On Sat Feb 28, Brian Charles Dauth wrote:
> Elizabeth Taylor can play Cleopatra (and she can be surrounded by black
> servants/slaves), but everyone would be up in arms if Angela Bassett
> played the Queen of England.
Actually Angela Bassett played Lady MacBeth in 1998 and got not bad reviews in an excellent production. Meanwhile Leontyne Price first played the role of Cleopatra in the 1960s.
Nontraditional casting in theatre and opera has long been common. Films have never gone in for it and probably never will. They've always touted their "realism," which means sticking to the received wisdom about appearances.
Michael