Woody Allen’s new play, “Bullets Over Broadway,” which opened on Thursday night in New York City, is getting some negative attention for featuring a nearly all-white cast, even though there is a scene set in a famed Harlem nightclub.
Allen’s play only features one non-white cast member, who appears in the dance ensemble, according to the New York Daily News.
A source told the newspaper that Allen specifically requested no black actors appear in the show. Zach Braff makes his Broadway debut in the show.
“Casting was considering a big-name African-American actor for the play, but Woody passed because he just got the idea that a black gangster wouldn’t be good," a source told the Daily News. "One man wasn’t asked back and then was told it was Woody who didn’t want any black gangsters.”
A rep for the controversial director insisted to the Daily News that Allen didn’t cast based on race.
“It has always been Woody Allen’s priority to cast the exact appropriate person for a role regardless of race, which has never been a consideration,” the rep said.
Allen’s publicist did not return FOX411’s request for further comment.
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