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Texas School District Cancels Play About Gay Penguins
AMAZON
It’s true: life imitates art. In an episode of Parks and Recreation (which NewsFeed certainly considers art), protagonist Leslie Knope received fierce backlash after she performed a “marriage” ceremony for two penguins — later realizing they were both male. Now, in Texas, same-sex penguins are also causing a stir.
The Austin school district has cancelled 10 scheduled performances of And Then Came Tango, a play that chronicles the real-live adventures of two male penguins who raised a baby penguin together in New York City‘s
Central Park Zoo. Written by a University of Texas graduate student,
the play had been performed for second-graders at Lee Elementary School
in October before district officials suspended it, citing concerns about
age appropriateness, the Austin American-Statesman reports.
Roy and Silo — the pair of Chinstrap Penguins that inspired the play —
were given a fertilized egg a few years back and together raised the
hatchling, whom zoo officials named Tango. Joined at the hip (er, wing)
for years, these “gay” penguins made headlines prompting a lot of discussion about homosexuality in the animal world.
But it wasn’t just in newsprint: the story of Roy and Silo entered the literary sphere in 2005 with the children’s book And Tango Makes Three. The
picture book was aimed at young readers but encountered pushback from
school districts and libraries across the country, which didn’t agree
with the supposed depictions of homosexuality within its pages.
And now, the stage version is facing similar criticism. Emily Freeman, the student who wrote And Then Came Tango,
said her play about this penguin pair is “about different families” and
meant to spread message of equality and love. Not everyone agreed that
the play was appropriate for schoolchildren, however. “The subject
matter communicated in the play is a topic that Austin ISD believes
should be examined by parents/guardians who will discuss with their
elementary school age children at a time deemed appropriate by the
parents/guardians,” (WHICH IS NEVER-- GM) Greg Goodman, the school district’s fine arts
director, said in a letter. In the past, the district has allowed
performances of several University of Texas theater productions. This
was the first one to be cancelled — much to Freeman’s disappointment.
“Throughout the play, the definition of family is extended beyond normative representations,” she said in a press release,
adding that the narrative seeks to highlight the importance of “voicing
your opinions and standing up for your beliefs, no matter how old you
are.” She didn’t agree that the content could be seen as inappropriate
for young children.
But plenty of Texans think the district made the right choice in banning the production.
“We define marriage very clearly in the state of Texas. So if you
have a play that tries to push and promote a different marriage
definition, which is clearly illegal, it leads students to ask questions
about it, and it leads to the discussion of sex,” Jonathan Saenz,
president of the conservative Texas Values group, told the Statesman.
It seems the decision to ban the play at Austin schools is final — but in the meantime, Freeman will put on several free performances, open to the public. Leslie Knope would be proud.
