A cast member of a Broadway musical is taking legal action against a production company, claiming she experienced racial discrimination and retaliation while on tour.
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Zuri Washington, who was cast as Declaration of Independence signer Robert Livingston in the revival of “1776,” says producers ignored her requests for certain considerations around styling her hair and released her from the cast when she threatened to file a formal complaint.
According to The Los Angeles Times, the actress asked for a wig or a protective style to avoid worrying about the amount of time and products it would take to maintain her natural hair on tour. She says her ask was based on the damage to her locs she experienced while touring with the musical “Hairspray.”
Washington alleges that her multiple emails went unanswered. While white actors received wigs (even some who did not ask for them), she and the other actors of color in the cast were denied, she said. Instead, she received a last-minute picture of a protective style producers wanted her to wear, leaving her no time to find a stylist or the products she needed.
“I was made to feel like I did something wrong in the course of this entire experience, and I know I didn’t do anything wrong,” Washington told the Times. “I could have done things differently, perhaps. But what they did to me is like a legal version of tone-policing, and like I’m being constantly punished for existing and telling my truth.”
The Tony award-winning “1776,” which premiered in 1969, tells the story of the events prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. But the revival’s directors, who wanted to give the show “a new frame,” chose a diverse cast that looked less like the Founding Fathers and more like the country we live in.
From the show’s website:
“A glorious multiracial cast of female, transgender, and nonbinary actors portrays the fiery founders of this country, putting history in the hands of the humans who were left out the first time around.”
Given the show’s stated mission of diversity, Washington says she hoped she’d receive more care and consideration when it came to protecting her locs.
“Black hair has been a hot-button issue within the theatrical community for many years now, so at this point, it feels like willful ignorance,” she said. “You’re putting us in these productions, but you’re not taking care of us, and it ends up imbuing harm on our spirits and our bodies that we have to use eight shows a week.”
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