Casting a girl as a rasha in a school play- ok or not?

amother

Currant

Sun, Feb 18 2024, 3:46 am

In second grade so many of us wanted to be antiochus. It was such a fun and funny song. I didn't get the part, I got a duet right after it, but I still remember all the words to the antiochus part that wasn't even my role. Decades later.

amother

Lemon

Sun, Feb 18 2024, 4:05 am

Currant, what is your point? That the villain is a plum role kids envy and OP should enjoy the fact that her DD is talented enough to play it , or that you were so enamored of a villain role you didn't even play that OP should worry about how this role will influence her dd's future behavior irl?

amother

Currant

Sun, Feb 18 2024, 4:07 am

amother Lemon wrote:

Obviously the former. How do you even come to suggest the latter? Is there anything I wrote to suggest that there's a concern about my behavior? What in the world?

sruth1

Sun, Feb 18 2024, 4:51 am

amother Bluebonnet wrote:

I believe in Chabad schools they would not.

I went to Chabad elementary school and I played vashti in my second grade school play.

SuperWify

Sun, Feb 18 2024, 5:03 am

I was Hamas once and I loved every second of it.

Edited- whoops I was HamaN.

Last edited by SuperWify on Sun, Feb 18 2024, 7:09 am; edited 2 times in total

amother

Firethorn

Sun, Feb 18 2024, 6:20 am

amother Azalea wrote:

I think there is a difference between a 'bad guy' and someone going OTD. Our school once had a girl act out falling for the haskala/going OTD and a few years later, she did actually go OTD. Freaks me out a little.

There was a girl who had the main part in a very famous play and her character had a broken engagement. And she had a broken engagement a few years later.
I hope she's doing ok now.

imasinger

Sun, Feb 18 2024, 6:26 am

SuperWify wrote:

I was Hamas once and I loved every second of it.

Please tell me this was a typo!

amother

Maize

Sun, Feb 18 2024, 6:28 am

I played many villian parts throughout my school years. I have a strong personality.
Today I think the stereo type got it all wrong. Mordechai, Esther, Chana, Yehudit, ect. Were not aidel maidels. They had stregth of character and the power to resist.
Bottom line, I am totally fine today.

DrMom

Sun, Feb 18 2024, 7:29 am

SuperWify wrote:

I was Hamas once and I loved every second of it.

Edited- whoops I was HamaN.

amother

Yellow

Sun, Feb 18 2024, 7:34 am

amother OP wrote:

Is it ok for a school to cast a girl as a rasha in a school play, like Achashveirosh, Antiochus or any other and then after the girl says something like bow down to the idols, the chorus sings, the rasha said. At any age but this happens to be 7 year olds. Would it bother you?

In other schools do they do this? did they do this when you were a kid?

No problem to cast girls in roles of rashas. Done all the time here in Lakewood. Also in the oot city where I grew up.

However. If your dd does not want such a part thats ok too.c You and the hanhala should support that without makng a big deal. Someone else will be happy to take the part.

NechaMom

Sun, Feb 18 2024, 8:08 am

For those of you hoping that Hamas was a typo.
Do you notice that Haman was the same rasha and wanted to kill all jews? Why horrified that she was supposed to be Hamas and not Haman?
I can’t wait to have plays with Hamas as the bad guys and the yiden have a victory. May it be very soon!
But honestly, I wouldn’t want my daughter to play that role.
I think that typo brings the question to life because we can relate to the horrible evil modern day Haman.

amother

Steelblue

Sun, Feb 18 2024, 8:19 am

When I was a kid (not that long ago!) people used to dress up as vashti on Purim. People don't do that nowadays...

essie14

Sun, Feb 18 2024, 8:24 am

I was Vashti in our school Purim play. We definitely had an Achashverosh and Haman as well.

I also played a Nazi more than once in plays.

gootlfriends

Sun, Feb 18 2024, 8:29 am

When my son was in pre 1 a the teacher dressed up the boys during adar in each character. My son loved it. No one is calling your child a rasha. He or she is playing a part.

amother

Razzmatazz

Sun, Feb 18 2024, 8:31 am

Former preschool assistant here:
We used to privately ask the girls who we wanted to play Haman, Achashveirosh and vashti before announcing the casting.
No one ever said no to Haman and Achashveirosh: they were all really flattered. Some little girls said no to vashti. I'm not sure if it was because she had pimples or because it was a smaller part and they were hoping to get a larger part instead.

amother

Bisque

Sun, Feb 18 2024, 8:50 am

As a convert, when my kids were in school, I was super-sensitive to my children being cast as anything menial or a rasha. I thought there was some subliminal message that my child didn't deserve to be cast as a real Jew.

ShishKabob

Sun, Feb 18 2024, 8:54 am

I don't see an issue with it at all.
The only time I heard that things went south as a result from a play, was when they made a Yosef Shpiel years ago. Other than that it's okay playing Haman, Achashveirosh, Eisav, Vashti, Antioches etc..

amother

Blue

Sun, Feb 18 2024, 9:01 am

My kid was esther hamalkah. She really did look like a queen. The do it with 3 and 4 yo in my kids school. The CUTEST thing EVER.
The literally lived and breathed it for weeks. But would NOT sing her part at home. Cuz it's a surprise. 🤣 😂

At the end of the play the whole class sang a song about <kids> being a holy yiddisha neshama and her only playing haman.... was very appropriate for the kids.

I personally don't see an issue.

B'Syata D'Shmya

Sun, Feb 18 2024, 11:55 am

amother Apple wrote:

Based on the OP, it sounds like she's concerned her daughter will feel bad or something. Or internalize being called a rasha. So you could be right.

I was in plenty of plays growing up and everyone had a villain of some sort. What's the storyline otherwise? I always wished to be cast as a man or evil as it's so fun to play something so out of character but alas, it was not meant to be.

Exactly. It depends on the kid and their ability to compartmentalize the play as not real and she isnt really a rasha, just pretending in order to tell the story.