Minnesota theater cancels Cinderella production because cast is “too white”
- Chanhassen Dinner Theaters is scheduled to present a Cinderella production later this year
- However, the show fell apart when its artistic director noted that the cast was overwhelmingly white.
- Chanhassen Dinner Theaters has recently hired a diversity consultant and has established new “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” protocols
- A Footloose production, which will feature a more racially diversified cast, is now scheduled for 2022
A local Minnesota theater has canceled a production of Roger & Hammerstein’s Cinderella because its cast was “too white.”
Chanhassen Dinner Theaters was scheduled to host the show later this year before its artistic director intervened to criticize its lack of diversity.
“He was 98 percent white,” artistic director Michael Brindisi told Pioneer Press on Wednesday after looking at who had been elected.
However, Chanhassen, located southwest of Minneapolis, has a white and overwhelming population, and the racial demographics of the cast were not very different from the city as a whole.
According to the most recent census, 92.5 percent of people in Chanhassen are white. Less than 3 percent of residents are Hispanic, while 1.1 percent are black.
No photo of the Cinderella cast was officially released before undoing the show.
Chanhassen Dinner Theaters has canceled a production of Roger & Hammerstein’s Cinderella because its cast was “too white”
Dinner and show! Chanhassen, located southwest of Minneapolis, has a white and overwhelming population, and the racial demographics of the cast were not very different from the city as a whole.
Cinderella has been represented around the world for decades and usually has a majority white cast. Pictured: Cinderella performing on Broadway in New York City in 2013
In a statement issued on Monday, the theater stated: “After careful reflection and our ongoing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, we have made the decision to cancel our next production.
‘In addition to changing future programming, we are establishing new pre-production protocols. We will invite (and pay for) BIPOC artists to analyze production with our creative teams through a new goal of diversity, equity and inclusion … This conversation will take place before the design and casting process begins. ‘
Chanhassen Dinner Theaters has hired a diversity consultant and is committed to “doing an identity-conscious casting and intentionally becoming a more anti-racist theater.”
In the meantime, the organization is up to date[ly putting together a production of The Music Man and has a ‘strong priority placed on casting BIPOC artists’.
Many of the productions put on by Chanhassen Dinner Theatre in recent years have featured a majority-white cast (pictured). They have now instituted new diversity protocols
The cast of Chanhassen Dinner Theatre’s Mamma Mia are pictured
Meanwhile, Brindisi told the Pioneer Press that the theater considered recasting the Cinderella.
However, they decided to scrap the show and start from scratch with a separate production.
While some cast members were upset by the news, Brinidisi says that most ‘respected the very hard decision we had to make.’
Chanhassen Dinner Theatres will replace Cinderella with a more diverse adaptation of Footloose, now scheduled for 2022.
Artistic director Michael Brindisi called out the fact that Cinderella’s cast was 98 percent white. The production has now been scrapped