Bat Boy banned again?

Now a second protest movement is brewing to ban a high-school theater department from staging Bat Boy: The Musical.

But this one could be bigger than the last one. Tonight there is a school board meeting in ultra-conservative La Cañada Flintridge. And according to a member of the board's committee, Focus on the Family is sending representatives to "attend the board meeting to record the responses from the Board and audience. Dr. Dobson intends to use this topic for his weekly half-hour program."

Ah, the irony. Dr. James Dobson shall denounce one of my projects, and it won't be the atheist-themed The God Who Wasn't There or The Beast. Rather, it's the project containing the theme that true Christian charity involves tolerance of differences.

Oh, wait. I guess it isn't so ironic.

Glendale News Press:

Drama teacher Gale Caswell's choice for La Cañada High School's spring musical has some parents irate.

The play "Bat Boy" contains depictions of rape, incest, bestiality, drug use, violence and other elements unsuitable for a public school production, said Karen Mathison, whose daughter is in Caswell's drama class.

"As parents, we are doing our best to raise our children not to be accepting of this type of incest, bestiality, animals copulating on stage, murder, murder, murder," she said.

[...]

"Bat Boy," written by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming, is a dark comedy meant to spoof pulp tabloids and gossip magazines, Caswell said.

"It comes from a real tabloid story in one of those magazines you see," she said.

[...]

The redeeming quality of the play is that it teaches to love your neighbor, to forgive and to be true to one's vows, Caswell said.

"Religion plays a huge part in my life," said student Jennie Jackson, who plays one of the incestuous roles in the production. "I discussed this with my parents, and we agreed that it does not glorify the acts."

Otis Page's daughter read for a part in the play but decided it wasn't suitable, he said.

"I was shocked when I read the play," he said. "It is the type of play that when you put it on stage you can make it seem funny. However, when we saw the play at San Diego State University, it was a very violent, sexually deviant play, and they use humor that is not appropriate for an all-school play."

Mathison also worries about an unsuspecting audience.

"This play is not well-known," she said. "This is a community that looks forward to spring play every year. They will be shocked.

"Students would be suspended or expelled if they would be caught joking around on campus the way the play portrays some scenes. Why should it be allowed on stage?"

Administrators have so far approved of the play, as long as Caswell tones it down.

(Warning: Full article contains a plot spoiler in fourth paragraph.)

And, of course, there's a protest site called NOTbatboy.com (warning: major plot spoilers; these people have no shame):

We are concerned parents who have lodged a FORMAL COMPLAINT against the La Canada Unified School District and the La Canada High School Board about the 2005 "All-School" Play,  Bat Boy: The Musical.

The musical is filled with violent and graphic elements that we don't think are
appropriate for kids under 18. We are very concerned that our teenagers have
been subjected to this material without the proper parent notification.

We are asking that the school immediately suspend rehearsals and choose a
new production. This play does not represent the excellent material that has been
previously produced by the Drama Department and we feel that if this play is
presented, it will set a new precedent for the school. Furthermore, we are asking
that the school implement a new procedure of how "all-school" plays are chosen.

Please read our complaint so you will know how serious this issue is and
support us in this effort.

Please know that we do not argue that under the First Amendment this play has
every right to exist, BUT we are opposed to it being used in a high school setting.
                                                             
Thank you for caring about teenagers and their education!

UPDATE: Corrected some misleading wording. The Board isn't trying to ban the play--a group of parents is (some of whom are associated with the Board, but not on it). Thanks to a reader for pointing out the flaw.

UPDATE 2: Another reader suggests I mention that Bat Boy has already been performed at such bastions of perversion as Victor Valley High (Victorville, CA) and Jesuit High School (Sacramento).

UPDATE 3: We win round one.