Indiana School Cancels Play After Protests Due to LGBTQ+ Themes

A petition has been created in response to an Indiana high school cancelling a production of Adam Szymkowicz's Marian, or The True Tale of Robin Hood. According to the petition, the production was cancelled due to "safety concerns for the students involved" after parents learned that there are LGBTQ+ themes in the play.

The play contains a same sex couple and a non-binary character, which was previously approved by a member of administration and greenlit by the director. Two days of auditions were held before adult members of the community began calling the administration in protest, and the production was cancelled.

"We cannot stand for this. As a community, we need to fight for our rights to be ourselves," the petition reads. "We need to show students that there is nothing wrong with being who they are unapologetically even in a world filled with hate for what it does not understand. If others want to be violent towards students who are just trying to have fun portraying a story that is real to them, that is on those people. Not the students. We should not be punished for existing."

The initial goal was to get 250+ signatures on the petition, and there are now over 3,000 at press time. The petition will will be send to the administration, along with a letter asking them to reconsider. If that doesn't to help, it will be sent to the school board.

Read the full petition here.