OnStage: With the school year underway, it's a great time to see the incredible talent that's being fostered in our schools with their annual musicals. It's always fantastic to see schools take on bold and challenging work. But there is a point where things can go too far.
Here are two musicals that should not be gracing high school stages for a variety of reasons ranging from content to messages within the shows themselves.
26 comments:
I don’t know if I really agree with this article. Maybe it’s because I’m close enough to having been in high school, maybe it’s that my high school usually didn’t shy away from the more sensitive material (we did both Rent and Cabaret in my time there, and don’t believe we censored much, if anything) but I think that performing sensitive topics has always been a way to deal with issues culturally. That’s why these stories exist in the first place, to deal with the weird grey area that comes with a topic that we don’t like discussing out in public.
Now, this is just one opinion, but if done the right way teaching high school aged kids about these types of topics through performances seems a perfectly valid way to at least begin the discussion in their minds. I don’t want to get all “fuck political correctness” in this comment, but to a certain extent being PC is stunting conversation that could be very productive to our society. I believe that children are more susceptible to this type of filtering than any other demographic.
If we find issues with the types of topics found in iconic musicals such as Grease and Cabaret, then I say why not talk about them? If we think that high school is an age that is too young to bring up these types of topics, then you probably haven’t been in high school for a very long time. Unfortunately, many children have to grapple with these issues even before they reach high school. Being a child serves the purpose of preparing for life, and by filtering out these elements of real life, we deny them the opportunity to learn about them. We essentially leave them unprepared.
Now I’m not saying that we should dismiss all sense of decency and professionalism when approaching these topics, certainly there should be some standard as to what we teach high school students. What I mean is that we shouldn’t let the fact that a topic is controversial make us afraid of art that tries to deal with that topic. We should open a discussion and come to some conclusion, try and make sense of the issue instead of repress it. That’s the whole point of the controversial art in the first place.
I both agree and disagree with this author. In many ways I think that shows should be performed in their entirety. For a high school to cut out material that is controversal or too much for that level, then don't do it. But, on the other side of the spectrum by this authors standards MTI Jr and MTI Kids should not exist. Shows are constantly changing and I thats a good think. Theater should evolve with the times, which means we cannot just abandon old text, we change it to fit our normal now a days. The specific shows the author mentions Grease and Cabaret, I have known many high schools to perform in full. I understand when they are changed but I think the problem comes not from the director just wanting to have the students perform iconic songs from the shows. With my experience directors crave to be able to tell the more risky stories and bring the student through that process. Its the administration. The ones in the offices that don't understand theater, they are normally the ones to say no and hold back high school theater. This author was a little quick to call out high schools, without defending himself enough.
First of all, I would also like to agree with the author that if a school decides to put on a severe musical, that they are also deciding to tackle the topics and material of the piece. By cutting songs or dulling vocabulary, the school is openly showing that they do not have the capacity to pick a show they are comfortable and capable of performing. My high school put on a production of Les Mis, but of course it had to be the student edition and as a hard core Les Mis fan at the time, I was crazy angry about all the cuts and alterations made to the show to make it “teen appropriate”. In relation to Grease, I have had this opinion about the show for a long time, and I think the author really hits it home by breaking down how manipulative and ridiculously sexist the show is. For freshman girls, they actually might get the idea that changing yourself for a boy is completely okay just because of the confidence Sandy exudes in the final scenes.
I wholeheartedly agree with the author.
I am not a believer in censorship in the arts. Theater is meant to challenge our perceptions, force us to look at uncomfortable issues from another's perspective. Maybe even identify with someone we didn't previously understand. Theater is supposed to influence and change the audience's opinion. Too often, high schools take plays that handle complex emotional or political issues and butcher the message. These plays and musicals should not be preformed unless you can handle to message. In my experience, sexuality is the first to step up to the chopping block. You can't do "Rent" without Maureen and Joanne or, lord forbid, cut Angel's character. It ruins the message. A few years ago I even saw "Pippin", a show about adolescence and self-discovery (at least, that's how I interpreted it), preformed without any mention of sexuality AT ALL. You should not do a show just for the music. Take responsibility for your message (especially when its an issue, like sexuality, that strongly affects your high school audience). If a high school can be bold enough to preform that message, then by all means, they should.
High schools really just need to be aware of the message they broadcast (my school director refused to 'Grease" for the reasons mentioned in the article). Just pay attention to what the show is about, not the bloody music. Theater influences people. Don't poison your audience's minds.
I am personally against Grease being produced in high schools because it’s overdone, but I had never really connected the dots about how terrible the actual show is. For one of the most popular and money producing shows in high school to be about women being submissive to abusive boyfriends is disgusting and makes my inner feminist enraged. The high school I went to was littered with abusive relationships whether or not they realized it or not. I most certainly didn’t realize it until I looked back and had fully understood the concept of an unhealthy relationship. Most relationships I saw were verbally abusive and often just unhealthy in general. Many people played out stereotypical gender roles although it made them unhappy because they thought that was the only way to keep their significant partner happy. I’m sure that my high school wasn’t the only one like that; infatuation and obsessive relationships are a genetic reaction in my opinion. But I think that reinforcing these actions as okay by performing musicals like Grease is not helping the problem. In fact, it’s probably making it worse.
This article headed in a direction I did not expect, at all. I definitely understand where the author is coming from in terms of not wanting work to be tarnished when there was a particular reason playwrights and lyricists and composers wrote a piece a particular way. It doesn't make sense to "censor" a piece of theatre that was written by someone else. That's just not how the story was written, and it definitely tells a completely different story when even minor details like that are altered. On the other hand, it's a miracle that some high schools even put forth theatre in the first place, and I think those are the schools that end up censoring pieces. I also would like to believe that it's not the "theatre club" teachers or "school directors" that are making these decisions, and that it usually comes from higher up in school administration.
WRONG! You should absolutely do Grease, you just change it to be a little less... rapey and misogynistic. If you have to change the lyrics, and the ending, and a lot of the dialogue so be it. The music is fun and the musical deserves to be updates to fit a modern era. And maybe my suggestion seems like a lot to take on, its not. My high school did Grease, we changed all those things, and it was great. The original moral of the musical (that women should change for their men) is creepy and outdated, a new moral (to fit the pop theme) that love conquers all would make it acceptable in this era and take care of a lot of the problems.
In a broader stroke just cause a musical is old does not mean it has to be dead. It's art, the whole point is to inspire more art. That's if you see it that way. If you don't see it as art, then it is entertainment and making it entertaining seems like a fair thing to do.
Just because I absolutely cannot stand Grease, for basically the exact reasons Peterson described, my gut reaction is, “Yes! Please! No Grease!” In my mind it is just a bad musical. But the thing is, once I step back from it, I don’t think a subset of people disliking the musical is enough reason to claim it shouldn’t be done in high schools, after all, you can probably find people that take issue with almost any show. I do think saying high schools shouldn’t do Grease might be a reasonable claim since the problem with it is that it has a terrible message, and it is currently one of the high school staples. However, I do think one could argue that by high school people have the critical thinking skills to realize that they shouldn’t actually follow Sandy’s example. Still, there are other musicals that don’t have terrible messages for high schoolers, so I don’t see much reason for Grease to be as much of a go-to as it is. As for Cabaret, I haven’t seen it, but I do agree that if you’re going to cut a large portion of a show for thematic reasons, it might be worth just picking a different show, but in the end there could be reasons to perform the modified version. In the end, I don’t think anyone can really say what shows should or shouldn’t be performed in high schools, and because of that, I don’t think the specific musicals mentioned in this article are what it important. I think the important thing is to consider how much one is modifying a production, what the message of the show is, and if the answers to those questions are “a lot” and “negative” then one should consider if it is still worth picking that show.
High school theatre should be praised and not judged. I understand that as a theatre professional it is sometimes hard to remove yourself from a "professional level mindset" however, I think here, this author needs to seriously try.
In America, Arts programs are being cut left and right, how can we be harsh when theatre at any level is being produced.
High school theatre is so important. It is where so many of us find out that we belong, have a passion, and have fun!
Sometimes it defeats the purpose of a show or the show's message when we cut certain parts of a production for inappropriate content. But sometimes it's not about the story, or how the show turns out at the high school level, or at any educational institution. We should, especially at the high school level, be focused on the process, and experience of putting on a production, no matter the outcome.
To touch on the "overdoneness" of Grease, I think that it is overdone because it's easy, and fun! Everyone knows the songs and story. We can overanalyze the story and message of Grease all we want, but in the end it paints high school as what it is, and we accept it as a fun catchy musical
I feel this article. I went to a Christian high school in which the shows we were even allowed to consider doing was heavily restricted due to content. Although I was a huge musical theatre geek and wanted to sink my teeth into meatier roles I now appreciate some of the protections that were put in place by the faculty. A lot musicals like Cabaret deal with dark subject matter and complex emotions. I’m not saying that high schoolers can’t experience complex emotions and that they aren’t exposed to dark subject matter, but why knowingly bring that kind of thing into their life. I think that Grease just sends the wrong message all around. High schoolers are already clamoring to change themselves we don’t need a musical to tell them that that’s ok. The original script of Grease is even darker and more explicit, so I would say let’s just leave it alone. As far as I’m concerned it can get categorized with musicals we shouldn’t do anymore.
I agree with Brennan in that I did not expect this article to go in the direction that it did. High school theatre is such an interesting concept because it is the place where so many of us get started yet it is such an important time for growth and molding in how we perceive and criticize theatre. The first high school production I ever saw was “Cats”, followed by “Joseph”. Both shows that are often not performed in schools for varying reasons yet I believe since I saw both of these it led me to believe that there were no strong restrictions on what theatre could be. As I got older and started to hear about more and more banning and restrictions on high school productions, it altered my thoughts on the role of theatre in high schools. I really don’t know if I can say that I agree or disagree with this author because they make so fairly absolute statements that are highly debatable.
I agree with the author that Grease is not a show that should be performed in a high school, however I don't agree in the case of Cabaret. Just because a show has a dark theme or provocative content doesn't mean that it shouldn't be produced in an educational setting. Personally I'd rather see a high school produce Cabaret then another overdone rendition of Guys and Dolls. Letting high schoolers work with more advanced and complex material would help them to grow as performers much more than a cheesy classic musical. In Grease's case I think that the theme of the show definitely should prevent it from being from performed in an educational environment. There are so few positive messages that it sends, and it makes light of really serious topics such as body image issues and date rape. Focus should be taken away from problematic shows like this one and instead high schools should focus on work like Cabaret that could actively challenge their students.
I agree with some of the ideas in this article, mainly that shows should be performed uncensored or not at all, and that we need to pay attention to the messages in the shows we put on. That being said I don’t think that this rules out performing certain shows. You can certainly put on an uncensored version of Cabaret in high school, my school did it and while it wasn’t our most popular show it still went over well. The part I disagree with the most is the author’s comment that there’s no education or entertainment value in Cabaret and that its too dark for a high school. There is educational value its just not for the audience, it teaches that actors and technicians involved with the show how to work on a complex and dark show that deals with touchy subjects. As for it being too dark, who said high school shows have to be happy? The best shows my high school put on were shows that were dark and dealt with depressing themes. If you go out of your way to make every show you do happy people will loose interest.
I agree with this article in theory, putting on a production only to cut certain parts out seems absurd. But I think this author needs to take a look at reality and the pressures on high school theatre. First of all, it’s got to sell. The seats have to get filled or the program will be cut. Then there’s the strict rules of the school board saying what is and what is not appropriate for the stage, and then there is the kids themselves, who need to experience these shows and get a resume if they hope to continue in the field. I’d rather introduce my students to a show, get that incredible song in their repertoire, and teach the message to them even if the message doesn’t make it to the stage because of previously mentioned reasons.
Now for grease, to hell with grease. It’s just a bad show. But with things like Cabaret, whose plots aren’t for high school stages, but whose musical number and theatrical relevancy is for high school students, do the show.
Let me first say that I agree with the basic premises of this article: 1. Don't do a show you have to censor because there're no point in teaching students what theatre isn't. 2. Don't do a show with a moral message to make even a Fox News Anchor cringe. However, I think in looking deeper, the author fails to consider one thing: In order for students to learn the process of making good theatre and telling a good story, they must also learn what not to do. What better way of exposing the backward message of Grease than through the eyes of teenagers already experiencing its horrors in real life? How can we help students to be passionate about making authentic theatre if they are not aware of what happens when a show is less than authentic? I'm not saying teenagers should have to suffer to become good theatre artists - what I am saying is that they need to be aware of all stories in order to tell the ones that matter. If you're going to put on a watered down Cabaret, at least acknowledge that you are. And if you're going to put on Grease, at least take the opportunity to teach your young and impressionable students what is wrong with changing who you are to fit in. Simply saying that high schools should stop putting on certain shows altogether because of x, y, and z is a bit inconsiderate of the learning process and definitely inconsiderate of the relative nature of storytelling. No show or plot is perfect, and none should be taught as such. Think about this: If the conversation were about banned books, would we be giving such straightforward answers? Chew on that next time you lay down the law as to what high school theatre can and cannot do.
My high school did Grease my senior year and I was not very happy about it. I am not a huge fan of the show in general because it is overdone and the music and story is not the best. I agree that the message Grease gives is not a good one at all. No one should have to change him or herself to get someone to like them or fit in with new friends. If they are your true friends or they actually like you then you should not have to change for them. I know that is easier said than done, but Grease does not give a message that we should be sharing with high school students so often. Sandy is not a good character because she keeps going back to Danny and is continuing to put herself through heartbreak and then actually changes herself to fit in. High schools should be promoting individuality and not giving into peer pressure.
Having never seen Grease and not really knowing the core story-line, this article was very helpful. It always is an issue to see high school sensor the original intended plot to avoid offending people. I firmly believe now that High School Theater’s true purpose is to interest the students in the line of work. The bigger issue I see is that school’s only show one form of theater that often time turn a lot of people off who could be very into the other forms had they only known about the other possibilities; the whole flash and trash entertainment side of musical theater often times give the whole theater industry a bad name. Theater opens so many door and often time the story-lines that have become iconic and classics over the years have also become heavily dated in their perception of the world around them. And in modern society the messages the original text was trying to promote aren’t going to always be perceived as a “this is how the world once was” to heavily impressionable young adults. I believe high school should be the place where there is more of a push to try out new works and expose students to the endless possibilities that theater has to offer.
Anyone to talks to me about musical theatre for more than five minutes will know how long I have had a problem with Grease. The article spells out the reasons perfectly. It continues to be performed because it is a huge crowd favorite, but it honestly has so few redeeming qualities that I cannot fathom why it is performed to the extent that it is.
Cabaret, on the other hand, is another story. I agree that theatre should not be censored, because if sensitive topics are written into a show, it is usually for a very specific purpose, integral to the themes of the play. What I do disagree with is the fact the high school performers shouldn't perform it. Teenagers are far more ready for these heady topics than we give them credit for. A story about a deteriorating nation is just as relevant as any other show a high school may perform, as long as the topic is presented by the directors in a careful, educational way. It is in everyone's instincts to coddle young people, and keep them from discovering the big bad, violent and occasionally sexually charged world out there. The fact of the matter is that that world does and will continue to exist. Keeping students doing toothless theatre doesn't protect them. It just makes the medium feel inaccessible. Teenagers know about sex. They know about violence. For some, if not many, these are subjects that they are discovering and forming opinions about anyway. Theatre has the ability to create changes in thought, and provoke deeper understandings about the topics too heavy to be dealt with in any other way. Keeping teenagers from doing shows like Cabaret doesn't protect the students so much as it protects the adults from having to realize that human beings are forming before their eyes, with all the grit and mess that being a human entails. Teenagers aren't the ones scared by sensitive material. If they can handle it, we should let them, and let them see all of the human places theatre can take us.
I don't want to be rude, but I think they may be reading a little too far into Grease. Yes, the message is a little on the awful side, but for a lot of small-town, low budget theater programs, a musical like Grease is great for them. Not only are the characters the same age as the actors, but the costumes, and everything about the show is easy to attain. Espeically in a conservative or not exactly theater accepting ocmmunity, a show like "Bat Boy" or any other new age or obscure musical is not going to bring audiences in- I know this from experience having done "Urinetown", versus "Legally Blonde" in Texas. Grease is going to bring in audiences- espeically high school audiences from their peers.
Also, the idea of condemning shows for a specific group not to do is just elitist and a holier-than-thou mentally.
Coming from a high school that had a lot of problems convincing the school board to let us perform various shows I can relate to this article. Some of the shows that got rejected were purely ridiculous; it is crazy to see adults shying away from pretty “pg” shows. My theatre director always had difficulty-cutting parts of shows that were not deemed appropriate and you can really end up losing a lot of important content. I get where this article is coming from with these two shows but some simple language and profanity on stage is harmless to any audience and it is honestly ridiculous to shelter younger generations from curtain cultures. It has been quite an adjustment coming to CMU mainly because the only restriction is nonconsensual sex on stage. I was shocked when I heard the next show that CMU would be putting on is the Full Monty and there would be nudity on stage, I guess this is just something that I am not used to in a learning environment.
In my senior year of high school, a lot of people really wanted to do Grease as our last show, but it ultimately didn't get approved and we did West Side Story instead. Personally, I've never seen Grease, and after reading this article I'm so glad that we didn't do it. I've always wanted to see Grease because of how well known it is, but after reading this article I'm very disappointed and surprised that a show everyone around me loves sends such a bad and straight up stupid message. As for Cabaret's case, I completely agree with the author. Teaching students to produce a censored version of a play may lead them to resorting censoring/modifying certain parts of a play when they handle sensitive/controversial plays in the future when they become professionals. Learning to face things you don't know how to deal with is part of learning, and high school is an educational setting so mistakes and failure should be a part of it.
So the author of this article has obviously had a bad experience with a high school production of Cabaret. I understand where he is coming from that if a play or musical has to be censored to exist in a high school, then yeah, it is better to try a different musical. That being said, that doesn't mean Cabaret should be banned from schools, it just has to be done in its full capacity. To say that Cabaret should never be done because its always done in a certain way does not make much sense.
On the other hand, I completely agree with their opinions on Grease. The author really doesn't like the show, but in any case, if a show has a message like that, it really needs to be rethought. Older musicals tend to have that idea about them, and it does seem like its time to rethink them. There are plenty of traditional musicals that have much better themes that still have the happy, upbeat feeling that Grease is known for but have a better message.
Overall I agree with have of the article, the author should try to be less biased though.
Uh what? This article seems rather silly to me. This seems just as silly as saying that all Lighting Designers should use R02 for front light AND THAT'S IT.. Yes, I agree Grease is overdone. But to straight up ban certain shows from high school stages without a conversation.. that seems rather silly. Choosing not to tackle difficult subjects such as homosexuality, bullying, peer pressure, rape, whatever is, in my opinion, not the right move. If anything.. high school theatre should be a vehicle to have safe and meaningful discussions about the content of the show and how that relates to real life. It's ridiculous to me that schools would choose to shy away from putting shows that might actually deal with issues that their students may be confronting or thinking about. And come on, how can you say not to do Grease. It's like the most overdone show in the history of high school theatre, maybe followed up by West Side Story...
In high school, I was taught to stay true to the playwright, lyricist, and composer. We were taught that there is a reason for their writing. I agree with the part of this article that expresses the sanctity of staying true to what is written and to not tarnish or disassemble the show due to it being a little too opinionated. It's sad to see that some districts and schools are refused the choice to do the shows exactly as they were written. No cuts, no lyric changes. Just the show as seen on paper. I think there is such a simple solution, if you choose to do a show that you know is going to be cut to only include safe scenes, then don't do the show.
At first I was a bit confused by the article and its interesting pretenses, but then I saw that it was an editorial on a blog, so I guess that explains some things. Of course Mr. Peterson is allowed to voice his opinions. I’m wondering why he only included two shows on his list. Are these the only two shows he thinks high schools should not perform? Or are we supposed to gather from his comments that all shows that touch on sensitive topics or have less-than-ideal messages should not be performed? Shows with sensitive content are important to include in a high school’s repertoire in order to teach the actors how to portray and interact with it. I do belive that a small amount of cutting (it’s high school, the script will almost ALWAYS be modified in some way or another) is ok. No one will die. I trust that high school directors have the ability choose pieces that match their actors and program in general. There’s no need to go telling them what they can’t do.
I see where the author is coming from, however, I don't believe that these pieces should be avoided entirely for a high school performance. Also, just as the author said, I'd prefer a performance to be real and uncensored so I can feel a part of the action. Eliminating parts of the script or modifying what isn't true to the story seems to take the audience's attention from the story. Yet, middle school through college shouldn't feel like modifying a script to be a waste of time. These are educational environments and performing pieces such as Cabaret and Grease shouldn't be avoided. These are very popular musicals and students should be aware of the effect that these musicals have had on the world. In school, theatre classes will read a script of a show, learn the history of that show, and then perform it for a full understanding. The audience's role in an educational environment is to observe if the students have learned. So this author needs to stop wasting time watching high school performances and go out in the world and watch broadway to get he unclean and uncut version.
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