Regardless of whether or not casting her as Juliet was the right decision, there's one thing that's very hard to deny:

And quite rightly so.

The views on society of some crusty old white man from hundreds of years is the last thing any decent person in 2024 should be seeking. Anyone participating in affirming his world view should, quite rightly, be dismissed as a racist...

The vast majority of people recognize his work and how influential it was. His legacy still affects art even today.

If this was some school play, nobody would care. But this is professional theater, which comes with higher standards. If she was at least hot, most people wouldn’t care as much. But they chose an ugly woman on purpose. This isn’t an isolated incident either, they’ve been doing this for years.

No, they're all highly-cultured Thomas Middleton scholars.