Brody's Notes... Baltimore Area High School Reverses Ban Decision- Play With Gay Scene Can Open

By Brody Levesque | BEL AIR, MARYLAND -- Students in a suburban Baltimore high school's drama company are rejoicing after Bel Air High School administrators reversed a decision that would have prevented their production from opening intact on November 10th. The critically acclaimed play, “Almost, Maine,” written by playwright John Cariani, depicts characters falling in and out of love through a series of vignettes. In "They Fell," the scene at issue, two young men, who are longtime friends, compare notes about disastrous dates with women and come to realize that they are attracted to each other. The two make no physical contact and use no graphic language.

Junior Julia Streett, president of the Bel Air High School's Gay Straight Alliance, and who is involved with the show's production as the sound engineer for the show told The Baltimore Sun newspaper Friday, "Cutting the scene was definitely censorship, it repressed creativity."

The scene is far less suggestive than other scenes in the play that depict characters falling in love who kiss, remove clothing, then leave the stage, inferring sexual activity. The drama club's students think that the only reason “They Fell?” was removed from BADC’s performance,by the school's administration while the rest of the play was left intact, is fear of the expression of same-sex love or gay identity. A recently staged play in a Connecticut High school saw controversy explode after a number of students had walked out of that production after a scene when two of the actors performed a same-sex kiss.

According to the students, the production was well underway approaching final rehearsals when the faculty adviser took the play to the administration asking that the particular scene be reviewed for "appropriateness." When the school's administrators told the drama club to cut that scene, they immediately took the decision to the American Civil Liberties Union and petitioned ACLU officials for their assistance.

Krissy Vogt a junior and member of the drama club also spoke with the Baltimore Sun telling the paper "The show is all about different couples falling in love, adding a gay couple created diversity. I think that the scene is definitely necessary to the show." They told us to cut the scene but gave us no reason," Vogt said. "We were puzzled. The scene is really lighthearted and there is no physical contact. We decided to go to the ACLU. We knew they could get something done for us."

Deborah A. Jeon, ACLU Maryland's legal director wrote school officials a letter Wednesday demanding that the scene be restored to the production. Jeon cautioned them their decision violated the students' right to free speech. "It is the only portrayal of same-sex love in the play; it is also the only portion of the play the drama club was required to remove. The decision to censor the play to eliminate representation of same-sex love and gay identity is unlawful and we demand that the decision be reversed," she wrote.

The Hartford County Maryland School Board reversed the decision Friday. “We are heartened that school officials seem now to understand that fear of same-sex romance cannot justify censorship of this sweet and amusing scene,” Jeon said. “We applaud the Bel Air students for taking a stand for the Constitution, and for providing their school community with an extraordinary teachable moment about free speech and respect for diversity," she added.

“This victory belongs to the students of the Bel Air Drama Company, who quickly recognized the censorship as wrong and discriminatory and decided to fight back,” said Jessica Weber, pro bono counsel at Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP. “Censoring the scene sent a message to students that being gay is something to be ashamed of and is best kept hidden. The students who challenged the censorship helped make their school a safer space for students of all sexual orientations.”

The GSA's president Streett reacted saying “I'm glad the school board has come to a reasonable decision and that we get to perform the play as it was intended to be. There didn’t need to be a big and crazy controversy, since portrayal of a same-sex relationship is a part of life and no one should be discriminated against just because of their sexual orientation.”

The play's author- playwright John Cariani- noted that his play is simply a story of "new, sweet love." Cariani continued saying;

"I told it as gently and respectfully as possible. I’m so sad that it created a stir. But so happy that the show will go on ­without too much fuss. And I hope the folks on the Harford County School Board realize how impressive their students are. I am floored that members of the Bel Air High School Drama Club even thought to consider contacting the ACLU. They’re obviously getting a great education at Bel Air High School. Perhaps all this controversy ­and the play, presented in its entirety ­ will remind kids who may be in doubt that…it gets better.”