Native American Group Walks Out of Offensive THE FANTASTICKS in Wyoming

A scene from a 1960 musical is causing outrage in 2017. The musical is The Fantasticks, and the scene has to do with a dated and offensive portrayal of Native Americans. Earlier this month, a group of Native American high school students, taking part in a summer program aiming to welcome Native Americans to college life, walked out of the University of Wyoming production.

In the show, characters dress up in stereotypical Native American outfits and stage a kidnapping.

According to the Laramie Boomerang, the group left the show during intermission. The group was reportedly also offended by the casual use of the word 'rape.'

An insert in the show program now reads: "With historical productions, we see a point in time, which is different from the one in which we live. We see portrayals of characters that are painful to watch as 21st-century audiences. The challenge then, in producing historical works, is to help audiences understand the context and/or story for the play without taking undue or illegal liberties with the script."