Should a White Actor Be Allowed to Play a Robot?

Can a 100% Jewish actor replace a Jewish-looking hapa actor as a robot in a Broadway musical? It's 2025, not 2020, but the Washington Post still cares.

From the Washington Post’s Style section (i.e., not from the Opinion section):

This Broadway recasting of an Asian American with a White actor is a big misstep

The decision by “Maybe Happy Ending” to replace Tony winner Darren Criss with Andrew Barth Feldman has drawn justifiable backlash.

July 31, 2025 at 5:49 p.m. EDT

Column by Naveen Kumar

“Maybe Happy Ending” began as an underdog, its uncertain fate summed up by the title. When the rom-com about two outdated humanoid robots opened in November, it defied the reigning formulas for Broadway musicals spun from popular movies or song catalogues, with its dazzling score, oddball story and intimate, gorgeously executed production. Critical acclaim and word of mouth helped “Maybe Happy Ending” prove that quality and originality can still win out on Broadway. Its ticket sales increased and it took home six Tony Awards, including for star Darren Criss, who made history as the first Asian American to win best leading actor in a musical.

Now, the production is engulfed in controversy over its decision to cast a White actor, Andrew Barth Feldman, to take over the role when Criss leaves at the end of August.

Quiz: Is this gentleman below the deplorably White actor Andrew Barth Feldman or the admirably Asian actor Darren Criss or the puzzlingly Miscellaneous politician Zohran Mamdani?

OK, that’s …

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