The Muppets are a boys’ club, and that sentence is definitely a new check mark on 2020 bingo. Throughout its 50 year history, the unique puppeteer team has largely retained an almost uncanny ability to remain topical and relevant in any given time. So it’s a bit surprising to take a look at its roster of performers and notice a rather striking lack of diversity.
Since the 1970s when The Muppet Show kicked off, the iconic characters have always been played by a core team of puppeteers, with occasional additions of both new performers and new Muppets alike. While these additions aren’t exactly unusual, it’s also true that the inclusion of new Muppet characters is a relatively uncommon occurrence, at least when it comes to recurring roles. So as a direct, if perhaps unintended result, the core team consisting of all male performers hasn’t seen much reason to diversify over the years.
On the surface level, that makes sense in a way. These are iconic characters, and while the people behind them may change, changing their overall styles would arguably eliminate what made them popular in the first place. Puppeteer Alice Dinnean, one of only two women who act as regular contributors with The Muppets, compared the goofy cast to that of Monty Python, where much of its humor came from its rather over the top portrayals of women by male actors (which is definitely another discussion worth having in this day and age). “Miss Piggy is a wonderful drag role,” she said, “she’s got that over-the-top, diva feel. That’s the tradition. She’s never going to be played by a woman, nor should she be. She will be played by a series of gentlemen through history.”
The sole other woman in The Muppets‘ steady block of regulars is Julianne Buescher, who has been part of the team for over 30 years while still somehow remaining excluded from the core cast. She even plays a lead role on the current show Muppets Now as Beverly Plume, a celebrity chef who happens to be a turkey, and yet still hasn’t been invited to join her peers. It’s worth mentioning that the credits list her as an “additional Muppet performer,” which normally describes puppeteers in “extra” roles, and brings with it a significantly lower paycheck. Perhaps this suggests that a chunk of the blame for its lack of diversity can be laid at the feet of Disney, which should be surprising to approximately nobody.
The relative success of The Muppets and their largely unchanging formula over the years shouldn’t mean that the current core group of white men should continue to be the norm just for the sake of tradition. Family Guy proved fairly recently that striving for better representation and inclusion doesn’t have to require compromise. So while, granted, it would be difficult to argue in favor of casting a woman to play a role voiced by men for the last 50 years, there’s something to be said for leaning towards people of color when inevitably replacing characters in the future.
So what can be done to boost diversity while remaining true to what The Muppets have always been as characters? Well, as mentioned earlier, diverse casting doesn’t necessarily mean changing the voices. But what about women? Surely the same can’t apply there? That may be true, but there are no rules, even within The Muppets, that ban the addition of new characters. Hire some versatile writers, try out some new female Muppet roles, and see what sticks. Maybe it’ll be a bit rocky at first, but representation matters, and it’s worth the wait.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
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