Christmas Pageants, Cute Kids, Fun Songs And Scientology? Yep! - Page 2
Fair gaming the kids in the musical is nothing new. A UK Guardian correspondent wrote of the Los Angeles production in 2004:
But the show hit something of a glitch when it arrived in Los Angeles. While New York officials of the Church of Scientology took a decidedly liberal view of the production in public - it's such a little, insignificant thing in the cosmic scheme of things, theyaff declared, that we're just going to ignore it - behind the scenes it made it clear that it was less than happy with the production. Church officials visited rehearsals; they helpfully produced documentation of court cases where the Church of Scientology had successfully prosecuted those seeking to disparage the Church's methods. "It was terrifically wonderful and intimidating," notes the show's creator and director Alex Timbers.
A similar formula has prevailed in LA: don't give the production the oxygen of publicity. But behind the scenes the wheels of organised religion were spinning. As soon as the Church got wind of an LA Times piece on the production, several editors on the paper received calls from the guardians of L Ron's flame urging them to pull the article. Nothing unusual about that, as any entertainment PR will tell you. But things took a more sinister turn when the phone calls started.
Whether or not the cast in Chicago is being fair gamed, Kirsten Fitzgerald, the Red Orchid and the kids in the cast are to be commended for their creativity and courage in producing the Chicago premiere of the show and educating young people to think critically about Scientology from a young age.
You can show your support for the show by buying tickets if you are in the area and letting your friends know. If you are outside Chicagoland you support the Red Orchid by donating at their website. We need to encourage artists who are educating the public with such hilarity and pointed satire.
You can download the delightful original cast album from amazon.
The show will run through January 4th, 2009.
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