Photo: Wednesday Addams | By David Artavia, Yahoo Life | “People in the arts don’t fight with our fists, we fight with our pens.” As concerned parents sound the alarm on the growing number of bans targeting LGBTQ-themed books and (some rainbow-themed) songs on school campuses, some arts educators say high school theater may be the next battleground in the culture wars.
Evidence comes from states including Pennsylvania, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Ohio and New Jersey, where plays and musicals have recently been challenged, reformatted or canceled altogether after parents and teachers complained that the works’ social themes weren’t appropriate for minors.
Such was the case with a production of The Addams Family — based on the hit 1960s show about a goth, kooky family — at Northern Lebanon High School, in Fredericksburg, Pa. Earlier this month, the district’s school board voted to pull the show from the school’s 2024 theater season, citing concerns over scenes with violence, children smoking and subtle queer themes.
“If we promote it, we permit it,” board member Troy Williams, who is also a pastor, explained when he voted in favor to pull the production earlier this month, according to local news coverage. “There are a number of scenes, lines, and phrases in this musical that I do not want to promote within our district.” Meanwhile, board member Michelle Buck voted in favor of the production, noting that it’s been one of the top most-produced high school shows for several years in a row, and that several nearby schools have produced it without a hitch. She also pointed to past Lebanon high school productions with similar themes, such as Grease, which has messages of violence and subtle hints about teen sex. Still, her points held little weight against the majority vote.
Yahoo Life reached out to Williams and Buck, as well as representatives from Northern Lebanon High School, all of whom opted not to comment for this story.
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Read the rest of the unsettling story here:
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/school-districts-student-high-school-musicals-kids-censored-educators-210749352.html
[Editor’s notes: The bans are not only on plays and musicals but on books and movies. Years and years of fighting for rights out the window in a few minutes].
Photo: Wednesday Addams
https://www.facebook.com/TheAddamsFamilyMovie/photos/2085886131544530
Some School Districts are Canceling Student Musicals. Here’s Why
