Red Bank Theater Issues Apology Over Casting Choice

RED BANK, NJ – Two River Theater in Red Bank posted an apology to its website on Tuesday, citing the “harm” it inflicted from “not having cast more artists of color” for an upcoming virtual reading of "On Borrowed Time".

“Thank you for these honest calls for our accountability. We apologize for the harm we have caused and acknowledge we must do better," the theater company wrote in an announcement on July 28. "Regarding our staged reading of ON BORROWED TIME, we take responsibility for our complicity in presenting this play in a manner which upholds, and does not seek to challenge, harmful patterns of representation in American theater."

“Hamilton” star Phillipa Soo, who is Asian American, was cast in the upcoming production. Other big names slated to take the stage include Blair Brown and Bill Irwin, Bebe Neuwirth and Sam Waterston.

“In light of this, and while we recognize and celebrate the work and talent of the artists who are a part of ON BORROWED TIME, there is no adequately defensible reason for not having cast more artists of color in this reading," the theater wrote.

While the casting was announced in a July 22 Facebook post, the apology was issued Tuesday afternoon after critics on social media addressed the stark lack of diversity in the cast.

“This announcement feels uncharacteristically tone deaf in light of the racial justice movements happening in the Broadway community alone, which is to say nothing of the racial justice movements on fire in America,” wrote one Facebook user. “It’s not going to go away. We are counting on you to reflect and do better.”

The Bridge Avenue-based theater will go forth with its virtual reading on Aug. 5 and 6, as reported by Red Bank Green. The production will reportedly continue with the cast list unaltered.

“We are currently working internally to reflect on our decisions regarding this process, our responsibilities, and how we can do better in the future to disrupt these harmful patterns on our own stages, and across our industry,” the statement concludes. “There is more action to come. This is a conversation we want to continue to engage in, and we commit ourselves to not letting this work end here.”

Directed by Joel Grey, the reading of “On Borrowed Time” is just one of several productions that the theater will be streaming this summer to benefit organizations that advocate for social justice.

Dubbed the Two River Rising series, the virtual summer program aims to “reflect the past, present and future of the theater’s diverse range of programming including reimagined classics and world premieres by the industry’s most adventurous theater artists,” according to Two River Theater’s website.

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