Yes, exactly, that’s the distinction people keep missing. Stunt casting is not “recognizable person in a show.” It’s someone being cast mainly because their name, follower count, or novelty value will generate attention regardless of whether they can actually carry the role. A proper theatre name, an original cast member, or someone with serious stage training is just star casting.
Leslie is obviously not stunt casting. He is an established stage performer with a major theatre résumé and the ability to back it up. Same with Aaron Tveit, Jeremy Jordan, Jonathan Groff, Audra McDonald, Sutton Foster, Idina Menzel, etc. These people are famous within theatre because they are genuinely good.
Beanie was different because the issue was not “how dare a known person be cast,” it was whether she had the vocal/stage fit for that specific role. That’s where stunt-casting criticism actually makes sense, but lumping bona fide theatre performers in with random novelty casting just because their names sell tickets is stupid. Ticket-selling ability does not magically cancel out talent. Sometimes people become names because they can actually do the job.
And honestly, Lea Michele should have been cast in Funny Girl from the start. Before anyone starts shrieking “stunt casting,” she got her start on Broadway as a child, did Spring Awakening, and could actually sing the score. That is not a random famous person being shoved into a lead because marketing panicked. That is someone with an actual theatre background being cast in a role she was obviously suited for.
I’d argue the recent Chess revival is another example. Even with a theatre name like Aaron Tveit involved, the production clearly depended heavily on Lea’s presence. The show ended up closing on the same date she was due to leave, which rather proves the point: her casting was not just some gimmick, it was a major reason the revival worked commercially at all. That is not stunt casting, that is a bankable theatre performer helping make a notoriously difficult show viable.