"We know there's a lot of attention here on Hartford High. … This is a time to enjoy, to learn, and to observe. We conduct ourselves in a certain way. … There are some things here that are of an adult nature. We treat you like the young adults that you are."
-- Executive Principal Jack Baldermann, lectured to students
-- From "Gay kiss in Conn. HS play causing controversy" posted at WABC-TV New York 10/21/11
School administrators are catching flack, but they are standing by their decision to make the homosexual-themed play mandatory for students.
About 40 students stormed out, and principal Adam Johnson says he was bombarded with calls and emails.
"Many people interpret this as advancing a political agenda, and that's not what my job is," he said. "But when I think about the world that our students live in and need to be prepared to be successful in, that's what this is all about."
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From "Connecticut High School Play's Gay Kiss Scene Causes Uproar" reported by Huffington Post 10/21/11
. . . several audience members walked out; the unhappy viewers included a number of uniformed members of the school's football team, which principal Adam Johnson described as "almost symbolic."
Many of the parents also showed apprehension, one even showing up at the school with a Bible in tow speaking about homosexuals in, according to CBS, an "unflattering manner." Yet Principal Johnson showed no regrets over his decision to include the kiss.
While there were negative reactions there was also a strong support for the performance and its message of acceptance. After the performance there was a talk back session with students and administrators where an open dialogue was started discussing issues of the LGBT community.
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From "Kiss In 'Zanna Don't!' High School Musical Triggers Walkout By Students, Football Players At Hartford Public High School" reported by Huffington Post 10/19/11
The plot of “Zanna Don’t!” involves a high school where homosexuality is the norm and heterosexuals are the outcasts.
“There are always circumstances [in organizing these programs] under which the values of the student or their family come into play," Johnson said, adding, “It’s a balancing act of individual values and the expectations of the school … [and] it was interesting, actually, seeing the apprehension."
Johnson had received calls from concerned parents in the weeks leading up to the musical's opening but he stood firm and stated that he believed it was important to show gay "intimacy" in the same way that society shows straight intimacy.
“When one teacher asked if I wanted to remove [the kiss], I said absolutely not,” Johnson said.
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From "Cheers This Time For Gay Kiss" by Vanessa De La Torre, Hartford Courant 10/21/11
[Today,] roughly 400 students watched the anti-bullying musical that a week earlier spurred a walkout and national notoriety. Leadership Greater Hartford's Quest program partnered with the nonprofit True Colors to produce the play at Hartford High to promote tolerance for gay youth.
When the [male actors kissed], playful hoots rang out. Three boys immediately got out of their seats and started to walk out, although one seemed to reconsider after a quiet talk with a school staffer.
Throughout the musical, many students cheered and applauded for both same-sex and heterosexual displays of affection. Some expressed "awws" . . .
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From "Gay play at school creates parental uproar" by Karla Dial, World News Service 10/21/11
The play, staged by a local community theater group and starring local high school and college students, is a musical set in an alternate universe where everyone is gay, except for a few closet heterosexuals. The songs feature raunchy lyrics and two boys share a kiss onstage -- which prompted several students to leave the auditorium.
"This is as important of a topic to discuss as anything in math, anything in social studies," [Principal Adam Johnson] said. "I'm completely glad that we did it."
Peter Wolfgang, director of the Family Institute of Connecticut, said he would like the state to require parents to give explicit permission -- known as an "opt-in" law -- for their children to attend such events.
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