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"Will high school students see a play dealing with homosexual love in school this year? Producers of the play 'A Song For Two' - which is based on the English musical 'Beautiful Thing' and deals with love between young men - are offering the production to local high school principals for inclusion in their 'culture basket'.
"The backers of the proposal say that they are motivated by a desire to help gay and lesbian teens find greater acceptance among their peers.
"The principal of 4th Municipal High School is open to the possibility. 'There is no human phenomenon that should be ignored. Homosexual-lesbian love is love like any other love. A play of this type can be presented in school after properly preparing students to think pluralistically and recognize 'the other.''
"Other principals preferred to reserve judgment until seeing the play."
My question: is this project a bold (and welcome) innovation or would a production such as this be offered in many high schools around the world?
The paradox has often been noted that the United States, founded in secularism, is now the most religiose country in Christendom, while England, with an established church headed by its constitutional monarch, is among the least. (Richard Dawkins, 2006)
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13796
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How strange, because "Beautiful Thing" was never a musical! It was a "play for TV" and as such also takes to the stage reasonably well in its original format!
The idea of a musical sounds as daft as "Angela's Ashes - The Musical"!
I suspect the topic would not normally see the light of day in a school here, though am happy to be proved wrong.
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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timmy wrote:
> How strange, because "Beautiful Thing" was never a musical!
Yeah. The hack who wrote this report probably just made a wild guess. "Beautiful Thing" must have suggested 'musical' to his (or her) journalistic mind. Perhaps I should not have graced the publication with the name 'newspaper'. It really is a local rag.
The paradox has often been noted that the United States, founded in secularism, is now the most religiose country in Christendom, while England, with an established church headed by its constitutional monarch, is among the least. (Richard Dawkins, 2006)
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13796
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Once heralded as gorundbreaking, I saw it and was disappointed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beautiful_Thing is of interest, though contains spoilers.
To me it is also a regrettably poor play. I've seen it on stage initially, in our local theatre. It works best on stage. I rented the video. I found it self absorbed and self serving, and more than a little surreal. The stage suited it better. I'm pretty sure I still have the script. I read it and found it reinforced my view of the somewhat weird nature of the play.
To even half understand it you have to understand the idea of a deprived inner London council housing estate. It's set in Thamesmead http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thamesmead.
As a side issue. many years ago I taught kids from Thamesmead sailing, partly on the Thames at Surbiton, and partly in the old Surrey Docks http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrey_Commercial_Docks in Albion Dock, before it was filled in for redevelopment.
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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