Maisel star stands for actors’ freedom
Aaron takes stand for craft
WHEN she was cast as Midge Maisel’s mother-in-law in The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, Caroline Aaron had no idea that a series about a very particular slice of mid-20th century Jewish life would strike a chord around the world.
But, like Fiddler on the Roof, the show has found an audience even where Jewish culture is all but non-existent, said Aaron in a talk hosted by The Braid, a Jewish women’s theatre.
“We went to Milan, to do international press, and there were journalists from China and India and all of the European countries.”
Aaron realised that “first and foremost, family is a universal … that deeply resonates with everyone”.
Aaron went on to defend the casting of Maisel, which includes Rachel Brosnahan as Midge Maisel, Tony Shalhoub and Marin Hinkle as her parents, and Luke Kirby as the legendary Jewish comedian Lenny Bruce. None of them are Jewish.
“I’m very concerned that we are confining the art of acting to ‘you have to be it to play it’,” said Aaron. “I think that acting in its purest form is taking a walk in someone else’s shoes. And ultimately, isn’t that the definition of empathy?”
WITH JTA
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