<p>soozievt, I don’t disagree with you at all, on the merits. I think the idea that Cabaret condones abortion is absurd, by the way. But I guess I would tend to defer to long-time school administrators and teachers who know what kinds of subjects are going to create controversy and bad feelings in the school.</p>
<p>Hunt, I understand your point about the school considering what themes may create some controversy. However, I am of the sort that they should not avoid topics that may create some controversy but to stand by their principles. There will always be some who do not agree. I recall a school in the midwest that tried to cancel Grease and The Crucible due to complaints by just a few parents of a certain religious order, I believe. Should a few speak for all? Who decides the criteria for selection? And don’t students grapple with some of these same themes in literature or history or social studies classes too? I personally think the themes in Cabaret are very important and powerful for students to discuss and learn about.</p>
<p>Well, sure. My point is just that different school communities will have different levels of sensitivity about different issues. I think my kids’ school is probably too cautious. But I can easily imagine a school declining to do, say, The Producers, because they know that a substantial portion of the community simply will not find anything relating to Nazis to be funny. I can imagine high schools where, say, Agnes of God, would just cause too much unpleasantness.</p>
<p>I understand the point. I just don’t agree with that line of reasoning for a school. The Producers is a great example. It is a really wonderful show and in fact, it doesn’t really make Nazis funny, I don’t think but actually shows that Nazis were so terrible as to NOT be funny. The show involves caricature. My D’s theater camp recently put this musical on, in fact. I just can’t see giving in to those who find such material objectionable. This is the kind of material I would want teens exposed to! My kids were very young when they first watched the movie of The Producers.</p>
<p>By the way, I just looked up The Producers and it was on Great Performances which also put out a LESSON PLAN for teachers to use with the recording of this production. This musical won a record 12 Tony Awards. How can we not expose students to such an achievement in the American musical repertoire?</p>
<p>Well, just to be argumentative, at my kids’ school, there are quite a few grandparents who are not going to want to see dancing swastikas, because of their own experiences with real swastikas–even if they know it’s satirical.</p>
<p>Hunt, I truly DO get it and that SOME people will not be happy with dancing swastikas in The Producers. For that matter, some would not be happy with the swastikas in Cabaret either or even in Anne Frank, the play. My D is a Jew and she wore a swastika in her Kit Kat Girl costume at age 17 in a professional production. In our school’s production of Cabaret, her friend who is a grandchild of one of the Von Trapp children (who fled the Nazis…ala Sound of Music) wore a swastika and had to do the salute to Hitler. But he was depicting a character. That is what a play does. So do books. I’m wondering if certain themes in books would also not be OK for school? My kids have grandparents who are Jewish and they all saw Cabaret and The Producers and enjoyed it. I’m not sure if schools can please all people or that they should try to. And really, who decides what is OK and what is not? Do a handful of people who would be upset dictate what everyone else should be exposed to? Does this apply to books too or just plays?</p>
<p>Of course some people have to decide what’s OK and what is not. Surely nobody would think that anything and everything is OK? I think my only real point of disagreement with you (and maybe we don’t really disagree on that either) is how much weight to give to the sensitivity of some part of the potential audience. I agree with you that just because a couple of people might object to the theme of abortion is no reason not to put on Cabaret. But it might be a different story, perhaps, if a school in a very religious town wanted to put on a stage version of Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Unless there is no line, somebody has to draw the line somewhere.</p>
<p>Hunt, my concern would be where that line is drawn and who decides and if the decision is based on whether or not a minority of people would object or a majority. </p>
<p>And based on what I am reading in some posts here, I really do wonder where that line is drawn and which shows would be acceptable or not as it appears (if I am reading some posts accurately) that some would knock a great many shows off the list of which a high school could put on. </p>
<p>By the way, I had to look up Life of Brian as I was not familiar with it but see that it is a Monty Python film, not a play. But it is satire. In my view, plays are not preaching or indoctrinating or are not propaganda. They depict stories which may include values or beliefs that audience members do not hold. I can watch something and contemplate the ideas portrayed but that doesn’t mean I agree with or believe in the ideas themselves. That is what art is. And that is why I am not into censoring it. Do we censor books that contain ideas that we do not believe in or agree with? I hope not. Also, participating in a play, as well as watching it, are voluntary in nature and are not being forced on anyone. I just am not into closing off the presentation of ideas because some do not agree with the ideas portrayed. I watch many plays and movies that contain ideas that are not within my own belief system, moral compass, or values and these portrayals do not change me. I simply am exposed to other ideas. I truly believe that is a good thing and what I would hope for my kids and other teenagers as well.</p>
<p>The reason I mentioned Life of Brian is that it would be deeply offensive to lots of Christians, whether it is intended to be satire or not. In includes (for example) a comic crucifixion scene. And yes, in a high school setting, we probably do censor some books that have ideas we don’t agree with–and we certainly censor content we don’t think they are ready to see. High schooler aren’t adults.</p>
<p>I heard a report on NPR that the promoters of “The Producers” replaced the swastikas with pretzels on the advertising material and on the flags hanging outside the theater in Berlin. It is illegal to use swastikas on commercial material there. They can use the swastikas on stage, however. </p>
<p>I saw a production of Cabaret in which middle schoolers wore garters, fishnets and lingerie and they looked ridiculous. Some lace, a leotard and tights would have been been a better choice.</p>
<p>Cartera…that’s the thing…small adjustments can be made in costuming or removing profanity, while still maintaining the integrity of the piece.</p>
<p>plays/musicals would be cut out due to it offending someone. I really wonder which shows some here approve of or not.</p>
<p>Lol, I’ve been trying to see if anyone has been posting from the Bible Belt. This school year, local districts famously nixed Sweeny Todd, Footloose and Rent. Haven’t heard of a local district doing Cabaret or Chicago.</p>
<p>Our school’s relatively new director has realized that if you do a large cast, super-family friendly musical, you have large audiences and sell a lot more tickets.</p>
<p>My post #73 seems to have some text omitted and that is by accident, sorry.</p>
<p>I think I was responding to Hunt’s post #70. </p>
<p>I think I was saying that I understand that there may be plays or musicals that are not appropriate in a high school but I just wonder where one draws the line of what is appropriate and what isn’t. And then who decides that line? My concern is, based on reading some posts on this thread (not yours per se), that some might draw that line of omitting plays and musicals that may offend SOME people, perhaps even a minority of people. That concerns me. And thus, I wonder which shows some here, if “in charge” would deem to be acceptable and which would not. My fear is that there are many shows that some would omit based on the objections of certain people and not necessarily the prevailing opinion in a community. I just wonder where that line is and if it applies to all the books too that deal with various issues.</p>
<p>My D subscribes to *Dance Spirit *magazine. They recently published an interview with an 18 year old who had been cast as Sally in a college production of Cabaret. It mentioned that Sally was topless in some of the cabaret scenes. I thought, what a big leap from senior year of high school to freshman year of college!</p>
<p>Hmm, that is interesting as I really do not think the script for Cabaret is written for Sally Bowles to be topless at all and I have seen it done professionally and that was not how it was done either. That said, my daughter appeared topless in a college production (not Cabaret) at age 19 last year and fully nude this year at age 20. Of course, I would not expect that to be allowed in high school. But yeah, it would be a BIG leap had she gone to a high school that only allowed shows like Peter Pan, Wizard of Oz, and Bye Bye Birdie!</p>
<p>missypie, if you’re talking about the Tisch production, which I believe you are, the girl in question was a junior, and 21, not 18.</p>
<p>The article said that at the first reading of the show, each cast member was instructed by the director to “do something totally unexpected” - this girl decided to strip and the director liked it so much that he had her be topless in the show.</p>
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<p>Could be - makes more sense. I admit that I don’t read the articles in *Dance Spirit *magazine very carefully. </p>
<p>I do think that there is a big difference between HS and college productions, even if the kids are only 6 months older. So many kids get involved at the HS level just to be a part of the group, as a fun EC…by the time you’re a college theatre major, you should have given some thought about nudity, content that might not go along with your religious beliefs, etc.</p>