On May 3 and 4, the SHS Theater Department put on “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” or “Spelling Bee” for short. This musical revolves around the story of a spelling bee involving kids from 9 to 13 years old. The struggles of the youngsters are put on display in a humorous sense. At least, that’s how it was advertised to be.
Much like “Mean Girls,” the musical put on by the department in the fall, the production fell short due to its uninhibited adult content.
In the fall, many parents and grandparents came to support their children in their light-hearted performance of a toned-down PG-13 musical.
They expected it to be school-appropriate and to fit the Christian values of the southside of Indy.
What they came to see though, was, in their eyes, absolutely abhorrent. A display so deviant that several audience members complained of unexplained shaking and loss of vision.
“Look, I know the show is supposed to be about teenagers, but they didn’t have to use all that language and foul imagery,” said one of the actors’ parents.
The quote holds the opinions of a large majority of adults who attended the show. One even contacted Perry Township’s central office complaining about a projected backdrop.
“Yeah I saw what I saw and made them take it down,” concerned grandma Paula Jean said. “I basically saved anyone from a traumatizing event that might’ve happened.”
With all of this being known, one might assume the theater department would tone it down. On the contrary, it seems their latest musical included some rather vulgar displays.
“We’re kind of rebels here,” music director Cacalyn Pritchardson said. “We cut out basically half of the funniest things in this production, and that’s way less than the school wants us to.”
The director, Kaleeb Prances, agreed.
“I like to upset people,” Prances said. “It makes me happy inside to offend old women with the most vanilla jokes you’ve ever heard.”
It seems that these two, in tandem, are out for blood. Seemingly, they are attempting to corrupt the minds of the audience and potentially, even the performers.
More investigation is coming soon along with possible criminal charges against the theater department for this heinous act.