Newport Beach, CA High School Cancels RENT, Blames Gay Characters

Various online news services including Queerty.com and the NY Times Online are reporting that Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach, Calif., has cancelled a student production of RENT, due to the fact that the school's principal, Fal Asrani, objected to RENT's gay characters.

Principal Asrani is denying she stopped production on the musical because of the gay content.

Ms. Asrani told The Orange County Register that the school drama teacher Ron Martin stopped the show because there was not enough time to revise the script.

Mr. Martin said that was not true, adding that scripts for the play had not yet been ordered and tshe had already told me that she "would not let it proceed because of the homosexuality in it".

To read the The Orange County Register article on the RENT banning click here.

Another high school, Rowlett High School in Rowlett, Tex., canceled its planned production of RENT this past December after parents and community members objected to the urban and intense content of the show, though that didn't stop cast members from performing a version of the musical at Southern Methodist University which is located close to Rowlett High.

The listing on the Music Theatre International website which holds the production rights for the RENT: School Edition states that; "This adaptation has been carefully done, working with the Larson estate to retain the dramatic intent of the groundbreaking rock musical, and consists of minimal changes to language and the removal of one song (CONTACT) to make it possible for many schools to perform this piece".

Rent, written by Jonathan Larson and directed by Michael Greif, opened at Broadway's Nederlander Theatre, on April 29, 1996 following a history making, sold out, extended limited engagement at off-Broadway's New York Theatre Workshop. The musical went on to win every major best musical award, including the Tony Award, as well as the Pulitzer Prize for drama. Rent played its final performance at the Nederlander Theatre on September 7, 2008 after playing 5,124 performances and 16 previews. Rent is the seventh longest running show in Broadway history and grossed over $280 million during its Broadway run.

Tours of Rent have crisscrossed the country almost continuously since late 1996 and the U.S. national tours have grossed over $330 million. The musical has been translated into every major language and been performed on six continents, including in the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.