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Cast, Crew, and Plot

The original film of Reservoir Dogs is, without a question, racist and misogynistic. There are multiple scenes where racial slurs are used liberally, written by a white director for white actors to say. Harmful stereotypes about Black people, specifically incarcerated Black men, are passed off as jokes. And there is only one woman in the whole movie -- who gets shot in the face milliseconds after appearing onscreen. It is by no means a flawless or progressive movie.

In the musical, I hope to mitigate some of the harm caused. If it was ever produced anywhere, I would hire a creative team full of women and people of color. The casting would also be done in such a way that is gender- and race- blind. Mr. Orange, for example, doesn't need to be a man. If the actor cast in the role is female, the name would simply be changed to "Ms. Orange" and "Winnifred Newandyke." The only caveat is that the actors for Mr. Orange and Mr. White must be the same gender in order to have the relationship be a queer one.

Mr. Orange and Mr. White, as well as Mr. Blonde and Nice Guy Eddie, have romantic feelings for each other within the canon of the musical. Mr. Blonde and Nice Guy Eddie are more explicit; they kiss each other on the lips. Mr. Orange outright says that he has feelings for Mr. White and the subtext is that Mr. White returns those feelings. Mr. Pink is also implied to be gay. 

Adding queerness to the plot further intensifies Mr. Orange's internal struggle with what he perceives as "right" or "wrong." His whole deal is that he is a cop undercover as a criminal. He's battling back the guilt and the shame, and also his turmoil. Inside, he asks: Are they really the bad guys? What is right? What is wrong? This is exacerbated by his newfound feelings for Mr. White, one of the criminals he's supposed to be hunting.


In terms of plot, I have changed around the order of some events for the purposes of adapting it to the stage. Mr. Pink's backstory isn't shown, just narrated by him. Mr. Orange's "You're fucking Baretta" moment is drawn out into an entire song. But perhaps the most meaningful alteration of plot is the final scene. The film ends with Mr. Orange confessing to Mr. White, and Mr. White bringing his gun to Mr. Orange's head and shooting. But the musical ends with the confession, and then Mr. Orange moves Mr. White's hand -- holding the gun -- to his face, and asks him to shoot. We then get a full blackout when the two gunshots sound, so we don't know who takes a bullet.

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