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Controversial High School Theater, Worthy Risks?

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Last weekend the Waterbury Arts Magnet School performed the Tony award-winning Joe Turner’s Come and Gone by the Pulitzer prize-winner August Wilson – a celebrated play that was first staged in1984 at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut.

The play almost didn’t happen, though.  A month ago, production was temporarily stopped, when questions were raised about the frequent use of a racially charged slang term…the so called “n-word.” 

Many top theater producers and artistic directors, as well as the students themselves rallied to the cause – advocating for the educational value of the play, despite its provocative content.   

This discussion about adult language in high school theater productions is just one of many controversies, though.  What about plays that deal with tough themes like suicide and war?  What about musicals that portray sexual themes that might be uncomfortable for students and parents alike?  

Today,  a look inside the controversial world of high school plays…what’s appropriate…and what’s the educational value of challenging theater? 

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