AISD All-City Musical Presents: RENT

After months of preparation to stage the first licensed high school production of RENT in Texas, AISD All-City Musical is forging ahead. In spite of being faced with district-level disapproval that started with the suggestion of several other works and culminated in AISD's rescinding of $10,000 of assistance, the show will go on. Although the more controversial content of the piece is scaled back in the School Edition of the script, promised district sponsorship has been completely withdrawn, apparently due to officials' objections to the show's content, which includes AIDS, drug use, and homosexuality. (For the record, the original 1996 production of RENT won the Pulitzer Prize, four Tony Awards, six Drama Desk Awards, and three Obies.)

Thanks to an AISD rule that campus productions need only be approved by a school's principal, RENT will run this week at the McCallum Fine Arts Academy, where principal Mike Garrison supports the production. McCallum technical theatre director M. Scott Tatum has pulled funds from his 2008-2009 budget to keep the show on target, and the sets and costumes have been scaled back due to the lack of funds, but at the end of the day the students will get to realize their production.

Some groups are working together to raise funds for the show at www.mactheatrefund.org. We agree with Robert Faires at the Chronicle—the best way to show your support of these students and their work is to sell out all four shows. At $5.50-$11.50 per ticket, it's a bargain for what promises to be an outstanding production bursting with bright young talent.