The show will go on next month at a Texas high school following controversy that erupted when a major part in the school’s production of “Oklahoma!” was taken away from a transgender boy.
Tickets are now on sale for the production, which is set to run Jan. 19-21, the Dallas Morning News reported. It was previously postponed by the Sherman Independent School District amid pushback over its policy regarding gender, as well as the content of the play.
Sherman High School senior Max Hightower, a transgender boy, lost a major role in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical when the administration announced last month that only males could play male parts and females could play only female parts.
After widespread outrage, the school reversed the decision but said the production would use a “youth” version of the play, which premiered on Broadway in 1943, that would temper adult themes, profane language and sexual content.
After an emotional school board meeting in November, the trustees reversed the decision and ruled that the original show could go on in the new year.
Other students had also lost their parts, including several girls who were assigned to male roles. Max was set to play the role of Ali Hakim, a man.
Philip Hightower, Max’s father, told the Dallas Morning News that the decision is “a good start.”
School board president Brad Morgan apologized to the community for the drama. “We understand that our decision does not erase the impact this had on our community, but we hope that we will reinforce to everyone, particularly our students, that we do embrace all of our Board goals, to include addressing the diverse needs of our students and empowering them for success in a diverse and complex world.”
The controversy has sparked conversations about district leadership, however.
Some families called for Superintendent Tyson Bennett, who has gotten national backlash from LGBTQ activists, to be ousted, and the school board voted to remove him from supervising the fine arts program.
The district also will open a third-party investigation into the situation, according to reports.