the slightest, was played by several black men on a regular basis. They didn't resemble the character in the slightest.
You can't tell me that doesn't violate the same "character integrity" principles that a black Elsa does. Incorrect racial casting is incorrect racial casting, no matter how you slice it.
So the poster above was fine with colorblind casting Aladdin, but not Frozen, and couldn't give a legit answer as to why. If you feel it violates character integrity, then Aladdin did the same. You can't have it both ways.
I do remember the wheelchair uproar. Again, much ado about nothing.
1) face characters and stage performers are not in the same discussion for a lot of reasons.
2)From 100ft away... People aren't going to nitpick an Asian or tan complexion vs Persian or Turk. Their complexions look similar enough that it's not a consequential difference in the theater. That's what I'm trying to get across and why the Aladdin character exsmples you've noted are rather bland. They are 'close enough' they don't cause a huge stink. Again, we are talking stage productions, not video or face to face. There is a lot of wiggle room by the very nature of the production.
If you find them casting a redhead pale Irishman as Aladdin with a heavy accent let me know. I never saw one of mr lee's performances so I don't know what his dialect sounds like to know how he sounded in the role, but visually is argue he falls within a reasonable window. Again, he can look the part within reason.
3) jafar, yup... Cast as a black man, and it stood out verse the source material... But is not shockingly out of place. I think more significant was they portrayed him as a more physically imposing figure in the show verse a more thin, older wizard who relied on his magic and influence for power.
And again, this did not go unnoticed. You keep saying this is some new complaint from people... It's not. It's just after almost 10 ten years when it came to the Aladdin show the hubbub was over.
4) character integrity. I gave examples of how the visuals of the other examples fall within semi reasonable ranges or were changes that could be believable.... Like a black man in the ottoman ages of the Middle East
But a black Scandinavia princess? That doesn't blur at all... That requires you to play color blind.
And if you believe the audience must close their eyes to these visual changes, why bother with the hair and other recognizable traits from the film? Why not play 'costume blind' too?
And the wheelchair cast member was really out of place and should not have been done. That was more about a statement and it was detracting from the show.
What if Alladin required a walking cane for the show... That too would be detracting, even if the guy could act the rest of the character.
