The Show Goes On Despite Controversy

by Eric Humphrey

Judge Memorial's decision to produce the popular Broadway musical, "Rent: School Edition," has raised a few eyebrows among the Catholic community and those abroad due to its edgy content. "Rent," centered in an impoverished neighborhood in New York City, focuses on issues that some say are inappropriate for a high school audience.

"My concern is that at a Catholic high school, even with the toned down version, I don't think ["Rent"] is age appropriate without having an alternate perspective so that young students have a Christian perspective of those hard social issues," says Deacon John Kranz of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church. Kranz, who filled in for the sick Monsignor Mannion during the Sunday mass, discussed, in his homily, the necessity for high school students to be shown the positives in life. Parents who have approached him regarding "Rent" find fault with what Kranz describes as, "[Judge's] lack of a Catholic viewpoint."

However, this controversy in not confined to Salt Lake City's Catholic community. Blogs such as "moonbattery.com" and "orthometer.blogspot.com" have been the sites of brutal spitefulness between those who want "Rent" banned and those who support the production. KSL's appearance at director's night and subsequent news story brought further publicity to Judge's production and with it, broader criticism.

Local conservative radio host, Doug Wright, questioned Judge's choice of play and the issue of homosexuality dominated his discussions. Judge's own principal, Mr. Rick Bartman, phoned into the Doug Wright Show to defend his school's choice of performance.

"[Rent] addresses issues that kids in a diverse community are confronted with on a daily basis...the base of the play is sense of community and inclusion and sense of looking at opportunity," Bartman told Wright, "It's about young people trying to make it, make a difference, follow their dreams." However Wright persistently questioned Bartman's judgment to allow a Catholic school to perform a play that might glorify homosexuality. To this allegation, Bartman challenged Wright to, "find a person infected with HIV or even full blown AIDS that glorifies their situation," adding, "the Church does not condone homosexual behavior acted upon but welcomes homosexual persons as a part of our community." The podcast of Rick Bartman's interview on The Doug Wright Show can be found on KSL.com.

Darin Hathaway, director of "Rent" head of the drama department, seemed confused at the existence of any sort of controversy, and for good reason. "I had a parent meeting with every student who wanted to audition for Rent. I received nothing but support from the parents," said Hathaway referring to a mandatory meeting for all parents of students who auditioned, "This meeting was an opportunity for parents to express concerns about the production." For parents, this was their chance to read the high school script, discuss "Rent's" edgy content, and ultimately decide whether it is appropriate for high school students. "I received positive comments and excitement," revealed Hathaway, "I heard nothing but support from parents."
In spite of the controversy, the show did go on. "Rent: School Edition" debuted October 22 in the Judge auditorium.

Our Town Premiere Tonight

The main stage production this year, Our Town, premieres tonight at 7:00 pm in the Judge Memorial Auditorium. It is directed by our drama and tech teacher Darin Hathaway and stars Pat Thompson, Lexie S. Allen, Nick Shifrar, Alice Gonzalez, Ashlyn Lozano, Lukas Richards, and Ryan Sabol. Our Town is a three act play, meaning there are three intermissions. During these intermissions, donations will be collected for the Road Home charity. If you can't make this performance, you will have the opportunity to attend on Friday or Saturday.

Drama Teacher Hosts Director's Night

Judge's drama department is gearing up to perform this year's main stage play, Our Town. Mr. Darin Hathaway – the drama teacher and director of the production – chose this American classic for many reasons, namely because it is noted as one of the most important American pieces ever written.

Hathaway wanted to be sure that viewers of the Judge performance would understand the significance of the play, and furthermore why Thornton Wilder, the playwright, wrote such a profound – and often abstract – play.

For this reason, Hathaway hosted "Director's Night" on Tuesday, February 2, in the Judge auditorium. The cast was present to talk about their characters and Hathaway discussed the life of Wilder, the history of the play, the play's plotline and structure, and why Our Town is important.

"So many people have come up to me and said, 'I was in Our Town' or 'I remember where I was when I first saw the play.' And I think that is what's so cool about Our Town. It has sort of established this tight community of people," said Hathaway.

Director's Night was an insightful look into the life of Wilder and Our Town as a whole. The commentary that Hathaway provided was interesting and will help those who attended appreciate and understand the play.

The production runs February 19-21 in the Judge Auditorium. All shows are at 7 PM. Come and support the very talented Judge drama department.

3A State Drama Festival Results

Dramatic Monologues
LeVaughn Wilkins - Overall Superior
Jackie Graham - Overall Superior
Annie Johns - Straight Superiors

Humorous Monologues
Lexie Stuivenvolt Allen - Straight Superiors

Pantomime
Pat Thompson & Sean Abel - Straight Superiors
Sean Sweeney - Straight Superiors

Contrasting Monologues
Lieren Stuivenvolt Allen - Overall Superior

Scenes
Jillian Weaver & Lukas Richards
-Straight Superiors & Showcase Round (Top 6 scenes at the event)
Stuart Ford & Chris Voss - Straight Superiors


Judge also received a Superior Ranking as a school, based on percentage of participants in each event receiving superiors. There is a plaque that will be displayed in the main hallway.