On Oct. 9, I went to see the Baler Cabaret show at San Benito
High School. My granddaughter asked me to come and hear her sing in
the choir. I was set to enjoy an evening of family entertainment.
Imagine my surprise when the whole show was sprinkled with foul
language, especially coming from the comedic emcee. She did an
excellent job except for the awful language.
On Oct. 9, I went to see the Baler Cabaret show at San Benito High School. My granddaughter asked me to come and hear her sing in the choir. I was set to enjoy an evening of family entertainment. Imagine my surprise when the whole show was sprinkled with foul language, especially coming from the comedic emcee. She did an excellent job except for the awful language.
Mind you, this was a high school performance, in a high school with young children in the audience. My first reaction was to get up and walk out – some people did. But, I had come to hear my granddaughter sing, so I stayed; the whole time growing more uncomfortable with the language. There was also a skit depicting two people, a young man and an older woman at a railroad station. Two actors were alluding to a possible abortion to solve an unplanned pregnancy. This was an adult theme not appropriate for the young children in the audience.
The acting, singing and dancing were very good, and the pianist was wonderful. The kids did a great job but why was it necessary to degrade it with foul words?
Who used poor judgement to allow this to happen? I am not a religious fanatic, just a 61-year-old woman who is growing increasingly alarmed at the public acceptance of foul language. It seemed to start in the 1960s and now, 40 years later, high school kids are spouting it on stage at a high school. And yes, I know there are a lot of adults, teenagers and kids that use swear words on a regular basis. That does not make it OK and it should not be condoned by any school. If nothing else, it shows the students of the high school are receiving a poor education. Apparently, they lack the vocabulary necessary to express themselves intelligently.
Not knowing what else to do, I decided to attend the next night’s performance with pen and paper to write down what I had heard. I intended to go to the next school board meeting with my objections to this brand of entertainment.
Again, I was surprised and this time pleasantly so. All of the offending language and most of the adult content had been removed from the show. Did other people complain before I got a chance to?
I thank whomever had the decency to see that the show was done in good taste the second night. I thoroughly enjoyed the cleaned-up version. I am sure most everyone else did as well. But, I would like to know who was responsible for the foul language in the first place and why they deemed it appropriate.
Hazel Mae Kepner,
Hollister
