Every actor and actress has the dream of making it to a Broadway stage. However, due to the recent popularity of stunt casting on Broadway, their dreams are far more unattainable, and theater students are discouraged.

What is stunt casting?

According to The Daily Campus, “Stunt casting is when a celebrity — sometimes even a non-actor — is cast in a show to draw attention and commercial success.” 

Some recent examples of Broadway stunt casting include TikTok star Charli D’Amelio joining the Broadway cast of “& Juliet,” Megan Thee Stallion joining the Broadway cast of “Moulin Rouge,” and Whitney Leavitt, famous for her involvement with “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” joining the Broadway cast of “Chicago” as Roxie Hart.

Leavitt, born in American Fork, Utah, took to the Broadway stage following her involvement in the TV Show “Dancing With the Stars.”

Initially, her Broadway run was only set to run from Feb. 2 through March 15. However, on Feb. 18, it was announced that she would be extending her run until May 3  “due to unprecedented demand,” according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

The effects on emerging artists

With this Utah star leaping to a Broadway stage, the spirits of musical theater students at the University of Utah are down.

Liesel Dewalt, a musical theater enthusiast and junior at the U, has been involved in theater since middle school and recognizes both the positive and negative aspects of stunt casting.

“It’s neither good nor bad,” Dewalt said. “But it is kind of disheartening.”

Sofia Candela, who is double-majoring in political science and musical theater at the U, shares these exact sentiments.

“There are so many people who are so good and deserve their stars and who work so hard for those jobs, but [the role] is being given, pretty much automatically, to people who already have successful careers,” Candela said. “It can definitely be disheartening.”

Dewalt has seen the effects of stunt casting not only as an actress but also as an intern for talent agency Rafco Talent Management.

“The clients that primarily booked were ones with a big social media following. You can see the shift of who’s getting cast in these big productions,” Dewalt said. “I had two clients that had no social media whatsoever, and it’s disheartening for them because they are very talented and very qualified, but that was kind of the thing that was keeping them from getting seen for these bigger productions.”

Candela added that the discouragement also comes from the ways casting directors may be going about these stunt casts. 

“They are required to have open call [auditions] or equity principal calls for certain shows,” Candela said. “For example, they might have already cast Whitney Leavitt, but they’re seeing people and essentially wasting their time. It’s really an economic disadvantage.”

However, the truth remains that these celebrity involvements are bringing more people (and more money) to the theater. “It’s a successful thing, and it does bring more money to the theater,” Dewalt said. “If it means that people are coming to the theater, I think it’s a good thing. In order to keep Broadway and theater and the arts alive, we have to keep it alive financially.”

Candela also acknowledged the financial benefit. “It gets butts in seats. I hate it, but it’s making money,” she said.

What can you do?

Both students urge audiences to engage with theater and the arts in their communities.

“I think it’s important to fan that flame. New artists have to come from somewhere and supporting the people around you in the arts is always important,” Candela said.

“We’re not exactly stunt casting, but we’ve got a lot of stuff going on here at the U! We’re currently working on Urinetown,” Dewalt said. 

To support these upcoming local artists, come see the University of Utah’s production of Urinetown, which runs through Sunday, April 12 and tickets are currently available. Students, faculty and staff can attend free with the Arts Pass.

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