Ontario school board restores funding to produce play depicting gay teen couple

A southwestern Ontario school board says it has reversed a decision to pull funding from a local youth theatre program over a play depicting the true story of a gay teen couple fighting to attend prom.

The Thames Valley District School Board says it will restore its $15,000 sponsorship of the Grand Theatre’s production of “Prom Queen,” which officials had earlier said contained inappropriate content.

Organizers of the Grand Theatre’s High School Project in London, Ont., said last week they were disappointed when the Thames Valley District School Board and the London Catholic District School Board decided to withhold a combined $30,000 from the theatre’s production of the play.

The London District Catholic School Board said Wednesday in a statement that it would not be reversing its decision.

The Grand Theatre’s board of directors says a community-driven fundraising effort has raised enough money for the project to go ahead without the support of the Catholic board.

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It says as a result of the community support, it will offer two student matinees, completely free of charge to students.

“We want to assure donors that the funds raised will be used exclusively to support the 2018 High School Project, a program that costs $250,000 to produce annually,” it said.

The Thames Valley District School Board said it would be requiring parental permission for any student attending a performance of “Prom Queen” and that schools would be required to notify parents of the nature of the play’s subject matter and language.

“The play’s use of adult themes, stereotypes and offensive language were considered inappropriate for the High School Project, whose audience has traditionally included thousands of elementary school children,” it said.

The board said guidelines will be developed for staff to determine the play’s suitability for different grade levels and materials will be developed for pre- and post-play discussions with students to help them understand the play’s context and content.

“I am delighted our administration has listened to the concerns of the community and has reconsidered its decision,” board chair Matt Reid said in a statement. “The play is part of an uncomfortable conversation that we must have.”

Every year, Grand Theatre’s High School Project helps about 70 London secondary students produce and star in a stage musical.

“Prom Queen,” the play chosen for 2018, tells the true story of Marc Hall, an Oshawa, Ont., high school student who took the Durham Catholic District School Board to court in 2002 and won the right to bring his boyfriend to prom.

“This is a Canadian musical about true events that happened to high school students, when one boy stood up and said, ‘I can make a difference in the world,’ and (succeeded),” Grand Theatre artistic director Dennis Garnhum said.

Peter Cameron , The Canadian Press