Friday, April 28, 2023
Houston-area schools scrap field trips to see ‘James and the Giant Peach’ over concerns about cross-gender casting at Main Street Theater
Houston Public Media: Nine schools in the Houston area have scrapped planned field trips to watch performances of "James and the Giant Peach" at Main Street Theater, which is attributing the cancellations to overblown and misinformed concerns about cross-gender casting for the famed children's story.
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I had heard about this story earlier this week and it made me very upset. The fact that the schools didn't even follow up with the theater to figure out what was really going on is infuriating. Drag in theater should not be a problem in general though because of the long standing history of drag in theater. Men have played women in theater since theater started so many years ago. So why is cross gender casting a big deal when that was a standard for so many years. Also cross gender casting is not drag. Or at least it doesn't have to be. I think what also was irritating about this article was the fact that parents claimed they couldn't go but they were able to. So there are multiple lies and miscommunication throughout this situation makes this even worse and infuriating given what has been happening in this country as of late.
Articles like these never fail to shock me because policies especially along the south of the US are getting very specific and pedantic. I know especially in Texas LGBTQIA+ is not tolerated well or at all, especially in arts such as drag. Not only did these schools cancel the trip to James and the Giant Peach off of assumptions on a post from 5 years ago that had nothing to do with the show, but they took away a chance for the kids to see a quality theatrical production which is a rare field trip for many schools across the country. What’s bizarre to me is even if actors are cross dressing or LGBTQIA+, I can’t imagine that would devastatingly affect the story or the narrative of flipping James and the Giant Peach. Like the chances the kids would’ve even picked up on that or have been irreparably scarred for life is low. It’s very sickening to see how bothered administrators and people in power in certain cities are by people just being/expressing themselves.
It sucks to see stuff like this happening in today’s age. I know that Texas has its own feelings towards the LGBTQ community (to say the least), but this seems silly even given that context. Like the article says, cross gender casting is a normal thing to do in theater, and the drag photo on Instagram isn’t even related to this particular production. And James and the Giant Peach is already inherently weird enough that (in my opinion) choosing not to go because of cross-gender casting and a drag photo from years ago should be second to the play itself. It’s so unfortunate that there are so many kids that aren’t able to get that exposure to theater that could inspire them or change their life (or honestly just get them a field trip away from school). I think that Texas is bound to reach a breaking point regarding their LGBTQ treatment/rights, and I hope it comes soon.
I have learned to not be shocked by articles like this anymore. We live in a society where everything is becoming increasingly strict, particularly toward the LGBTQIA+ community. This article is about an instance in Texas but it is happening all over. It's disappointing that these schools canceled their trip to see James and the Giant Peach based on assumptions about a post from five years ago that had nothing to do with the show. This decision robbed the students of the opportunity to experience a high-quality theatrical production, which is rare for many schools across the country these days. My high school did children’s shows like this all the time, including James and the Giant Peach. Even if the actors were cross-dressing or LGBTQIA+, it's hard to imagine how that would significantly impact the story or narrative of James and the Giant Peach. It's unlikely that the children would have even noticed or been traumatized by it. It's disheartening to see how much administrators and people in power in certain cities are bothered by people simply being themselves and expressing who they are. Children just don’t care about stuff like that.
I think by canceling the field trip to see the show, the school sent a message of intolerance and hostility. One of the main reasons this musical is so popular among children is that it articulates emotions that can be difficult for kids to find the words for. I absolutely agree with the director that the majority of the characters are insects and their gender doesn’t matter. It is also telling how the school sees this as drag, which it is clearly not. I think it is a good thing that parents can’t get tickets for the performances unless they go through the school. Children are being exposed to far more hateful and inappropriate messages on the internet: give them this chance to connect with something they may have never had the chance of experiencing before. If parents and the school district did actually care about the safety and well-being of children, there would be better gun laws and access to medical care including mental health services instead of hiding from musical theatre.
Who’s surprised? Not me. I am so frustrated. With the way. That parents and school boards decided to take their frustrations out regarding the LGBT community against theater. Since Shakespeare cross dressing has been a normal part of our industry. I don’t understand what the big problem is. Even if the character was in drag, why would that be a problem? As the article says they are bugs not people drag is a beautiful art form in which we make gender into a performance (which it already is) and that would be such an interesting way to portray bugs. Also, James and the giant peach is written to have a small cast that plays many different characters throughout the performance. It would be hard not to have people cross dress or play characters of various genders due to the nature of the show, and how fast paced it is. Why don’t people understand logic and just focus on hating the things they understand instead. When will the breaking point come?
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