Stage Door News
Stage Door News
For the first time in 20 years, London's two school boards won't be sponsoring the play put on by the Grand Theatre's high school project, CBC News has learned.
The play, Prom Queen, is based on a true story and chronicles a gay Oshawa teenager's 2002 fight with the Durham Catholic School Board to bring his boyfriend to prom.
The script has drawn the ire of the London District Catholic School Board and the Thames Valley District School Board.
Usually, the boards give $15,000 each to the annual high school project, which sees students participate in all aspects of the production, from acting to stage management.
Both boards released the same statement a minute apart after getting questions from CBC News.
"Together, our school communities – principals, teachers, trustees, staff, students, parents – work very hard to ensure all students are supported and cared for, which is not reflected in the script," the boards' representatives wrote in an email.
That's left a $30,000 dent in the high school project's $250,000 budget.
"We were surprised, we weren't prepared for that, but we're always looking for community funders. Always have, always will," said Deb Harvey, the Grand's executive director.
Marc Hall, whose story is told in the play, spoke to CBC News from Calgary, where he now works.
He said he was surprised that there would be issues with the play's scripts.
"This was a story about something that happened to me at my school board in Oshawa, Ontario, and the script really revolves around a community coming together to help a boy, me, right a wrong," Hall said.
"It's about a community coming together, to stick up for yourself, to not allow discrimination, to love who you are."
In 2010, Hall shared his story with the Thames Valley District School Board's Gay-Straight Alliance Conference.
Parts of the script that take place at a school board and in a courtroom were taken verbatim from transcripts of those actual proceedings, said Mary Young Leckie, the Toronto-based producer of the play.
"Mark was a bit of a reluctant hero, he just wanted to go to prom. He wasn't a political rebel," she said. "I'm really kind of sad that in 2018 school boards somehow think they can't support the story of kid.
"This is a story about gay rights. When you come up against this really conservative reaction and defensive reaction, it surprises me, but it also tells me that this play is incredibly relevant. This is a story that people need to hear."
Grand Theatre artistic director Dennis Garnhum said he chose the play because it gives high school students the ability to play characters their own age, in a powerful story of triumph.
"I'm always looking for what's next and how we do we grow," Garnhum said. "I didn't want to keep going through the classics. This is a brand new Canadian musical set in Ontario based on true fact about what happened when a young high school student innocently said 'I'm taking my boyfriend to prom.'"
The play is being offered exclusively to the Grand Theatre and will likely be put on professionally after the London run.
It was a huge hit in Montreal and was chosen for the New York Musical Festival.
The play is about "what happens when young people follow their voice and make a difference in the world," Garnhum said.
"This happened 20 years ago. It's not about the good guy or the bad guy anymore. I want to give more kids a chance to see themselves."
By Kate Dubinski for www.cbc.ca.
Photo: Scene from Prom Queen: The Musical at the Segal Centre, Montreal. ©2017 Kristin Falcao.
2018-01-18
London: London school board pulls funding for gay prom musical