A Friends University student’s senior recital centered on censorship has had to find an off-campus performance space after a school official said donors and staff complained about the show.
The recital, “The Shows They Don’t Want Us to Produce: A Study of Censorship Throughout the History of Musical Theatre,” is based on Caitlyn Fox’s honors thesis.
Fox had planned to perform Saturday at the university’s Sebits Auditorium in the Riney Fine Arts Center, but now Fox and five other Friends students will present the recital at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Plymouth Congregational Church
Fox says she spent Friday scrambling to find a new venue after Ken Stoltzfus, vice president of academic affairs and dean of the faculty, told her the university had received complaints.
“I’m writing to let you know that in the past few hours we have received significant complaints from staff members and donors regarding Caitlyn’s Recital/Honors Project,” Stolzfus wrote in an email to Fox and her father, Russell Fox, a professor of political science and director of the honors program at Friends.
“People who have worked at and/or supported the university for a long time are considering withdrawing their support if we move forward with having the recital at Friends,” Stolzfus’ email continues.
Fox began working on her senior recital in February of last year. The program includes selections from musicals with a history of content challenges. The shows have drawn challenges for reasons such as on-stage nudity (“Hair,”), perceived blasphemy (“Jesus Christ Superstar”), and their portrayals of queer characters (“Rent,” “Cabaret,” “Avenue Q”).
A 1970 production of “Hair” triggered a lawsuit that was ultimately decided by the Supreme Court, but Fox said many challenges happen in an educational setting. Fox said sometimes scenes deemed objectionable are edited out from the beginning. Other productions are canceled at the last minute after complaints from parents or community members.
Fox performed two of the songs from the recital program in a vocal forum at Friends on Tuesday and conducted the dress rehearsal in Sebits Auditorium on Thursday.
In his email, Stolzfus stated that part of the problem is that the recital was promoted on the Friends fine arts Facebook page.
“[T]his gives the appearance that the university is sponsoring the event, which has concerned a number of people,” he wrote. “We work hard at Friends University to be a close-knit learning community and to find ways to support all members of our community. There is a delicate balance between promoting academic freedom and entering into territory that alienates and offends other members of the community.
“In light of the complaints we’ve received this evening, I think we are losing that balance and at risk of losing some important members of our community.”
Fox’s recital was promoted in the Friends fine arts events email newsletter, “The Weekly Happenings,” which notes the recital is “recommended for mature audiences.” Student recitals are routinely publicized in the newsletter.
Instead of holding her recital as planned, Stolzfus suggested she move the performance to an off-campus venue. Friends staff members will not be required to be involved, he wrote.
Fox says she bears no ill will toward Stolzfus or the Friends administration, but she feels as though this turn of events proves the relevance of her honors thesis.
“This is exactly why I wanted to do this project to begin with,” she said. “Because of situations where people do everything right, they communicate with all the higher-ups, they’re very transparent about what they’re doing … and their performance is still shut down.”
Laura Fuller, a spokesperson for Friends University, said the recital had not been canceled, but moved, and she could not comment on student academic issues.
Fox, a graduate of Wichita Northwest High School, plans to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in acting after she graduates from Friends this fall.
CORRECTION: Caitlyn Fox plans on graduating from Friends University this fall. An earlier version of this story had a wrong time.
This story was originally published February 11, 2022 8:10 PM.