took to the streets, gathering in Manhattan’s theater district on Monday, to call for greater access and casting on Broadway.
The protest was spurred by recent comments by the famed producer of Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera, Cameron Mackintosh, who stated that casting trans actors in roles in classic musicals is a “gimmick.”Among those who spoke at the protest was Peppermint, star of RuPaul’s Drag Race, who is also the first Black trans woman to originate a principal role in a Broadway production in Head Over Heels. “When I look out, I see so many beautiful faces,” Peppermint said to the protesters. “Of the trans faces I see, I see actors, performers, speakers, writers, and creators.