Statement on Non-Traditional Casting

When J.B. was written in the late 1950's non-traditional casting was an unknown term and all actors in the original production would have been Caucasian and the same gender as they were written. But given that J.B. is a modern day retelling of the book of Job, most audience members would be at least a vaguely familiar with the plot. This familiarity with the subject of the play makes it possible to be a little different or non-traditional in casting.

J.B., our modern day Job would benefit from having a man cast in the role as opposed to a woman. Although not specifically stated in the script, this needs to be done to be true to the original biblical story and allow the audience to concentrate on the plot and not the casting. However, the role of J.B. could be played by an actor of any racial or ethnic background, in fact the original Job would have not been Caucasian but a Middle Eastern man. The actor playing the role of J.B.'s wife Sarah would also need to stay true to her gender but could be of any racial or ethnic background. J.B. and Sarah don't necessarily have to be of the same race or ethnicity, an interracial marriage is certainly a possibility. Given the possible racial ambiguity of the two main characters, the roles of their five children (David, Jonathan, Mary, Ruth, and Rebecca) could certainly also be of any racial or ethnic background. These five roles are a great opportunity to cast a lot of younger looking actors that have large variety in their shape, size, and color.

Mr. Zuss who takes on the role of God and Nickles who plays Satan are more open to being cast as differnt genders than J.B. and Sarah. In most productions I have researched they were both played by men but I have also found some instances of Mr. Zuss being played by a woman. They are of course open to being played by non-caucasian actors. The three comforters (Bildad, Eliphaz, and Zophar) are also open to being played by anyone except for Zophar. Zophar is a Catholic priest and therefore must be played by a man as the Catholic church does not allow women to become priests, only men. The distant voice (the voice of God) is just a voice who speaks biblical verses and is never seen onstage so it is open to being played by anyone. The distant voice could even be another member of the company who records all of the lines as opposed to a live actor saying the lines into a microphone. The chorus of townspeople (Mrs. Adams, Mrs. Murphy, Jolly, Mrs. Lesure, and Mrs. Botticelli) is another great opportunity to cast actors of different genders and backgrounds than may have been originally thought.

This show does have limitations that make it unable to be cast with a completely blind eye. However, the vast majority of roles could have anyone play them without regard to their gender or racial and ethnic backgrounds. That in combination with the sheer number of roles makes it possible for anyone to audition because this is definitley a show that could be enhanced with a non-traditional approach to casting.