Yes, but Eponine and Fantine are fictional characters, Lea has played both. Black men have played the Phantom, in PotO, and Javert and Ejolras in Les Miz, and other characters.
I guess I'm asking, if the trend continues, would it be okay to cast a white or Asian actor in the role of a black historical figure? Yes, it's been done in the past, I remember the hubub around Miss Saigon, having a white actor playing an Asian role, but again, it was a fictional character. Historical figures vs. fictional characters; have we as a society come far enough to accept that? I can see the appeal of what Hamilton did by casting minorities, but would it work the other way around?
Another example is the revival of West Side Story using Hispanic actors for the Sharks and their girls and even translating some songs and dialog into Spanish. It worked well to me because I understood the lyrics and dialog, some didn't. The first few lines of Un Hombre Asi (A Boy Like That), were changed back to English because it was thought people wouldn't get the full impact of "A boy like that who'd kill your brother" against "Ese cabrón mató tu hermano." My mind didn't have to translate much because I already knew the songs, as I suspect most people who see musicals would. (That's a poorly constructed sentence, forgive me.)
I'm asking to see what people think, because if any person of any race can play a historical figure of any race, then Hamilton has become a game changer, if not, what does it say, if anything, about our society?
