The Public Theater of San Antonio Replaces PLAID TIDINGS Due to 'Problematic Content'

The Public Theater of San Antonio has replaced its previously announced holiday production of Plaid Tidings with a new original revue.

In a statement posted to the company's social media pages, as well as its website, The Public's Executive Artistic Director Claudia de Vasco explained that this change was due to "problematic content" in Plaid Tidings that needed to be addressed.

The production includes "two musical numbers that appropriated cultures of the Global Majority, and flippantly represented our traditions and identities, in a way that had no significance to story, as we interpreted it."

The replacement production, titled Season's Greetings from San Antonio, was conceived by Matthew Byron Cassi and Darrin Newhardt. It will premiere on Friday, November 19.

If you previously purchased a subscription which included tickets for Plaid Tidings, they will automatically be transferred to Seasons Greetings from San Antonio. If you have any questions or concerns about your season ticket, reach out to the Patron Services team at 210-733-7258 (Option 2) or by emailing boxoffice@thepublicsa.org.

Learn more at https://www.thepublicsa.org/2021-2022-season/seasonsgreetings.

Read the full statement below:

To our valued Donors, Patrons, and Artists,

We at The Public Theater of San Antonio are working to ensure that our Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Access efforts are represented in our actions, and not just in our words. It is our desire and intent not only to represent a more diverse creative community on our stages and in our work, as reflected in San Antonio's population, but also to operate and make decisions guided by direct anti-racism.

For this reason, we have decided to replace our Winter production of "Plaid Tidings: Holiday Edition of Forever Plaid" with "Seasons Greetings from San Antonio", an original production of The Public Theater of San Antonio, conceived by Matthew Byron Cassi and Darrin Newhardt.

When I stepped into this position a little over a month ago, I knew that I had to address the problematic content in "Plaid Tidings," which included two musical numbers that appropriated cultures of the Global Majority, and flippantly represented our traditions and identities, in a way that had no significance to story, as we interpreted it. I was thankful to find other staff members had also expressed concern about the pieces, showing me that The Public Theater is a space that is working to address concerns that might've previously gone unnoticed.

We made an attempt to move forward with "Plaid Tidings" by requesting approval for suggested changes through the publisher but were not able to reach an agreement in a timely manner. For this reason, we made the decision to replace the show, as we couldn't move forward with the production while also working earnestly toward The Public Theater's vision of "Theater for All."

Our Director for this production, Matthew Byron Cassi, shares our thoughts: "I'm very confident that together with the amazing team at The Public Theater of San Antonio, we'll devise a fantastic evening of holiday entertainment while still honoring the performer and designer contracts in place from "Plaid Tidings." San Antonio theater audiences want to be heard and respected and we're about to give them something unique to only them!"

If you have purchased a subscription which included ticket(s) for "Plaid Tidings," your ticket(s) will automatically be transferred to "Seasons Greetings from San Antonio." If you have any questions or concerns about your season ticket, please feel free to reach out to our Patron Services team at 210-733-7258 (Option 2) or by emailing boxoffice@thepublicsa.org.

We're grateful for your understanding and support, and we look forward to bringing some holiday cheer to you and your family at The Public this year!

Claudia de Vasco
Executive Artistic Director