Should this lady be refused permission to sing a song – because she is white ?
It seems that some theatre impresarios, out of fear of being branded discriminatory to artists of colour, are making decisions that discriminate against white artists, which are being perceived by some as a unpleasant new kind of race-based injustice.
This lady has been denied permission to sing a song at the Albert Hall, apparently for racial reasons.
She’s white and Jewish, and one of the most electrifying singers in Britain. Her name is Mazz Murray, and Queen fans will remember her incredible 8 year run playing the part of Killer Queen in our musical We Will Rock You. She’s currently starring in Chicago, the musical, in London’s West End.
Mazz was booked to headline a concert at the Albert Hall (October 8th) – the planned highlight being her outstanding performance of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”. Now this is a song featured in the successful musical Dreamgirls currently playing at the Savoy Theatre, London. When the producers of the Albert Hall show asked for permission for Mazz to sing the song, they were told that Dreamgirls is an “African American Musical” and they did not think it appropriate for a non-BAME company to perform the songs from it. So Mazz has been denied permission to sing the song because she’s not black.
Does anybody out there find this shocking ? Unjust ?
As a writer of songs myself, I would be horrified if any singer was denied the right to sing one of my songs because he or she was ‘from the wrong ethnic group’. Surely it’s insane that, while the musical Hamilton has been applauded for putting black artists on the stage to play famously white historical figures, and soon we will have a black Emily Pankhurst – this fabulous white singer is banned from singing an “African American” song in a concert ?
What a strange world this is becoming. W
hat think you, folks ? Do you think musicals should henceforth be identified with one ethnic group, and nobody who doesn’t belong to that group should be allowed to perform the songs ?
Or should Mazz Murray be given the chance to perform this excellent torch song at the Albert Hall ?
Bri
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