Some not sold on ‘Rent'

Susan Brandquist has earned her stripes as a “drama mom,” enrolling her sons in dozens of theater productions over the years.

So she knew right away that the winter musical production at Millard North High School would be different.

Before Zachary and Xander could participate, the school required Brandquist to sign a permission slip advising that the play would deal with mature content, including “poverty, homelessness, community health care and alternative lifestyles.”

She signed, and the school's production of the Tony Award-winning musical “Rent” — the Nebraska high school debut of the play — came off without a hitch.

But not without criticism.

The gritty story about friends with diverse sexual orientations coping with drug addiction and HIV did not sit well with Mike Pate, president of the Millard school board.

At a recent board meeting, Pate praised the young actors for an excellent job on the show but expressed disappointment in the script selection.

“I know that I'll be accused for being intolerant or narrow-minded, whatever the case might be ... ” Pate began.

Millard North joins schools across the country defending their decision to stage the show, which first came available for school productions during the 2008-2009 school year.

The script's treatment of homosexuality, drug use and theft has fueled the criticism, though some defend the play as appropriate fare when staged in the toned-down version made available for high schools.

In California last March, the principal of Corona del Mar High School reportedly canceled her school's production then reversed herself in the face of criticism from gay rights advocates. Last fall, Nevada parents sought an injunction to stop Green Valley High School from staging “Rent” and another production, “Laramie Project,” about the 1998 murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard. A judge denied their request.

Millard North High theater director Mark Hawkins said he recommended “Rent” for its excellent music and story line and the excitement it generated among students. Principal Brian Begley said he approved it after reviewing the script and lyrics.

The story of “Rent” revolves around Mark, a nerdy documentary filmmaker scraping by in a run-down tenement in 1989. He turns his lens on the surrounding squalor in hopes of making a difference. His roommate and many close friends are HIV-positive. Despite this shroud of death, the friends resolve to make every minute count, concluding ultimately that a life's worth should be measured by one's love for others.

The friends celebrate their sexual diversity. Mark's roommate, a brooding musician, falls for Mimi, the drug-addicted exotic dancer. Mark's former girlfriend, Maureen, an edgy performance artist and political activist, has dumped him for a lesbian lawyer. Collins, a gay friend, is head over heels for Angel, an HIV-positive gay transvestite, who inspires the group with his kindness.

The film version, rated PG-13, contains profanity and mature sexual dialogue, mild fondling and same-sex kissing. Millard North staged what the distribution company Music Theatre International labels as the “school edition,” Hawkins said.

“There really is no comparison between the two,” he said. “You don't have the profanity. You don't have the promiscuity. An entire song has been taken out that couldn't be done at the high school level.”

But Pate said the script softening didn't change the content, which he thinks is more suited for college actors.

“When we start asking them to depict in character a lifestyle in New York ... that deals in drugs, that deals in same-sex relations, that deals in provocative dress, I don't know that high school is the appropriate forum for that,” Pate said.

Pate said he understands kids are exposed to such themes in movies, music and television, but, he asked, “Why do we have to bring it into the schools?”

Millard board member Dave Anderson, who also saw the show, said some material made him uncomfortable, but he doesn't think the subject matter made the play off-limits for school.

“I don't see any reason to shield it or to hide it or to not let the show go on because two characters in the show are gay,” he said.

Anderson said that in the adult version, two men kiss, but during that scene in the Millard North version, the stage lights went black, leaving the rest to the audience's imagination. “I would have been uncomfortable if there was an embrace or a kiss, but there wasn't,” he said.

Brandquist said she wasn't sure she should sign the permission slip. Zachary played a drug dealer, and Xander played Benny the landlord.

After seeing Millard North's show, Brandquist said the school's theater director dealt with the language and material tastefully and treated the homosexuality delicately.

“With the exception of one scene, it's not ever really thrown in your face,” she said, referring to a song by the cross-dressing character.

Hawkins said his students suggested performing “Rent” when the school version was first released.

Principal Begley said he adhered to the district's policy on controversial curriculum issues. The policy authorizes the principal to determine what's appropriate “based upon knowledge, intellectual maturity, and competence” of students.

Begley said he talked over with Hawkins the script's potential problem areas, and Hawkins assured him the play could be done in a tasteful, educational way.

Some parents kept their children out of the show, but more students than usual auditioned, he said.

The school also printed an advisory on the program for the Feb. 5-7 production: “Parental guidance is required for children under the age of 13.”

Begley said he has not received any negative feedback. Hawkins said he received more positive reaction on the show than any other he's directed, including parents who told him how much they appreciated the show.

“It opened up dialog with them and their kids about some of the issues,” he said.

Susan Baer Collins, associate artistic director for the Omaha Community Playhouse, said she has not read the school version nor did she see Millard's show. She said her initial reaction when she heard about the school staging the production was “Wow, that's wonderful.”

“How long can we kind of stay in the background and try and keep things safe, when the world of art is kind of moving forward and addressing things we used to hide in the closet?” she asked.

The playhouse, she said, probably would not put “Rent” on its main stage, which is geared to family audiences, but the show would be appropriate and probably attract a crowd on the playhouse's smaller stage.

Gail Formanack, director of secondary education for the Omaha Public Schools, said her district leaves play selection to the principals. She said the district looks for plays that are “mainstream and appealing to a wide audience, and that would be family-friendly, because quite frequently we do offer matinees to some of the elementary schools that feed into a high school.”

At Lewis Central High School in Iowa, the theater director considered staging “Rent” this season but opted for “Fame,” Principal Chuck Story said.

“It just wasn't right for our community,” Story said. “That doesn't mean we haven't done other controversial things.”

Last year, the school put on “Marat/Sade,” a dark play set in a mental institution. The school edited a scene involving a character naked in a bathtub after some parents objected, he said. “I think we did have the tub, but he was clothed,” Story said.

Contact the writer:

444-1077, joe.dejka@owh.com

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