Results: Prom Queen Musical Controversy

The London District Catholic school board and the Thames Valley District school board in Ontario, Canada, typically donate $15,000 each to the annual musical staged by high school students at the Grand Theatre. But the play chosen for this year's production – Prom Queen – based on the true story of Marc Hall, a gay Oshawa student who fought to bring his boyfriend to a prom date in 2002 and faced opposition from the Durham Catholic School Board proved to be too controversial and both boards have refused to fund this production. Do you think funding should be withdrawn if the school boards don't approve of the subject matter?

The school boards viewpoint is that some of the language and themes in the musical are not appropriate for a high school production, and that the portrayal of the school board and other adults in the play is very negative. The school and school board would not allow Marc Hall to bring his boyfriend to the prom, At the time, the Durham Catholic School Board said that allowing Hall to bring his boyfriend to prom goes against its Catholic teachings. Hall took the school board to court and won his case. Marc did not set out to be a hero, but in standing up for his rights, he made a huge step for equal rights. Do you remember hearing about this story back in 2002?

Grand Theatre artistic director Dennis Garnhum said he chose the play because it allows high school students to play characters their own age in a powerful story of triumph. Garnhum said. "I didn't want to keep going through the classics. This is a brand new Canadian musical set in Ontario based on true fact about what happened when a young high school student innocently said 'I'm taking my boyfriend to prom.'" Both the artistic director and students feel it is a topic that is as important today as it was back then, especially when people are being discriminated against today just for who they are, and who they love. Do you agree?

Shortly after the school boards pulled their funding, almost $20,000 of the required $30,000 was raised on the CanadaHelps.org site with contributions kicked off by the Grand Theatre, London's LGBTQ community and rTraction, a London digital company. Many of the 175 contributors included comments. One wrote: "Delighted to see Londoners take initiative on this! Absolutely shameful decision by London school boards." Another contributor wrote: "Shame on the school boards for their homophobia and cowardice! LGBT stories deserve to be told." So, it looks like the show will go on after all. Have you ever made a financial contribution to fund the arts?