Morrible argument (Images via Joan Marcus & video still) British theater legend Cameron Mackintosh — a billionaire who's never forgotten what it was like to stand in line for the cheap seats, guffaw — recently said in an interview that casting a transgender actor would “damage the integrity” of a classic show, calling it a “gimmick.” Discussing his (pretty darn shitty) musical version of Mary Poppins and whether Mary could be played by a trans actor, Mackintosh said: You can’t implant something that is not inherently there in the story or character, that’s what I think.
Just to do that, that becomes gimmick casting. It’s trying to force something that isn’t natural. “Unnatural” — definitely what trans people love to hear from potential