![]() How would we respond to gender swaps such as these? How would it resonate in 2018?įor me, to see Henry Higgins become Henrietta and to portray a woman in charge of a man’s education will be empowering. What will the response be then when James/Julie tells Betty/Billy to stay away from her, that she’s no good? When James hits Betty? When James acknowledges that, “It is possible dear, for someone to hit you, hit you hard, and it not hurt at all.” How would the gender swap change the dynamics of this show? Seeing a woman as a criminal isn’t typically thought of when you hear that term. Female to male violence isn’t what is typically thought of when you hear spousal abuse. Switching the genders of Julie and Billy while maintaining the storyline will be jarring. Will audiences still see Barbara’s juggling act as comical or will they judge her, a woman, for having confidence in her sexuality and sexual fluidity?Ĭarousel- This is one show always fraught with issues as physical and emotional abuse run throughout the show. Swap out 2 of the stewardess (now flight attendants) and make them male leaving one as female. I propose Boeing, Boeing takes the role of Bernard and makes it Barbara. Men are given more latitude when dating multiple women at once vs. How will audiences react to see a woman in complete control with such confidence in herself and her abilities? And to see a man forced to acknowledge his weakness, humble himself to a woman for help?īoeing, Boeing- For better or worse there’s certain behaviors more tolerated based on gender. The woman, is now far more educated, distinguished and richer than the man, having control over him, making a crass bet about his appearance, his speech, isn’t what we’re used to believing. Suddenly the older, distinguished male professor graciously helping the poor, street urchin may compromise our “traditional” sensibilities. Henry Higgins becomes Henrietta Higgins while Eliza Doolittle becomes Elijah Doolittle (or something to that effect). My Fair Lady- I propose swapping the genders of Higgins and Eliza. Granted this is just a wishlist, knowing that doing anything like this would require permission first. This is the first major production I’ve heard of which explicitly allows for the inclusion of females into what has been traditionally a male ensemble. I want to look at some other shows and roles that might benefit from a male to female gender swap. In the community theater world, there’s always talk of gender swapping within shows and roles. ![]() (Someone needs to give me a couple years to have my baby and get back into tapping shape so I can be in that ensemble but I digress.) What made this announcement even more special was the knowledge that part of the Newsies ensemble could include females. Recently Newsies announced that its rights are open for community theaters to perform.
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