California School Finally Approves Controversial Musical Productionby Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger 04 Mar 2009 10:38 AM Yes, no, maybe so... It's been a tumultuous couple of weeks for high school students in California, who planned to showcase their talents in the musical, "Rent: School Edition." But, now, it appears that the show will go on. The drama started when Corona del Mar High School theater teacher Ron Martin chose "Rent: School Edition," as the spring musical. The production is a slightly toned-down version of Jonathan Larson's Tony Award-winning show, which appeared on Broadway for more than a decade. It won rave reviews around the world, but that meant nothing to Corona del Mar High School's principal, who cancelled the show because of concerns about content. According to Martin, principal, Fal Asrani, shut down production of the show because she objected to "prostitution and homosexuality" in the story line. But, Asrani denied the claims saying that she wanted to review the script so that she could ensure that "the show would be appropriate for people of all ages." The high school version of the award-winning musical was just licensed to schools for the first time a few months ago. In that time several parent and community groups across the country raised concerns about the production's content. The controversy forced a handful of schools to cancel their shows, but Martin refused to let that happen at Corona del Mar. Martin told news reporters that he chose the play partly because recent homophobic statements made by some Corona del Mar students on Facebook had drawn attention to the school district. The derogatory Facebook comments forced the school district to release a public statement outlining steps that Corona del Mar had taken to foster an atmosphere of "tolerance and diversity," including the fact that the Anti-Defamation League had designated it as a "No Place for Hate" school. Determined to allow the show to go on, Martin says he appealed to Asrani and allowed her to review the script, a practice that is practically unheard of. In the end, Asrani green lighted the school's production of "Rent." In a statement to the media the principal said: "I never had a problem with the play selected by Mr. Martin. The selection of our drama productions is his call. I just requested the opportunity to review the script before it was final. Administration received parent concerns from a previous play, and I wanted to be able to ensure my commitment to the concerned parents as well as show my support of the student production without any reservation." For his part Martin says he is pleased for the students' sakes that the musical would go forward. However, he added, " 'Rent' is going on, but the problems of homophobia at our school do exist." What do you make of this brouhaha? Do you think it was a clash of wills between Martin and his principal or do you think there was more to it? Related Articles: Schools Taking a Bite Out of Lunchtime Colorado Making it Easier to Support Kids in School Do You Punish Your Kids for Bad Grades? Are You a Teacher's Worst Nightmare? Learn more about Michele Cheplic  Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. Relevanteducation tags User Comments  Cat-Mom-of-3 (175) 06 Mar 2009 10:42 PMAs a parent of a child who attends this school, I feel the principal is doing her job by looking at what is happening there. She is ultimately responsible for everything that happens at her school site and should be involved in such matters especially considering previous issues. I trust her judgement on the matter and may choose to go see the play. If I do I will be happy to report back if there is any interest.  Michele Cheplic |
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