Indiana High School Cancels BETWEEN THE LINES Due to 'Sexual Innuendos and Alcohol References'

A high school production of Between The Lines set to be performed in Indiana has been cancelled. Mississinewa High School’s fall musical was scheduled to be performed this month at the Gas City Performing Arts Center, and the cast had been in rehearsal for months already, when they found out it would be cancelled, according to a post from Channel 27 News and Entertainment. 

The production was cancelled due to concerns about "sexual innuendos and alcohol references." 

"I couldn’t, in good conscience, allow [these] in a public school performance," said Superintendent Jeremy Fewell. After consulting with the school’s attorney, Fewell made the decision to cancel the production. His plan for the future is to implement a formal screening process that will take place earlier so this won't happen again.

The handling of the decision is facing backlash from the community, with parents of the affecting students saying that they had to learn about the cancellation from their children rather than from the school.

The social media post is also gaining traction, with people from the community and beyond expressing their feelings about the decision and how it was handled. 

Jodi Picoult, who wrote the book on which the musical is based, has reposnded to the news. "Received this devastating news yesterday while I was literally in the West End at the premiere of another musical I wrote - The Book Thief - which is all about censorship and fascism," she writes. "The irony was not lost on me. This Indiana school already was granted permission through licensing to make changes to the script, but a single parent still complained about the existence of a non-binary character (whose gender orientation is not even explicitly mentioned) and the superintendent cancelled the show after kids had put in hundreds of hours of rehearsals. Censorship in America has spilled from books into theater. When one person decides for others what is appropriate, we have lost freedom of expression. Worst - this show is NOT explicit. It’s been performed by hundreds of school groups. The message it offers: Live the story you want if it’s not the story you’re in. Perhaps this objecting parent can explain to me what, exactly, is so wrong about that?"

About Between the Lines

Between the Lines is a musical based on the novel of the same name, written by Jodi Picoult, with music and lyrics by Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson, and a book by Timothy Allen McDonald. The musical follows 17-year-old Delilah as she struggles to balance fitting in at her new school and a romance with a prince who is another world away.

Between the Lines had its world premiere production at Kansas City Repetory Theatre in 2017. It was scheduled to open Off-Broadway at the Tony Kiser Theatre in May 2020 but faced several delays due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. It finally began previews on June 15, 2022, with an official opening on July 11. It was scheduled to play until October 2, 2022, but closed early on September 11.