Adults complained about a teen theater production and the show's creators stepped in
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GHOSTLIGHT
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee debuted on Broadway in 2005 and won two Tony Awards.
A lot of Broadway shows have junior versions kids can perform. There isn't one for
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
, except for an alternate version of a song about puberty. But what's pretty unusual here is that the creators agreed to consider more than 20 of the school board's
specific
changes.
"There were a lot of different requests and we weren't able to accommodate ones that changed the story or the character arc. But we were very happy to accommodate ones that changed individual words and a whole lot of 'damn' and 'goddamnit,'" says Sheinkin.
She agreed to change "good lord" to "good grief." The line "and I've heard that she's pro-choice/ though still a virgin," was changed to, "but she will not make her choice/ 'till she is certain."
Sheinkin did not agree to change the lyric, "I'm not that smart," in the song "I'm Not That Smart." The character Leaf Coneybear, played in the original by Ferguson, sings 'I'm not that smart,' because that's what he hears from his family.
"Clearly, that's a bigger change than we're going to be able to make," says Sheinkin matter-of-factly. "And it has to do with the character's story who comes to appreciate his own intelligence."
'Not all characters in drama are nice'
A lot of the changes the board wanted would've made the show kinder and gentler.
School board officials asked that one character not be a bully. They asked that another not lament feeling like a loser. But the show is about a competition. "We thought it sounds like they're wanting all the characters to be nice and not all characters in drama are nice" Sheinkin says.
"Theater is about more than just getting on stage and singing a song and dancing a dance," reflects Cardinal High School senior, Riley Matchinga. "It's about making people think critically and think about life in ways that you wouldn't on a day to day basis, and empathize with people."
Empathy. In
some
ways, that's what happened at Cardinal High School. Once the changes were made the school board announced the show could go on.
In an email to NPR, Superintendent Jack Cunningham wrote: "We are focused on learning from our situation and moving forward internally."
Sheinkin thinks the process was a win for the students and the community overall. "Whatever the original reasons for the objections ... we came to a place of common understanding and common sense and consideration for the students, and I think it's fair to say there's consideration for the students on all sides," Sheinkin says.
I think we all see what's happening nationally with censorship. And I never thought that I would be dealing with it. But now, after all this, I'm starting to question everything I'm doing.
Vanessa Allen is thrilled her students are getting to perform. At the same time, this experience has shaken her.
"I think we all see what's happening nationally with censorship," she says. "And I never thought that I would be dealing with it. But now, after all this, I'm starting to question everything I'm doing."
Allen is not alone. "Teachers are definitely nervous," says Drew Cohen, President and CEO of Music Theatre International which licenses musicals to, among others, thousands of high schools.
"They're nervous about just saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing. The last thing they want to do is have a problem with the parent body or the board because they picked the wrong show," says Cohen.
In the current culture war, it seems that what's "wrong" is increasingly subjective, making it a tough environment for high school theater programs.
This story was edited by Rose Friedman and produced by Isabella Gomez-Sarmiento. contributed to this story
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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Thursday, March 9, 2023 at 10:01 am