Let the children explore, learn with 'Rent'
This letter is in response to an article about a letter from a Millstone parent who has decided that the musical production "Rent: School Edition" at Allentown High School this coming spring is unsuitable for her daughters (and others 14 to 17) to either see or perform in.

Hey, this is America. You have the freedom of choice. Go or don't go. "Rent" is a contemporary musical about love, friendship and community, and the seventh longest-running show in Broadway history. Set in New York City's East Village, "Rent" is a modern take on the classic Puccini opera "La Boheme." The musical tells an unforgettable story about a group of young artists learning to survive, falling in love, finding their voices, and living for today. (A revival is touring the United States and is being presented at New Jersey PerformingArts Center in February 2009.)

Yes, the musical has elements of homosexuality, drugs, HIV/AIDS and a host of other troubles that cause the characters to question even their own fragile existence. But, like it or not, that is a truthful depiction of life. So deal with it. The parent mentioned two other plays that may have been considered for the spring show, "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." The former is a fairy tale that doesn't really teach anything to a community. The latter is a story that depicts a love affair that never quite makes it and contains such shocking action as whippings, tying down, killings, hangings and starvation, not to mention ostracism for being disfigured and disabled, along with lust and jealousy.

One has to wonder if this parent has any concept of what theatrical art is all about. In all of the best theatrical productions, be they musicals or stage plays, the underlying premises are controversial plots and texts that are a reflection of life in the period and day of their writing. The parent decries the "disservice" the school does to the community to put on this production. Seems to me that the disservice is to her children who would be kept in the dark about fully understanding things that they probably have some inkling of already.

A parent can be proud of her children's involvement in plays and musicals that deal with harsh realities. Children are ambassadors and passionate in such settings. Let them explore and learn. So, exercise your freedom of choice. Go or don't go. But, please, don't stand in the way of everyone else at the theater entrance.
Walter Helfrecht
Upper Freehold