Florida high school cancels play about a 1923 canceled play

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A Jacksonville high school canceled a production of “Indecent,” a 2015 play about how members of the 1923 Broadway production of “God of Vengeance” were arrested for obscenity because the play contained a love act between two women. Students alleged that the production had been shut down in an act of LGBTQ+ censorship, citing a Florida state law that bans public schools from teaching young students about gender identity or sexual orientation.  

Key Players

Paula Vogel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright, wrote “Indecent,” an award-winning musical about the “God of Vengeance” controversy in 1923. 

Douglas Anderson School of the Arts (DASA), an arts high school in the Duval County Public School System in Jacksonville, Florida, trains students in “dance, instrumental or vocal music, performance or technical theatre, film and video production, creative writing, and visual arts.”

Further Details

In “God of Vengeance,” written in 1906 by Sholem Asch, the daughter of a Jewish brothel owner falls in love with one of her father’s prostitutes, NPR reported. After long success across Europe, the work arrived on Broadway in 1922 and was the first Broadway play to feature a kiss between two women. But in 1923, the producer and cast were arrested and tried for obscenity, and the production was closed.

DASA had planned to showcase “Indecent” almost exactly 100 years after the “God of Vengeance” controversy. But on Jan. 5, 2023, the intended first day of production, the cast and crew were told that the school board had canceled the play. 

That day, Madeline Scotti, a student and one of the lead actors, asserted in an Instagram post that the play had been shut down “not because of, but related to the ideals stated in the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill,” referring to Parental Rights in Education act, which was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in March 2022. 

Among several provisions, the law bans “classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity” from kindergarten through third grade. Critics say that the law makes life harder for LGBTQ+ youth if they are not allowed to speak about or affirm their gender identity at school. 

In the post, Scotti praised “Indecent” as “a story about how detrimental censorship is, about how its damaging effects can ruin a nation and a community. I don’t need to point out the irony.”

Afterward, a school district representative wrote that the play had been shut down because of “adult sexual dialog that is inappropriate for student cast members and student audiences. It’s that simple. The decision has no relevance to any legislation but is rather a function of our responsibilities to ensure students engage in educational activities appropriate for their age,” NPR reported. 

However, students cited past productions that depicted adult sexual dialogue, such as “Chicago” and “Rent.” Additionally, “Indecent” had been approved in May 2022 and students required parental permission to audition. The only thing that changed was that the Parental Rights in Education law went into effect in July 2022. 

Outcome 

Free Speech organizations condemn play’s cancellation 

On Jan. 10, the National Coalition Against Censorship, PEN America, and the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund condemned the school district and urged it to reconsider its decision.

“If vaguely-defined adult sexual dialog’ is reason enough to ban plays from school productions,” a press release from the groups said, “many other canonical productions would be banned from student theaters—Romeo and Juliet for depicting sexually active teens, Oedipus Rex for its incestual themes, and other works that have serious literary and artistic value for students and community members.” 

“Finally, the cancellation of the play is also deeply hurtful to LGBTQ+ students, including members of the cast, who see the rejection of the play as a denial of the historical experience of LGBTQ+ people and the persistence of discrimination against them,” the press release continued. 

Vogel weighs in, offers help

Vogel replied to Scotti’s Instagram post. “I send my support to you and all the artists,” she wrote. “Hate and intolerance are indecent; never love. Thanks for your courage. This will not end here.”

Vogel also issued a statement to the school board. “As a playwright who wrote a play about how censorship is a first step toward genocide, I am puzzled about the school board’s decision,” she wrote. “But it is as an educator that I am angry and appalled. Why hurt the students who are aiming to become theatre makers? Instead of letting them discover the issues of antisemitism, intolerance, censorship, and the Holocaust, the school board is censoring them.”

Vogel called on the board to reconsider its decision, which she attributed to a lack of understanding of the play and its historical context, and tweeted that she would be “more than willing to come down” and speak with the board. 

Production seeks new venue 

Scotti told Teen Vogue that the cast and crew were determined not to be shut down by the school board and that they would look for another way to put on the play. 

On Scott’s Instagram post, Sarah Locke, a Jacksonville pastor, suggested some local venues to hold the performance. 

As of Feb. 13, there were no further developments.