More than 40 US high schools have selected “Rent: School Edition" for their big spring musical this year. "Rent: School Edition" is a modified version of the hit Broadway musical with the changes being the deletion of some profane dialogue and lyrics as well as the song, “Contact,” that is sexually explicit. However some schools still find it too provocative. At least three of the planned high school productions of Rent, in California, Texas and West Virginia, have been canceled after administrators or parents raised objections about the show’s morality, its portrayals of homosexuality and theft, and its frank discussions of drug use and H.I.V. Ugh really? But the music and message is so good though...httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b4wK69r3U0Theater teacher and director at Corona del Mar High School, Ron Martin chose Rent for his schools musical after a recent video on Facebook, featuring Corona del Mar students using gay slurs, had upset faculty and parents. But administrators canceled Martin's production.
“This is the first time I’ve chosen a show for the high school because I had an agenda,” Mr. Martin said. “In this instance, having an agenda as a teacher didn’t give me pause. My job is to give my students life skills. Discrimination is wrong on all levels.” He said his principal, Fal Asrani, had objected to the show because of its treatment of “prostitution and homosexuality.” “When I heard that, I stopped her and looked her in the eye and said, ‘First, there is no prostitution in ‘Rent,’ and second, homosexuality is not wrong,’ ” Mr. Martin said. “She made no comment. It was the most demoralizing, disappointing moment in my career as a teacher.”- NY TimesAsrani denies Martins accusations and claims the reason the show was canceled was because Martin did not have a script for Asrani to review.I think it makes total sense to produce a show like Rent in high schools. It's modern, it's young, and it raises awareness of important issues. takepart and learn more about Rent at siteforrent.com
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