All you need is love, love - so what if I'm naive?
This story makes me SO happy.
When an Episcopal Bishop in Central Florida put pressure on an independent prep school in his dioceses (that had historical ties to the episcopal church, but no active affiliation) to shut down a production of La Cage aux Folles (a play that centers around the lives of a gay couple and their drag nightclub), it looked like it was (forgive the pun but i can't help myself) 'curtains' for the show.
"That any high school would sponsor this particular production ... certainly seems an unusual decision for a Christian preparatory school," he was quoted in the Orlando Sentinel.
But, uh ... didn't the guy who inspired all those Christian religions say that we should love ALL people? ALL people. All right, I know: I'm naive. But daaamn, that's what I thought Jesus' teachings were supposed to be about ... and it's that very same thing La Cage is about: love.
Well, love, acceptance and tolerance ... and fabulous spangles and men in drag, set to wonderful music.
But really, who cares how it's packaged? It gets me so riled when I hear about people who PREACH love and tolerance but don't LIVE it. (grrrrr)
Interesting too, to read about this today: six years since those planes sliced through the towers and everything started spinning out of whack. All in the name of religion. And being right. And making other people wrong. And pride. And intolerance. (oy, don't get me started ...) (oops, too late ...)
(me? i'm a very tolerant person; i just can't tolerate intolerant people ... )
But hey, we have a happy ending to this story: The Church of Theater (living their values of tolerance, acceptance and entertainment for all), came to the rescue. Even though the school had caved in to the Bishop and cancelled the performances, at least 15 theater companies and/or performing arts centers in Central Florida offered to host this high school production, and they wound up putting it on at the Orlando Repertory Theater this past weekend to standing-room-only audiences.
That's one for the good guys. Bravo.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This song - the closer from Act I of La Cage - is a nice finale for today. (it gives me goosebumps almost every time I hear it ... it's not the best video, but it's the song that matters, so it'll do ...) ( ... or you might remember gloria gaynor's fab disco version ...)
And (naive or whatevah) ... if I haven't said it a skillion times already ...
Good for those theater companies for coming to the rescue!
Posted by: Marilyn | September 15, 2007 at 04:36 AM