Civility - Children's Play Calls for Beheading of Sarah Palin

Less than a month after the Leftwing in America blamed conservatives for the Tucson shooting and demanded 'civility' in political discourse, a children's play in Montana called for the beheading of Sarah Palin.

The play, which was presented at the Missoula Children's Theater in Missoula, Montana on January 23, was a production of Gilbert and Sullivan's 'The Mikado.' But the play's director decided at the last minute to add a bit of 'humor' to the production by including a scene which called for the beheading of Sarah Palin.

Although the production was presented before a predominantly liberal crowd, the scene prompted the following letter to the editor in the local newspaper, the Missoulian:

Open letter to MCT director Curt Olds:

First I would like to compliment you and the entire staff of “The Mikado” on the beautiful sets, costuming and professional performance we experienced on Sunday, Jan. 23. However, I must call you on something that was inserted into the play which I am almost positive was not in the original book.

The comments made in such a cavalier and oh-so-humorous way were uncalled for. Now, I realize you play to a mostly liberal audience in Missoula and so, I am sure, felt comfortable in your calling for the beheading of Sarah Palin. I am painfully aware that most in the audience tittered with laughter and clapped because “no one would miss her” but there were some in your audience who took great offense to this “uncivil tone” about another human being.

We are in the midst of a crisis that took place in Tucson where many started pointing fingers at that horrible right wing with all their hatred and targeting and standing for the second amendment and on and on and on. So, here we are in a lovely play with beautiful voices serenading us and we have to hear that it is okay to call for the killing of Sarah Palin because we don’t like her and no one would miss her. Unbelievable.

As a professional you should be ashamed of yourself, the audience should be ashamed of themselves and I am ashamed of myself for not standing up and leaving at that very moment. I would like to see an apology from you not because I want to hinder free-speech but for the hypocrisy this so clearly shows.

No doubt the minions of the Leftwing will justify the scene on the basis of it being 'art' and 'fiction,' just as they did when Hollywood produced a movie about the assassination of George W. Bush, who was a sitting President at the time of the film's release.

However, what if the subject of the play had been, say, the beheading of Barack Obama? Or the rape of Michelle Obama? What if a Hollywood production depicted Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid being blown apart by the bomb of a terrorist?

Would the 'civil' Leftwing justify such depictions in the name of 'art' and remind the country that, after all, it is 'only fiction?'

Such an assertion is laughable. The Left, the mainstream media, the talking head pundits on TV, and Democrats in Congress would be calling for endless investigations into to whether or not the producers of such horrid depictions were co-conspirators in a homegrown terrorist plot.

Yet so far, no one from the Left has yet to decry the film depicting the assassination of George W. Bush, nor has there been one bit of outrage from the Leftwing concerning the despicable and highly suspicious addition to an innocent play which subjected children to a call for Sarah Palin's beheading.

I wrote them to express my extreme displeasure with this nonsense. I actually got a reply, which I will now post:

[quote]
Dear XXXXX,

First of all, thank you for taking the time and effort to write your letter. Even when someone writes to express great displeasure, as you have, I am grateful that you let us know how you felt….and that you have the right to do so….that you helped secure the right to do so. I thank you for your service to us all. I feel that there may not be much I can say or tell you to make you less angry right now, and it is not my intention to defend or explain any actions at the moment, but I do want to make a distinction or two for the moment:

*The Mikado is not ever presented as a children’s theatre play. The production in question is an offering of the MCT Community Theatre, which produces main-stage shows such as Fiddler on the Roof, White Christmas, Jesus Christ Superstar and many other well-known and sometimes lesser-known show titles. The original letters to the editor on Friday referred to it as a “children’s theatre” production, which I believe was accidental on the part of the writer, but nonetheless, didn’t help this situation, as it gave a false impression of the material.

*I cannot speak for the ‘left’, the ‘right’, or any other socio-political group. Neither does MCT, inc. I believe we can all learn from anything we go through to be more civil, more understanding and less accusatory.

*There was no intention or attempt to be a part of “they” by using the common-day references that—have been removed from the production. On a day-to-day basis, we try to keep politics out of our workplace and I can assure you that there is no one, common political opinion that exists in our organization. The same is true of our volunteer performers in the MCT Community Theatre productions…….

*Purely in the ‘fyi’ category, I would be happy to share with you the context of the lyrics, within the story line…….but you may already be learned about Gilbert & Sullivan’s production and the modern-day references about situations and the kinds of things that are very high-profile in their ability to bring controversy (ie: people who talk on cell phones all the time, ignoring the clerks, or those who don’t yield at Round-abouts, etc…). Please know that I am not making an excuse for what I believe, personally, was a lack of judgment, but I remind people all the time that knowing the “context” of a comment---though it may still bring discord---still helps us understand the intention.

I appreciate your frustration and that all finger-pointing about the causes of things should really cease. Though I was not a part of the decision to go with the lyrics in the first place, nor to change/remove them from the show, I know there was no malice intended. From what you said in your note, I expect this may not mean much at this point. But, I was very pleased the lyrics were removed from the production and I now hope that ---as we have acknowledged our responsibility for this, and offered our apologies and regret that this even occurred, that we can learn from this week together and move on to a better day.

Again, please know that I am grateful that you gave us (me) an opportunity to respond, with at least some thoughts on this situation. I am hopeful that people will not judge the immense value of this company that has been around for 40 years, that I love and have served for 20 of those years on the matter of the four words in question.

Thank you so much for your time. I have copied below the note from our Executive Director which has been submitted to the Missoulian, as well as posted on our website.

Terri

Ms. Terri Elander
International & Public Relations Director
Missoula Children's Theatre
200 North Adams Street
Missoula, MT 59802
ph 406-728-1911, ext 232
fax 406-721-0637
telander@mctinc.org
www.mctinc.org

From Michael McGill, MCT’s Executive Director:

I am sorry that the satirical reference to Sarah Palin has offended some of our patrons. Gilbert & Sullivan were well-known as satirists, addressing the social and cultural issues of their day—aristocracy, government, etc…. Some of the lyrics performed in The Mikado around the country today reflect the issues and topics of our time. We know that “MCT” means many things to many people—and we are blessed with passionate, loyal audiences, here in Missoula and around the world. In this instance, however, we are talking about an MCT Community Theatre production (not to be confused with a Missoula Children’s Theatre production). Although MCT Community Theatre did not pen the lyrics that were found to be offensive, we have taken the action of removing them from this production. It is my hope that the audiences will appreciate the hard work, artistry and beauty within this MCT Community Theatre production of The Mikado.

Michael McGill
Executive Director
MCT, Inc.

[end quote]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.