School officials allow high school to produce adaptation of The Prom after backlash
A New Jersey school district has allowed a local high school to put on an adaptation of The Prom after social media backlash.
On 13 October, Cedar Grove High School alum Rebecca Altshcul took to Instagram and revealed that the school’s Spring production was facing cancellation due to “community concern.” “After seeing [The Prom] a few years ago and learning that it was now available for schools to produce, the students themselves chose this musical,” she explained. “We secured the rights, paid for the materials, and announced the show to the students but have now hit a bump in our normal road. “For a program that has run for over 20 years under the same director and never had any question of content for any show in the past, this is a first.” According to a report from NJ.com, the Essex County School District received complaints over the show’s “inappropriate” content and themes.
For those unaware, the critically-acclaimed Broadway play follows four has-been actors travelling to a conservative Indiana town to help a lesbian high school student bring her girlfriend to prom.
Shortly after Altshcul’s post was uploaded, students, parents, and community members rallied to support the school’s theatre program.
