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Skip to contentSkip to site index Search & Section Navigation Section Navigation SEARCH U.S. SUBSCRIBE FOR $1/WEEKLog in Thursday, November 16, 2023 Today’s Paper SUBSCRIBE FOR $1/WEEK U.S.|In Texas, a Fight Over Gender and School Theater Takes an Unexpected Turn https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/14/us/trans-actor-oklahoma-sherman-texas.html * Share full article * * * 497 Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Supported by SKIP ADVERTISEMENT IN TEXAS, A FIGHT OVER GENDER AND SCHOOL THEATER TAKES AN UNEXPECTED TURN After a high school production of “Oklahoma!” was halted in conservative Sherman, Texas, something unusual happened: The school board sided with transgender students. * Share full article * * * 497 * Read in app Demonstrators stood outside the offices of the Sherman Independent School District to protest the decision to cancel a student production of “Oklahoma!”Credit...Desiree Rios for The New York Times By J. David Goodman Reporting from Sherman, Texas Published Nov. 14, 2023Updated Nov. 16, 2023, 2:18 p.m. ET A school district in the conservative town of Sherman, Texas, made national headlines last week when it put a stop to a high school production of the musical “Oklahoma!” after a transgender student was cast in a lead role. LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE Listen 12:25 Open this article in the New York Times Audio app on iOS. The district’s administrators decided, and communicated to parents, that the school would cast only students “born as females in female roles and students born as males in male roles.” Not only did several transgender and nonbinary students lose their parts, but so, too, did cisgender girls cast in male roles. Publicly, the district said the problem was the profane and sexual content of the 1943 musical. At one point, the theater teacher, who objected to the decision, was escorted out of the school by the principal. The set, a sturdy mock-up of a settler’s house that took students two months to build, was demolished. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT But then something even more unusual happened in Sherman, a rural college town that has been rapidly drawn into the expanding orbit of Dallas to its south. The school district reversed course. In a late-night vote on Monday, the school board voted unanimously to restore the original casting. The decision rebuked efforts to bring the fight over transgender participation in student activities into the world of theater, which has long provided a haven for gay, lesbian and transgender students, and it reflected just how deeply the controversy had unsettled the town. The district’s restriction had been exceptional. Fights have erupted over the kinds of plays students can present, but few if any school districts appear to have attempted to restrict gender roles in theater. And while legislatures across the country, including in Texas, have adopted laws restricting transgender students’ participation in sports, no such legislation has been introduced to restrict theater roles, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like. J. David Goodman is the Houston bureau chief, covering Texas. He has written about government, criminal justice and the role of money in politics for The Times since 2012. More about J. David Goodman A version of this article appears in print on Nov. 16, 2023, Section A, Page 13 of the New York edition with the headline: In Texas, Fight Over School Theater Takes an Unexpected Turn. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe Read 497 Comments * Share full article * * * 497 * Read in app Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT COMMENTS 497 In Texas, a Fight Over Gender and School Theater Takes an Unexpected TurnSkip to Comments The comments section is closed. To submit a letter to the editor for publication, write to letters@nytimes.com. SITE INDEX SITE INFORMATION NAVIGATION * © 2023 The New York Times Company * NYTCo * Contact Us * Accessibility * Work with us * Advertise * T Brand Studio * Your Ad Choices * Privacy Policy * Terms of Service * Terms of Sale * Site Map * Canada * International * Help * Subscriptions Enjoy unlimited access to all of The Times. See subscription options