‘Rent,”Laramie Project’ get people talking

It's rare when an issue galvanizes an entire theater community. Seemed everywhere I went this week someone would ask, "What do you think of what's going on with 'Rent' and 'The Laramie Project'?"

For those who have missed the news stories, editorials, columns, and letters to the editor, Green Valley High School is presenting edited versions of the hit Broadway musical "Rent," about life, poverty and AIDS in the East Village, as well as the docudrama "The Laramie Project," about the circumstances leading to the murder of gay 21-year-old Matthew Shepard on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyo.

The school would have to have been very naive not to have expected a heavy debate. But what I regret is the condescension that has been in full swing on both sides. Parents who don't want their kids in the show are being called bigots. Those who feel it's wrong to deprive children of the experience are being labeled bleeding heart liberals. I'm just glad local theater has gotten adults on both sides of the issue interested in what's going on in the classroom.

It's not fair game calling the anti-show parents bigots. The freedom that we should expect to go along with adult theater doesn't always apply when we're dealing with kids.

But while we should respect parents' decisions to not have their child participate, there may be something we're missing out on here.

"Rent" is based on "La Boehme," which featured the killer-at-the-time tuberculosis. In an attempt to update the material, author Jonathan Larson substituted AIDS, just as he might have substituted the plague or polio at different times of history. "Rent" isn't about AIDS anymore than "La Boehme" is about TB. It's just another fact-of-life with which the characters have to deal. There's no comment made on lifestyles (except for lead man Roger's disgust for his girlfriend's drug habits).

"The Laramie Project" is about how a quiet, small town can feed the seeds of hate that lead to unspeakable cruelty. I recently saw the PBS documentary on the history of Mormonism and was struck by the dramatic parallels in the death of founder Joseph Smith.

These works are about the power of hate. The characters battle violence, not sex. And it's difficult to imagine a high school student getting a valid education without being introduced to the workings of evil. The typical high school reading fare -- Faulkner, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Shakespeare -- all present situations in which the reader is encouraged to make moral (and varied) choices. Isn't wise choice what wisdom is all about?

I would hope parents would consider seeing these productions. Chances are their children already have strong opinions about the plays' subjects, and this could be a rare opportunity for honest discussion -- not about social politics, but about life and death.

Anthony Del Valle can be reached at DelValle@aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas NV 89125.