The NAACP pressuring a school to censor ragtime- Page 2

[ChairinMain]

Posted: 1/25/17 at 2:13am

I saw the LA production at the end of it's run and "Justice" and "President" were definitely in the show. There was no rape scene and Sarah was kiilled by the police. It's certainly possible that changes were made early on, but my understanding is that the show was frozen in LA and went to Broadway basically unchanged.

...God, I miss the Schubert Theater. 

[AC126748]

Posted: 1/25/17 at 9:36am

OK, so I actually attended the community meeting last night. At least based on what I saw, the community clearly favors presenting the show as written. Several of the students performing in the show spoke out against the changes, including the students cast as Sarah and Willie Conklin.

A small but vocal minority remain in favor of the change.. The vice-president of the local NAACP branch said (I'm closely paraphrasing) that the use of the N-word in a work of art delegitimizes it, and don't try to tell me differently. So, that's the attitude they're dealing with on the other side.

The school principal is still in favor of the change, and commented that in his opinion, using the N-word "continues to give it life." He said that he had contacted MTI to request permission to alter the script. He was asked what, if any, possible substitutions there would be for the N-word and his reply was that he didn't know.

I would say that there is a very strong chance the production might be canceled, which would be a loss for all involved.

Updated On: 1/25/17 at 09:36 AM

[Kad]

Posted: 1/25/17 at 9:55am

This is truly a ridiculous controversy.

[whatever2]

Posted: 1/25/17 at 10:50am

i'm a little surprised the NAACP's national organization hasn't stepped in here ... i mean, it'd have to be gingerly, of course, but at this point there's no way they're not aware of the situation.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 1/25/17 at 6:05pm

ChairinMain said: "I saw the LA production at the end of it's run and "Justice" and "President" were definitely in the show. There was no rape scene and Sarah was kiilled by the police. It's certainly possible that changes were made early on, but my understanding is that the show was frozen in LA and went to Broadway basically unchanged.

...God, I miss the Schubert Theater. 

 

"

Thank you, Chairinmain, for the correction. (The more I've thought about it since yesterday, the less likely it seems that Colehouse would leave Sarah with the men who smashed his car.) I feel sure your recollection is the right one.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 1/25/17 at 6:50pm

Thanks for the clarification!  For some reason I thought that they shot her (even though I've seen the revival on Broadway and heard that line in "Til We Reach That Day" a million times.  Ah well).

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 1/25/17 at 7:29pm

Watch out, Spork! I seem to have the contagious strain of Alzheimer's. LOL.