Exploring Theatre Hot Takes: Trans-Inclusive Casting Requires Musical Flexibility
by Chris Peterson
Theatre people always have opinions and sometimes those opinions come in hot. Recently, I put out a call on social media asking for your boldest, spiciest theatre takes, and the responses did not disappoint. From thought-provoking critiques to eyebrow-raising declarations, you gave me plenty to chew on.
So here’s what we’re going to do: I’ll be exploring as many of these submissions as I can in this column series. Some I may agree with, others I may not, but that’s the fun of it. Theatre thrives on conversation, and even the most out-there hot take can lead to surprising insights and fascinating discussions.
Think of this as an open forum, where no opinion is too bold to examine. Ready to dive in? Click on the “Exploring Theatre Hot Takes” tag at the bottom to keep up with every installment.
Noah Webster submitted this, and it got me thinking,
"If musical directors really wanna be trans-inclusive in their casting, they’ve gotta be willing to adjust vocal parts at least a little."
I will say this up front. I am not a music composition expert. I do not read scores fluently and I have never orchestrated a show. But I have been around theatre long enough to see something very clearly. Musical theatre is already flexible when it needs to be.
When Broadway revives a show, when a big-name star takes on a role, or when a local theatre is simply trying to make the music work for its performers, adjustments get made. Keys are shifted. Harmonies are re-voiced. Sometimes entire songs are slightly reshaped to make them land with more impact.
That is why when people argue that musical directors who want to be trans-inclusive need to be willing to adjust vocal parts, my response is simple. Yes. This is not a radical reinvention of the art form. It is extending the flexibility that already exists and applying it in a way that creates equity and opportunity.
Theatre training has long relied on rigid categories like soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone. These boxes do not always reflect the realities of trans and nonbinary singers. A trans man might have trained his chest voice extensively but not fit neatly into the traditional baritone mold. A trans woman might have a soaring head voice that does not align with the expected soprano placement. Nonbinary singers often find themselves existing outside of these categories altogether.
And yet no two voices are the same, trans or cis. If you have ever heard different productions of Dreamgirls you know that “And I Am Telling You” sounds a little different in every staging. If you have ever seen multiple Valjeans sing “Bring Him Home” you know the vocal color and choices shift each time. Flexibility is not the exception. It is the rule.
There is a myth that musical theatre scores are sacred documents that cannot be altered. But history proves otherwise. Stephen Sondheim worked with performers directly to make sure his music fit their voices. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s shows have been transposed and rearranged endlessly to suit whoever is in the role. Even iconic numbers have been shifted up, down, or sideways depending on the performer.
If this kind of adjustment happens regularly for reasons of star power, vocal health, or simple preference, then why not extend the same practice to include trans and nonbinary performers? Why is it acceptable to bend the score for a celebrity but not for an emerging artist whose voice simply falls outside the traditional box?
For musical directors, trans-inclusivity does not mean rewriting an entire score from scratch. It can be as simple as lowering a key, redistributing a harmony, or shifting a voicing to better suit the performer.
These are the same kinds of adjustments that happen all the time in rehearsal rooms. What needs to change is the mindset. Instead of seeing it as an inconvenience, directors should see it as a responsibility to make the stage more welcoming.
Theatre is about storytelling, empathy, and imagination. If audiences can accept green witches, singing cats, and barricades that roll across the stage, then surely they can accept a singer performing a role in a slightly different key. What matters is not the exact notes on the page but the truth of the performance.
I will say it again. I am not the expert who can explain every technical detail of adjusting a score. But I have seen enough rehearsals and productions to know this. Scores shift constantly. They are never as frozen as we sometimes pretend. Doing so to open doors for trans and nonbinary performers is not bending the rules. It is living up to the spirit of theatre itself. The stage adapts. The stage evolves. The stage makes room for more people to shine.