Last May, the Watertown School Board decided to ban the high school's wind symphony from playing the song "A Mother of a Revolution," a musical piece written in honor of Marsha Johnson, a trans woman who is thought to be an instigator of the 1969 Stonewall uprising. The school board considered the music too controversial because of its ties to the LGBTQ community.
Now, four months later, the school district finds itself in the middle of another firestorm because of its puritanical decisions. This time, however, they don't want to ban just one song; they want to scrub the entire spring musical, based on an adaptation of the movie "Flashdance." The music director scoured the entire play, making it much more kid-friendly. But that wasn't good enough for the school superintendent, James Feil.
Feil said in his letter that he reviewed the issue after hearing concerns about the production, though he did not specify how the matter was brought to his attention, or by whom.
He said that, over three days, he established the chronology, reviewed district policies, and met with Watertown High School principal Jason Widiker and Moldenhauer. His review confirmed that Moldenhauer had discussed the selection with Widiker and that Widiker had approved it."I found no wrongdoing by either of them. This was a judgment call, and after hearing from both of them and considering the proposed production and contemplated modifications, I exercised my responsibility as Interim Superintendent and reached a different judgment about this particular selection," Feil said in his letter.
The prudish Feil said that his decision was based on scenes from the movie, none of which were in the adaptation.
The music director who worked on the adaptation has refused to work on another musical, so now the school district needs to find a new music director, as well as a new musical. About 100 people protested outside the school district building over the unilateral decision. I wouldn't blame the kids if they chose not to participate in the new musical, either.
Something tells me that Feil would reject The Sound of Music just because of the anti-Nazi theme in it.
