"La Cage Aux Folles" Banned at School- Page 2

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 12:04am

"We have done worse shows with little moral value."

If you're going to fight this out with the powers-that-be, try not to sound like a Jane Austen character.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 12:05am

Whatever2 --I'm not sure what you mean by the school here making the process so public. It seems to be a student making it "public". And one that seems pissed that the board doesn't see a problem with their choice being turned down.

GossipGuy -- You have done "worse" shows with little moral value? What does that even mean?

Honestly, you simply sound like a pouty child that didn't get his way.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 12:11am

I agree with Mama. He's acting like this is the end of the world. This is not the first time that an administration has stopped a show from being performed. In 5-6 years this will be a small memory of the past for him. It's not a serious injustice.

Updated On: 8/1/13 at 12:11 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 12:15am

It's not an injustice in any way, it's a disappointment.

Somewhere, society decided that disappointment should never happen to children. You know, so they'd be prepared to face the fair real world.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 12:17am

So damn true.

[justincharacter]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 12:22am

Just choose another show. Years ago at my high school, they had chose to perform Jesus Christ Superstar, and the community didn't like the idea. So, they had to pick another one.

These days you can't underestimate high school productions. My high school's theater department is award-winning and each show costs 35K to 40K to put on each. We (especially our director) takes the matter of quality very serious, we don't want crappy, cardboard sets, junk...

Updated On: 8/1/13 at 12:22 AM

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 12:22am

There are times to be upset that the powers that be decide not to go forward with a show. I just don't see this as being one of those times. It seems that the show was simply not chosen for production. It is not as if the show was chosen, cast, and rehearsing, and then all of the sudden shut down due to an objection.

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 2:55am

If it were me, I would choose another show that still had gay themes to sort of spite those who stopped La Cage from happening. I would suggest doing Zanna Don't, a rarely produced show that can be very fun. Plus, everybody is age-appropriate for the roles. Also, it's quite easy to describe the show without going into its gay themes, so there could be less of a risk of the show being turned down. Plus, I think more students would feel comfortable just playing a gay character than performing in drag. In a high school, I don't think you should perform a show that you obviously know many students would feel uncomfortable performing.

[justincharacter]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 3:10am

Or, if MTI accepts a early request for the rights, go with Dogfight. Great male roles, has a upbeat, fun, contemporary and GORGEOUS score that high school students will enjoy, and it's a heartwarming story with a great moral. Although a lot of the language will need to be cut down

Updated On: 8/1/13 at 03:10 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 9:28am

Danny -- Well, that would be an immature response. Sometimes the answer is "no" and people just need to respect that. You DON'T always get what you want. IF the admin doesn't read the script first (which they likely will) and then the students produce and then they "spite" them by lying....they'll get into loads of trouble.

[dreaming]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 9:57am

See, the way I view La Cage is a musical about a FAMILY, albeit a non-traditional one-and accepting different types of families. And given today's political climate, I do find it to be a highly poignant piece.

That said, it's the board's decision.

More board friendly options include:

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (I think there is a high school edition-and I don't think it's too taxing in the soprano department)

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (again, not as certain how high the soprano roles are, but I don't think they're all that high)

Godspell might be pushing it, but our local high school (in a rural town no less) got away with it (you do need one strong female singer).

Good luck!

[finebydesign]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 10:13am

"I also agree that a high school is not a democracy. However, La Cage's themes of self-acceptance and tolerance are most assuredly not inappropriate for a high school, especially in this day and age. (It Gets Better, anybody?) "

Then do Hairspray.

[dreaming]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 10:19am

finebydesign-your suggestion would be okay except we don't know the demographics of the school here. I know where I grew up we could not have done Hairspray because of the lack of diversity in the community.

If there is that level of diversity in the school, then that suggestion is pretty good.

[whatever2]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 10:47am

dramarama: as I understand the OP, two candidate productions were announced ... auditions were held ... and La Cage subsequently was deemed inappropriate. That sounds like a pretty public process to me.

who(m)ever: what none of us -- including me -- knows here is the reason for the decision. And in the normal course it's none of our business, EXCEPT that the school allowed its selection process to play out in public. For all we know, homophobia permeated the decision-making. Highly unlikely, yeah -- but if the students aren't given the opportunity to understand the decision -- which, again, is NOT theirs to make and shouldn't have been made within earshot -- there's a real chance that at least some in the student body will infer or invent a homophobic animus from the silence.

I agree completely that the OP sounds pouty. But teenagers come that way; adults have a responsibility to try to look beyond the snark to see if there's a genuine issue that needs addressing. I'm tired of opening the paper to read the agonized suicide notes of tortured gay teens (two widely reported in July alone), so all I'm saying is it would be nice to know that an appropriate message about the decision has been (or will be) delivered to kids who may need to hear it.

It's only going to Get Better for gay youth when adults start paying attention to this sh*t.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 11:13am

I have no idea what the OP meant by using the word auditions -- it made no sense to me.

Additionally, it sounds like if they DID audition, they did so prematurely, as they didn't even have the rights secured yet. Likewise, you don't know if they jumped the gun even requesting the rights if they hadn't gotten approval. (Especially considering it sounds like they NEED that school approval.)

THAT doesn't make it a public process -- that makes moving forth without permission (right or school's permission) the mistake. We only know this one student's version -- and we don't know it in any detail at that.

It's our business in the sense that the OP made it our business. I disagree that its the school's fault or that they made it "public" in any way....we have no idea how that was handled...but I put more blame (from what we know) on the students that seems to in charge of this. If its not student run, then where is the adult in charge? No mention has been made of this, which is why I think its a student production.

To automatically assume that its homophobic is short sighted.

I truly think the OP came here expecting that we would be all up in arms and backing him up, so he could go back to school to vilify the decision. That didn't happen.

[whatever2]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 11:22am

dramarama: please show me where I "automatically assumed that it's homophobic" ... I bent over backwards to try to make it clear I was *not* assuming any such thing. or did you mean the kids? in which case: teenagers? short-sighted? surely you jest ... :)

regardless, in the absence of something kids can relate to, assumptions will get made. and that concern I am bending over backwards *to* highlight.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 11:34am

An actor does not have to have identical life experiences to a character in order to pull it off.

Including those who won Tonys for playing the role.

Personally, I would love to see a high school tackle La Cage, but sadly, I just don't think this country is there yet. The show itself is actually pretty tame in its content and wouldn't need much cutting. But we're a long way off from having a majority of parents comfortable with their boys playing drag queens (unlike a comedic drag schtick in Sugar or the gender-bending casting of Edna in Hairspray). I doubt you'd get much support to do Falsettos or Bare, either.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 12:01pm

And, as an educator, I would highly doubt that the students were only told, "Denied". I'd be shocked if they were not given the specific reasons. (Schools, under most circumstances, take every opportunity to teach. I would suspect that at a performing arts school, they would even be more likely to explain even over the average school.)

And again, if it ISN'T a student sponsored production, I can guarantee that at least the adult in charge was given very specific reasons.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 1:29pm

finebydesign-your suggestion would be okay except we don't know the demographics of the school here.

I went to a private Catholic school with VERY little diversity and a whole lot of stupidity. One girl (a junior in high school I might add) suggested that we do Hairspray. The drama teacher told her that we did not have enough diverse students to properly cast the show properly. Her response was this, "We could always like rent some of them." She was dead serious. I kid you not.

And honestly there are HUNDREDS of other shows to choose from. They said no. Sometimes in life that's the answer.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 1:34pm

I would totally fight this battle if I were you. With all going on around the world in regards to LGBT rights, THIS one show teaches about love and acceptance. And for a school in Marin County to ban it is simply wrong.

I would approach the media, cause in your area they would be interested and demand the reasons. It is not inappropriate, it is needed. There are still high and middle schoolers killing themselves because they feel less than human. Who knows, maybe seeing this could even make someone realize they ARE OK being who they are.

[jdavisinaustin]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 1:36pm

OP: I actually agree with your school's decision. LA CAGE AUX FOLLES is for mature audiences, and therefore it is inappropriate viewing for some parents. And no, you didn't read that incorrectly.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 1:46pm

I think Joe said it best... Learn to PICK YOUR BATTLES. If you personally feel this is a worthy cause to fight for, do it. No one is stopping you. But I'd be shocked if your entire student body rallies around it. Also, I suppose you could elevate this and make it bigger than it needs to be -- as Elphaba is oddly suggesting -- but let's get real...

They said "no" to a show that you really wanted to do and now you're coming on here looking for sympathy. It's immature and unattractive and unless we're not getting the full story here, it concerns me more that your teacher is not raising any kind of grievance with the administration. If they aren't willing to speak up and fight for it, you're going to lose the battle before you even start.

My own advice comes from a Sondheim classic: Move On.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 2:35pm

It's important to note the OP never said they weren't given the reason for having permission denied. I highly suspect they were told.

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 2:46pm

"If it were me, I would choose another show that still had gay themes to sort of spite those who stopped La Cage from happening"

So many of you are assuming that the issue with the show was definitely the gay theme. We do not know that to be the truth. We only know that the school decided not to choose this show, that is it, we have no other facts here. This student is only speculating. The school may have had other reasons for saying no, or MTI may have denied the rights due to a nearby regional production set to be staged around the same time, or for any othe reason for that matter. Without ALL of the facts there is no reason to spite anyone, nor to rally for a fight.

The school said no, the rights were not secured, auditions were not held, and the kiddies will be doing another show. Schools say no to shows all the time. There is no harm, no foul here.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 2:48pm

This is not an MTI title, for the record, but I agree with everything else here. It's pretty simple. The kids should move on.