"The Hampshire High School Music Department is all set for this year's spring musical to be "The Prom". Rights have been purchased, the principal is on board, and Broadway in Chicago has been notified that this would be the show our students would perform (necessary to qualify for the Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards). 

If you're not aware, "The Prom" is a contemporary musical about a high school girl in Indiana who isn't allowed to take her girlfriend to her school prom. The PTA decides to cancel the whole event in lieu of creating an inclusive enviornment or barring her completely, and in return, it blows up online causing four washed-up Broadway stars needing some credibility to show up at the school and fight for her as a way to improve their own reputations. Chaos ensues and it ultimately becomes a heartwarming story of what love really means - bringing a whole community together. 

Unfortunately, we have hit a bump in the normal process our musical would now follow. The D300 Superintendent and the Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) told our students that they will not be allowed to move forward with this show because the building is not ready to handle the amount of negative attention that would be put on the kids. They also believes that our community will not accept this performance and will target our children. 

D300 Superintendent and the Director of EDI spoke to students on Friday, October 20th to explain their reasoning. HHS students showed up prepared and spoke intelligently and passionately about how this show allowed them to finally feel represented, sharing stories of how the community HAS supported them in the past and while there may be a loud minority that does not agree with the content of the show, it is important that the show goes on. 

Despite the student's objections, the representatives continue to reiterate that they were concerned about violence targeting the students in the show. 

We are a community BECAUSE of our differences, not despite them. LGBTQ+ individuals have to live, work, and go to school with people who discriminate against them every day. They should not have to cancel or hide their identity as a means of placating others. Instead of creating something unifying and joyful for the community and creating the opportunity for conversations about important themes such as acceptance, tolerance, and the celebration of individuality, the D300 representitives are allowing the perceived threat of opposition to take this away from our students. 

To quote the movie, "This isn't about a prom anymore. It's about right and wrong". Alumni, D300 residents, members of the LGBTQ+ and theatre community at large, WE NEED YOU!! Speak about it on social media and with your friends...spread the word however you can! We need to prove that this art is incredibly important to our students and this show in particular is worth fighting for."

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Sign the petition to fight for Hampshire High School's spring musical production of "The Prom". We are no longer just fighting for the musical, but we are fighting for LGBTQ+ rights. Leave comments below to help and justify our cause! ♡ 

Also, please note, this petition is NOT affiliated with any D300 staff. I am a Hampshire High School alumni and no staff member had any part of creating this petition.