We move on to the second installment of the
four-part Censorial Asshat Series. This
time, we’re in Watertown, Wisconsin, where the spring show will apparently not be the
previously scheduled Flashdance: The Musical.
The first thing Curmie thought when reading Howard Sherman’s article on the cancelation was, “Watertown High School in Wisconsin? Isn’t that where they censored a piece of
instrumental music last spring?”
Yes. Yes, it is. (Curmie wrote about that episode twice:
here and here.) There’s not a lot of respect among the
educational powers-that-be in that town for faculty, students, the arts in
general, or, indeed, the First Amendment.
The difference this time around is that whereas it was the school
board that shut down the playing of “A Mother of a Revolution,” this time that particular
herd of buffoons were only accomplices; the Censor in Charge was Interim
Superintendent James Feil. (Note:
Sherman identifies Feil as “Interim”; the article he cites in the Watertown Daily Times describes him him simply as “Superintendent.”)
OK, let’s start with the fact that questioning the appropriateness of a musical version of “Flashdance” for performance by high school kids is not at all inappropriate. Curmie saw the movie 40-ish years ago, and remembers little except the iconic image of Jennifer Beals’s body double drenched in a dance routine that was, let’s say, clearly sexual in nature.
But the way to find answers to those questions is to look at the script that had already been
approved by Principal Jason Widiker.
Feil admits that he didn’t see the movie (that’s certainly forgivable),
falsely describes it as X-rated (Sherman notes that the R-rated film “might
well be considered PG-13 today”), and apparently couldn’t be bothered to do
his fucking job read the musical script, either. He claims he made his decision “after careful
review.” This makes him a liar as well
as an asshat.
Prospective director Ryan Moldenhauser did what he was
supposed to do: he received permission from the rights-holders to tone down or
excise material that, in Sherman’s words, “wouldn’t be high school
friendly.” To make some extra money, for
example, the central character “dances at night in a local bar that the script
takes pains to make clear is not a strip club.”
And he submitted the altered script to the principal, as per protocol in
that school.
Feil’s interference in the process, then, is certainly
authoritarian. Sherman says, “This was a
case of the Interim Superintendent pulling rank and unilaterally shutting down
the show, even though rules had been followed.”
It’s difficult to argue with that analysis.
All that said, of course, it’s an odd choice: a musical that
had never appeared on Broadway, was based on a popular but not especially good
movie, and was a bowlderized version of material that, if Curmie remembers
correctly, had little to offer except the sexiness that was now stripped
out. Curmie isn’t sure he’d go quite as
far as OnStage Blog’s Chris Peterson that it was “the wrong choice for a high school,” but it isn’t a show Curmie
would choose.
But there’s no arguing with Peterson’s argument that “this
was the wrong way to cancel it.” Making
a decision right before auditions is, one supposes, at least better than after
rehearsals have started, but it’s still bad timing. More importantly, parent Tiffany Schultz
appears to be absolutely correct in her analysis: “The evidence he got was not
right. So then he pulled something
without knowing what it was and without even being willing to have a discussion
about it. He simply came in and said, ‘I don’t like this and it’s done.’”
Feil’s arrogance and ineptitude are only compounded by the
board’s attitude. When parents asked
that the situation be put on the agenda for the upcoming board meeting, board president
Laurie Hoffman replied that the issue doesn’t rise to school board level. Curmie asks one question: what the hell does,
then?
Board vice president Samuel Ouweneel seems to be an even bigger
jackass than Hoffman, responding to a request from a student asking for the
cancelation to be an agenda item with, “None of us wants to see the spring pass
without a musical. If the board draws this discussion and speculation out, it
will only serve to jeopardize whether or not the musical takes place at all. At
this time, I do not believe it would be in the best interest of the students in
the district to take that path.” Curmie
imagines Ouweneel speaking in a B-movie Mafioso voice, saying, “Nice little
theatre program you got here… be a shame if you weren’t allowed to do any
shows.” Seriously, what a pompous ass!
The other variable here is that Moldenhauser says he
won’t do a different show. Whether the
real reason is lack of preparation time, as he claims, or simply petulance on
his part is unclear. The same questions regarding motivations could be
asked of an apparently considerable number of students who say (now) that they
don’t want to be associated with a show that Feil and the board would approve,
or with a show directed by anyone other than Moldenhauser.
The bottom line, therefore, is that the school is now without either a director or a
show for their spring musical slot, and with, one supposes, at least a
diminished pool of student performers.
More importantly, they’re stuck with a trio of censorial asshats in
leadership positions. Feil,
Hoffman, and Ouweneel evince a disturbing confluence of laziness, cowardice, and hubris, not to say stupidity. None of them should ever be allowed within hailing distance of making
educational policy.
Perhaps something might change at the forthcoming board meeting. It’s unlikely, but even curmudgeons can dream…
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