Celebrities have begun taking over Broadway. From TikTok star Charli D’Amelio in the ensemble of  “& Juliet” to retired pop star Nicole Scherzinger leading “Sunset Blvd.,” many notable names have begun appearing in the pages of Playbills. Most of the scenarios in which famous people are cast in Broadway shows are called stunt casts, which is when hiring teams cast celebrities to generate publicity and gain attention. Think of all the *NSYNC fans buying tickets to “& Juliet” because Joey Fatone recently joined the show. Stunt casting is a good way to increase ticket sales and keep shows running.

Some other celebrities currently starring on Broadway include Sarah Hyland in “The Great Gatsby” and Adam Lambert and Auli‘i Cravalho in “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club.” While their talent is immense — some more than others — the act of casting famous actors actively takes opportunities away from aspiring stars. For example, D’Amelio is not a trained actor or singer, yet she is in a Broadway musical. This seems hardly fair to the 10,000-plus actors auditioning for Broadway roles yearly. 

Plays often have a celebrity in their cast since they are less popular than musicals — a common case of stunt casting. Notable examples include Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick in “Plaza Suite,” Jessica Chastain in “Doll’s House,” Shailene Woodley in “Cult of Love,” Kit Connor in “Romeo + Juliet” and Sadie Sink in the upcoming “John Proctor Is the Villain.” Thus, it is often necessary to cast someone famous to keep a show open, so the whole production team won’t lose their jobs. 

Nonetheless, I believe that Hollywood should remain separate from Broadway because the stars seem to dull the shine of such stage productions. The presence of celebrity cast members takes away from the overall performance that should transport audience members into the show. Recently, I saw “Sunset Blvd.” on Broadway starring Nicole Scherzinger. I had one issue with Scherzinger herself: she wasn’t playing Norma Desmond, she was playing herself. Her pop star and television personality persona took away from her performance. When she sang “As If We Never Said Goodbye,” arguably the biggest song in “Sunset Blvd.,” the number was overshadowed by the fact that it was Scherzinger singing, not Norma Desmond. Even though the actress’ voice was strained as she belted and her acting choices were poor, she received applause that lasted over a minute. From my seat in the last row of the mezzanine, I watched with raised eyebrows as one man stood up to give a standing ovation — alone. It was clear to me that if the performance had been exactly the same but without Scherzinger’s face, the applause would have lasted a common 20 seconds, with no standing ovations. There were even references to Scherzinger’s career within the show, as, at one point, a character held up a Pussycat Dolls poster — Scherzinger’s retired girl group. This took me out of the performance, as I felt that I was watching Scherzinger play Norma Desmond, rather than simply watching Norma Desmond.

However, the spectrum between the undeserving privileged star and the deserving starlet is not so simple. A celebrity on Broadway who I think deserves the role is Rachel Zegler, starring in “Romeo + Juliet.” Zegler gained her fame after playing Maria in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story,” and has since had many musical roles in cinema. Thus, I do not believe she is ineligible for Broadway roles compared to other actors who may only be getting cast for their name rather than their talent. Nick Jonas, for example, has been receiving lots of hate online in response to the promotional content for the upcoming Broadway premiere of “The Last Five Years.” Compared to his opposite, Tony Award-winning Adrienne Warren, Jonas’ vocals lack. 

Actors deserving of Broadway roles are being cast aside — or, rather, not cast. While most celebrities do deserve the roles they are cast in, these opportunities should be left for stage actors who have dreamed of and trained to be in a Broadway show. They should get a chance to shine. Nonetheless, celebrities are people too, with dreams and aspirations. The words George Benson sings in “On Broadway” ring true for many: “I won’t quit till I’m a star on Broadway.”