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NEW YORK (FOX5NY/AP) - The hottest show on Broadway is being criticized for an open casting call asking for "NON-WHITE" men and women to audition.
The show is notable for its casting of black, Latino, and Asian actors in the roles of the Founding Fathers and other characters.
The musical is holding casting calls in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles for both the Broadway production and upcoming national tours. Producers are looking for rappers, singers, and actors between the ages of 20 and 40.
Actors' Equity Association union said the language used in the casting notice was not in compliance with its rules.
Show producers responded by saying that it will update the notice and that "we welcome people of all ethnicities to audition."
When the show was first being produced off-Broadway, it specifically called for nonwhite actors to play Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, Aaron Burr, Thomas Jefferson and Eliza Hamilton, the AP reported. Only the casting of the role of King George II called for a white man.
"Hamilton" producers said such a stance adheres to the accepted practice that certain characteristics in certain roles constitute a legal and "bona fide occupational qualification." Other shows also cast with ethnicity in mind.
With the Associated Press