Comments about ‘BYU cancels U. version of Greek tragedy’

AND....the article has NO DESCRIPTION of what the content is that is so objectionable...

Nice news piece.

Surely the content of the play caught the authorities by surprise, what with it being so new and all.

This is absolutely silly. Someone at BYU is being WAY too sensitive. Though the Bakkhai is not "wholesome", what Greek tragedy is?

If anything, the decision to not show the play should have been decided long before it was scheduled.

Two words: Academic Censorship

I was a theater major at BYU and we were all very aware of the standards that productions had to conform to. This is a Church-owned school after all. I'm glad to see that the standards are still being upheld.

The play, also known as The Bacchae, was based on historical reports of women becoming frenzied and performing Bacchite revelry and related violence at Thebes, Argos, Orchomenes and in Athens. Dionysus who was also known as Bacchus returns to his native Thebes in the shape of a mortal man and at the head of a group of his worhippers, the Bacchae. He is determined to bring down Thebes royal family, who have denied his divinity, claiming Dionysus mother (a daughter of their house) slept with a mortal, not Zeus. Upon his arrival, the women of Thebes (including the kings mother Agave) become Bacchae, and go out of the city to worship Dionysus, dressing themselves in animal skins and indulging in wild rites. Even Cadmus, the old king and Dionysus grandfather, goes out to join in the rites, but the young king, Pentheus, vows to imprison them for indulging in mad orgies to worship Dionysus, whom he refuses to acknowledge as a god. He plans to imprison Dionysus, and Dionysus sets out to bring Pentheus down. First produced in 405 BC, The Bakkhai takes the audience into a wild, ecstatic, and harrowing world.

Yeah, what is the problem? This from my alma mater who wouldn't let Three Dog Night perform on campus, and which would not let us participate in National Model U.N. (since changed). I was troubled by it then and I am troubled by the reactionism now.

Entirely normal for BYU....

In case you missed it:

"The University of Utah Department of Theatre Web site states of its production: "Arguably the most horrific, powerful and theatrical of all Greek tragedies, 'The Bakkhai' is perhaps also the most controversial and hotly debated Euripidean tragedy. At its center are the god Dionysus, the god of wine, music, dance, theater and ecstasy, and a chorus of initiates who proclaim his greatness and his gifts. In opposition stands the teenager Pentheus, a disturbed and disturbing young tyrant who rejects the god Dionysus and all he stands for."

Seriously?!?!

Agreed. Sometimes I think journalists have forgotten the basic questions that you're taught to ask as a child: who, what, when, why, where, and how. If they would stick to those, maybe we'd actually get the entire story.

This could be to controversial for many possible Provo attendees. For this reason, I thought the Y issued the appropriate statement relative to its' back out. When possible, Brigham Young University should manufacture a better heads up for themselves, so as not to produce more controversy by backing out hours before those prepared to do so, are about to enter the stage. Being familiar with Bakkhai, I can see how it could contradict the life (although somewhat sheltered) that BYU would like to create for its' students/community. Now that said, one could argue that some free agency has been stripped by forcing students what they can be exposed to. On the flip side, BYU has an identity. Those (the students) who aren't ignorant as to what it is in its entirety (though that's a complexity), can choose to subject themselves to it. At BYU, standards so stringent are hard to comply to, and to be fair to BYU, hard to expect of as well (upholding/commanding vs. forcing/controlling). I find it sad that the Bakkhai won't find the campus at BYU, but there are two sides of this story that I can respect.

If BYU chooses not to perform this particular production, so be it. Why does this cause any controversy? "Academic Censorship"?, "Mindguards"? Hardly. No one is going to stop you from reading, watching, or even performing this on our own. Frankly, it sounds beyond boring.

What would be worse for the students at the Y? They could listen to Michael Moore or watch this play. I wonder which one would prevail if given a choice?

It would have helped if you had indicate in the article what exactly was the objectionable material in the play. You don't have to get too graphic, but it would be nice to know what exactly was a problem.

Kudos to the U of U theater department for their gracious understanding of the decision. I'm an Aggie but I am familiar with BYU standards. They are what they are. I don't consider it censorship.

Essentially, it gets down to two difficult issues: sex and violence. As is normal for ancient Greek theatre, the violence happens offstage but is described in horrendous detail by someone who witnessed it. As for the sex, it's also mostly offstage, except for some pretty mild kissing by Dionysus, with each of his worshippers (including two males) and the transformed tyrant when he dresses in women's clothes to witness the Bakkhai women. So, which was so offensive? The sex or the violence. I know which haunted me.

Sounds like somebody at the U decided to corrupt the original play with the inclusion of a "rock band" and not just for the soundtrack. What a joke! Can anyone seriously blame BYU for cancelling such a "modern" interpretation?

... my question is--perhaps someone at BYU could have made a decision about whether to stage this play several months earlier? It would have saved a lot of time, effort, and embarrassment to simply NOT decide to perform the play to begin with, instead of cancelling it the day before the first performance.

I support BYU's standards wholeheartedly. But I think the timing of this decision needed serious work.

Interesting. This is the second time in a couple months that the BYU Daily Universe has scooped the Deseret News. The last one was the story about how the flag wasn't really retired at the Stadium of Fire. Of course, it makes sense that BYU reporters would have more access to campus stories, but it's just interesting. The DU deserves some props!

Also, as a BYU student, I think the university was right to cancel the production, but they probably should have caught earlier on in the process. Did the screening process just fail? That would be an interesting follow-up... I guess I'll have to check the Daily Universe to find out! :)