re: HS principal says no to Urinetown. Catch: Same HS has done ACL and Les Miz in the past

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:05pm

http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/4659766.html

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:12pm

"Principal Devine says the bathroom humor and adult themes of the play--also played a part in their decision.
But the school's musical director who picked the musical says it's not inappropriate at all.

"There's no sex, no violence. I wouldn't hesitate to take a 6 year old...Never in a million years did I think this would be a controversial show," says Greg Chelcun, S.P.A.S.H's musical director.

Musicals like "Chorus Line" and "Les Miserable" have been performed right here on the stage and they deal with topics like prostitution and drinking but the principal says "Urinetown" is different.

Principal says the others were plays people were familiar with--shows that had been on broadway for years.

"This isn't about censorship. It's about putting on a positive musical that'll be widely accepted by the community," says Devine."

What a joke.

Updated On: 11/15/06 at 11:12 PM

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:13pm

Um, the principal is the boss.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:15pm

The boss isn't always right.

[luvliza89]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:16pm

Is this really anything new?

People are silly. I knew that already.

[thevolleyballer]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:17pm

To be completely honest, I don't see how these stories catch on. My principal refuses plenty of our ideas, both in Student Council and in the theatre department. Not enough to make news HERE, at least.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:17pm

"Principal says the others were plays people were familiar with--shows that had been on broadway for years."

By the way, URINETOWN was on Broadway for years. 3 years.

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:18pm

But the boss is always accountable. This is a non-issue.

[DRSisLove]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:21pm

Stupid.
Honestly, people these days.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:22pm

Well, apparently it is an issue. Kids are upset about it. And they have a right to be. And they shouldn't be dismissed just because some other person has more wrinkles than they do. Especially not on such ridiculous grounds. Kids should be heard and engaged when they take issue with something that is important to them. They shouldn't be pushed aside and made to feel invalid.

Updated On: 11/15/06 at 11:22 PM

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:29pm

They're not being made to feel invalid; they're just not getting to do the musical they wanted to.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:32pm

Good Lord. There are hundreds of musicals they can do - this is hardly a tragedy. No one is ever going to get their own way 100% of the time, and it doesn't matter if it's right or not - someone has to be in authority. You're all going to have lots of trouble in the real world.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:33pm

I think they certainly have a right to disagrre with the principal. Urinetown is a good, clean show, and it's frickin hilarious. There is no reason they shouldn't perfrom it.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:33pm

I don't get it? The show is so not offensive. It's the kind of humor found on Spongebob Squarpants. I mean, who doesn't find pee funny, ya know? It's such a tame show.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:40pm

Good Lord. There are hundreds of musicals they can do - this is hardly a tragedy. No one is ever going to get their own way 100% of the time, and it doesn't matter if it's right or not - someone has to be in authority. You're all going to have lots of trouble in the real world.

I'm in the real world. Been here a while. I'm just not in your real world. I believe that all decisions should be open to discussion and that everyone, especially in a school setting, should be respected as an equal, as to confidently prepare kids for the real worlds ahead of them and continue to build their confidence. It's "hardly a tragedy" to you, but for these kids, school is their day-to-day world, and for theater kids, their world is even smaller and it is vitally important to them.

Updated On: 11/15/06 at 11:40 PM

[wackjack132]

Posted: 11/16/06 at 12:04am

Yea...I mean guys this happens everyday probably.

Just this year in fact we were denied Grease because of innapropriate content. Which I guess it has some in it, but everyone and there grandma's seen that movie and knows its all about the "bad" teens.

But this is still pretty ridiculous.

[AnythingCanHappen]

Posted: 11/16/06 at 3:29am

so when the principal says "bathroom humor" do we think he meant to be punny? or was he being serious.

[ICEcreamAssassin]

Posted: 11/16/06 at 5:24am

omg urinetown? .. youd think they were doing "The Life"

I guess the fact the title mentions a bodily function is really offensive.. what we dont all urinate? Whats the teen girl pregnancy rate at this school!!? geez

[Kitzarina]

Posted: 11/16/06 at 8:23am

*Little Sally*
I don't think too many people are going to come see this musical, Officer Lockstock.

*Lockstock*
Why do you say that, Little Sally? Don't you think people want to be told that their way of life is unsustainable?

*Little Sally*
That, and the title's awful.

[Fiction Writer]

Posted: 11/16/06 at 8:49am

Oh.. Sally is one of my dream roles.

And I'm a 20 (and a half!) year old man.

I can dream, can't I?

[altoid06]

Posted: 11/16/06 at 9:42am

When I first saw Urinetown, I realized that this show would be one of the best shows for high schools to do. There is relatively no obscene content to have to make more "kid-friendly." You'd almost instantly have a good attendence showing, due to the high school kids wanting to see a show about something like paying to pee. And you wouldn't have to spend a fortune on costumes, staging, an props.

But high school musical censorship is hardly a new trend. My high school tried to do Grease (it was rejected due to content), West Side Story (also rejected), and Children of Eden (it was passed, but very reluctantly... Surprisingly, they didn't care if we did a musical with religious overtones, they just didn't think this one was well-known enough. The superintendent and principal wanted us to do "Godspell" or "Jesus Christ Superstar."

I feel for these students and for the director. It's hard to be thrown into a situation like this where you must adapt quickly and reluctantly. I hope they have a successful show.

[Ourtime992]

Posted: 11/16/06 at 10:20am

This must be the 5th or 6th thread I've read in the past 2 years about high school principals denying drama departments the opportunity to do this show. Sure, it's not the end of the world, but I find it ridiculous that it continues to happen, and I'll tell you why.

In many ways, Urinetown is one of the most perfect choices for high school theater productions. It contains, albeit in parodies and slight references, a veritable history of the American theater, from Weill and Brecht to West Side Story to Les Miz. Thematically the show deals with a pretty serious geographical and sociological problem, including a reference to an obscure but important theorist. It's actual content is strikingly clean -- the potty humor this principal speaks of is nowhere to be found. Greg Kotis told me that's no coincidence -- he called himself a prude who doesn't like cheap, crass jokes -- so the grounds for dismissing this production boil down to the title and nothing else.

If we call for local productions to perform exclusively works that their viewing public is already familiar with, we have abdicated our responsibility to teach those kids as well as our opportunity to educate our audiences.

Posted: 11/16/06 at 10:37am

"I believe that all decisions should be open to discussion and that everyone, especially in a school setting, should be respected as an equal, as to confidently prepare kids for the real worlds ahead of them and continue to build their confidence. It's "hardly a tragedy" to you, but for these kids, school is their day-to-day world, and for theater kids, their world is even smaller and it is vitally important to them."

I don't want to be rude, but this is a joke right? First, in my job, I certainly can disagree with my boss-- but the boss makes the rules. Disagree too much and the boss will decide to replace me. Kids need to be prepared to be told "NO" too.

And the Principal is the one with all the responsibility and authority here. If Mrs. Murphy gets outraged about the violence and "potty humor" in the school play, she doesn't call the kids who wanted to do it, she calls the Prinicpal. And the Principal is the one who gets canned if too many parents get outraged. The kids get detention for their poor judgement, the Principal gets fired.

Any way, Kids aren't equals. They are Kids. They are in school to learn. That's how you prepare them for the "Real World."

And Oh Yeah, it was 25 years ago, but my highschool had a problem with "Mame" because there was smoking and drinking.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 11/16/06 at 10:49am

Wow, this is in Wisconsin! Doesn't reflect that great on us that the journalist called it Les Misérable, but oh well.

Before I begin, I would like to say that I'm opposed to schools doing certain shows, and that I went to a Catholic school where even Jesus Christ Superstar was censored and we weren't even allowed to do Grease or West Side Story due to gang themes. But come on, this is just plain hypocrisy and double standards. Anyone can see that it's really the potty humor that bothers the principal; I doubt he even knows what the show is about.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 11/16/06 at 11:11am

This has been happening since there were high schools and theater. When I was in school, we couldn't do ANNIE GET YOUR GUN because of the racist references. We couldn't do GREASE because of the sexual references. And - we got over it.