This happened in Sherman TX, a city most famous for the Lynching of George Hughes and subsequent riot in 1930, commonly known as the Sherman Riot.
I was tempted to say, “New century, new target of bigotry,” but who am I kidding? They never gave up the old target of bigotry, either.
It’s not like the people involved in that lynching felt bad about it or regretted it. And then they passed that hate to their children who passed it on to their own children. Those people were the grandparents and great-grandparents of these kids. Some of them are still alive and still preaching their hate to the kid. Some of them were alive long enough to do it before they died.
They should play one of the female lead characters, but as male.
I haven’t seen Oklahoma! but is there a part where the lead whips out their dong and waves it in front of the audience?
If not, who cares what’s in their pants?
Also, did they verify the new lead is cis? I know a lot of people who have been in theater, there is a surprisingly large percent who aren’t cis.
Also, prosthetic dongs are a thing, if you prefer to keep the original vision of Oklahoma! intact.
People playing genders they’re not assigned at birth? In theater?!?
😮
My first thought was “wait until they hear about Shakespeare”. Literally every role filled by men, sometimes with the script explicitly calling for a man to play a female in full attire.
I’d also hate to see what policies they’ll enact for their chorale program when performing historical hymns, where soprano parts specifically called for a male eunuch (castrato) to sing since females were not allowed to attend church services including choirs.
In my younger years I would have been absolutely vilified by these people. I’m probably vilified now, but I would’ve been then too. In all seriousness though, I cannot believe how far backwards we’ve gone in all this. I recognize that these thoughts and feelings have existed since before I was a kid but at least back then people seemed to have the decency to mind their own.
But to attack theatre of all things with this gender bullshit is attacking theatre itself. Crossdressing in theatre has existed for as long as theatre has existed. Cross-singing has existed for as long as singing has existed. If they’re not teaching that stuff in their performing arts programs, they are denying young adults a quality education of the performing arts.
There is a slight difference when we’re talking about trans people.
I’d wager they would allow a man to play a woman’s role and vice versa. I think this is purely the anti-trans agenda taking hold.
This is absolutely against theatre traditions.
I was an angsty theatre kid. I would conspire to ruin every and any play for the remainder of my time at that school.
I literally did a monologue in drag and the school was fine with it. And this was the 90s. Things have gone backward, amazingly enough.
I went to school in West Texas (bigotry Central). In elementary school in the mid-80s, it was tradition that the 6th grade class always put on a performance of ‘Guitarzan’ for the annual talent show, and EVERY year it was tradition that Jane was played by a male student.
The main difference of course is that it was played as humorous. A joke with a ridiculous coconut bra.
So it’s not that Texans have a problem with cross-dressing itself, but with taking seriously anyone who isn’t ashamed of it.
Which to me seems to make it even worse. I hate this state.
Yes, that’s a good point about the kind of progress that has been made. Minorities have always been tolerated in certain roles where they are perceived as non-threatening or entertaining, but progress is about allowing everyone to take part and be respected in the wider society.
