School Boards in Canada Cut Funding for Musical About Gay Student Fighting to Take His Boyfriend to Prom

CBC has reported that two school boards in London, Ontario, Canada have cut funding to their school's production of a musical about a gay student fighting to take his boyfriend to prom.

The show is called Prom Queen: The Musical, and it's based on the true story of Marc Hall who in 2002 won his fight with the Durham Catholic School Board to take his boyfriend to prom.

The London District Catholic School Board and the Thames Valley District School Board have both decided to pull their financial backing, a total of $30,000, putting a dent in the show's $250,000 budget.

Matt Reid, chair of the Thames Valley board, claims that the play's LGBTQ themes aren't the reason for the funding cut, but rather the way the script portrays school boards, teachers, and other adults.

Both boards issued the same statement, saying "Together, our school communities - principals, teachers, trustees, staff, students, parents - work very hard to ensure all students are supported and cared for, which is not reflected in the script."

An online fundraising campaign was launched, which has now reached over $57,000. The campaign can be found here.

Hall himself commented, "This was a story about something that happened to me at my school board in Oshawa, Ont., and the script really revolves around a community coming together to help a boy, me, right a wrong. It's about a community coming together, to stick up for yourself, to not allow discrimination, to love who you are."

The show is being offered exclusively to the Grand Theatre and will likely be staged professionally after the London run.

Read more here.