Stunt casting shakes up Broadway for the worse

By CASEY WIEDERHOLD Photography Editor

I remember in 2019 when I went to see Colleen Ballinger in “Waitress: The Musical.” I was a huge fan of both at the time and had to do everything I could to convince my parents to purchase tickets for the show. I had the tickets in time for my birthday and that was how I spent the day: in New York to see one of my favorite YouTubers live and in person.

Stunt casting situations like this one happen all of the time on Broadway, and not always for the better. Stunt casting is when productions use celebrities in order to generate media publicity.

In fact, singer Joanna “JoJo” Levesque just made her Broadway debut in “Moulin Rouge! The Musical.” Levesque can sing; she has popular hits such as “Leave (Get Out)” and “Baby It’s You.” She was the youngest female artist to be nominated for a Billboard Music Award in 2004, when she was only 13 years old.

Apart from having singing capabilities, Levesque has to have some dance abilities if she’s able to handle the “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” choreography. But I have yet to hear one comment about her acting. Levesque came to the show after Ashley Loren left, and the show has lost money ever since. According to PlayBill.com, the musical has lost around $330,000. This could just be because Aaron Tveit and Loren left, since during their last week sales skyrocketed. But I won’t have an opinion on Levesque until I see her for myself.