In August, “Phantom” producers announced they had cast the first-ever Black actor to play Christine since the show opened on Broadway in 1988. Within a few weeks of the show going dark, COVID-19 had claimed the life of a beloved dresser, Jennifer Arnold, who had been with the show for more than three decades.Īfter protests filled United States streets last year in outrage at the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white police officer, newly unemployed Broadway workers pushed the industry to make overdue changes to increase racial diversity in theater companies. Reuters watched as the “Phantom” company prepared for its return. Their return this fall is viewed as a test of the city’s efforts to restore some new sense of normalcy. Now, after an unprecedented shutdown, the theaters are among the last workplaces to reopen. Word of the abrupt shuttering came during a “Phantom” matinee at the Majestic Theatre on March 12, 2020, as some cast and crew themselves were falling sick.
Though shows like “ Hamilton” are known for diverse casting, others have faced criticism for failing to provide opportunities for people of color.The crowded Broadway theaters, vital to the city’s tourism industry, were the first places closed by the New York government as the coronavirus began to ravage the state. Recent discourse, however, has brought a longstanding lack of diversity, both on- and offstage, in New York’s theater industry to light. Kouatchou’s casting comes about a month after Brittney Johnson became the first Black actor to assume the role of Glinda in “Wicked.” “It took this long for any Black woman to play Christine, but there have been so many talented Black women who could have.” “I just think that Black women, especially in theater, have to be - and it shouldn’t be this way - 10 times better and work 10 times harder,” she said. Though happy to be making Broadway history, she stressed that she was “frustrated” it had taken so long for the producers of “Phantom of the Opera” to cast a Black leading lady.
Speaking to People last month, Kouatchou said she considered switching careers during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Broadway theaters and other performance venues were closed for about 18 months. Emilie Kouatchou (left) and Ben Crawford in Broadway's
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