I don't know that all of the actors who have played Usher have been gay men, but they have been black and I assume they have not been padded physically. But for those that are gay men, they are continuing the strange loop itself - a musical about a black overweight queer man writing a musical about the same, etc, and being played by an actor with the same attributes. And the musical, as we know, doesn't at all shy away from the dark sides of all of these attributes and even more intimate details. (I was thinking when the Boston Pops recently did a Broadway night that included "Memory Song," how many people in the audience unfamiliar with the song got the penis size reference?) So, it's a role that demands a lot from the actor who's inevitably facing a whole lot of his own demons in the show every night. Some actors can turn that off and just play the play, and others can't. I think it's a much more intense and personal situation with this role than with many others. |