← Snap Judgment
Snap Judgment
School Daze: Stuck in the Middle - Snap Classic
00:50:20
Drama Club is the happy, safe space for Lee and Parker until their school play becomes a homophobic middle school meltdown. The lights get turned up to 10, the adults are in a media frenzy, and the kids are just trying to figure it all out.
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- [00:03]
Narrator/Host
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- [00:39]
Sponsor Voice
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- [01:54]
Narrator/Host
Growing up, there's a kid in my school, in my grave, that attends my church. And we go to our church like four or five times a week. So I know this kid well. Our families hang out, spend time at each other's houses. We're both farm boys. Sometimes we'll even help out each other with chores. And back then, I couldn't have told you that our church was a crazy, wacky cult led by a madman. I don't yet have this understanding. I just know somehow that what we do, running around, preparing for the end of days and all that is probably not something you want to talk about in school. And I've got enough trouble as it is trying to avoid any hint of crazy. And this kid, he independently comes to the same understanding. So at school, we do not hang out. We do not speak to each other. And it's amazing to look back now after all the insanity that eventually does go down from that cult in both of our lives that the only other person that could possibly have understood, really understood in all of the world. I pushed away, hoping that if maybe they didn't see us together, maybe they wouldn't see me at all. Wow. Playing Snap Judgment we're proud to bring you a completely different tale of trying to get along in one of the most challenging stages of life. You've likely been there before. We're calling it Stuck in the Middle School. My name is Glenn Washington. The next best thing to a real invisibility cloak in middle school is listening the Snap Judgment. We begin in a small suburb right outside of D.C. some might say it's a crunchy granola y type of place where the biggest news is usually the offerings at the farmer's market. But that doesn't mean things don't go down. Listeners should note that this story does contain descriptions of abuse directed at gay persons, because in 2019, something happened at the local middle school that riled up the whole community. Mark Bettencourt has a story.
- [05:07]
Narrator/Storyteller
The theater room at Hyattsville Middle School had a special feel to it. There was a stage and the desks were all grouped together. The walls were painted black and there was a big orange couch on one side. It was the day of auditions for the big school musical. The theater teacher, Ms. G, was doing her best to wrangle the kids who had started pouring into the room.
- [05:27]
Lee
Everyone's singing, everyone's talking, everyone's doing their monologues and stuff.
- [05:30]
Narrator/Storyteller
Lee was 12 years old, tall and gangly, high top fade haircut, always wearing green shoes and glasses.
- [05:37]
Lee
I had a very high pitched voice. I was very, very loud, especially when I was in a room full of other theater kids. It just went, it went crazy.
- [05:46]
Narrator/Storyteller
The musical would be a performance of the 25th annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, but everyone just called it Spelling Bee. It's a play about a ragtag bunch of middle schoolers who are competing in a spelling bee while also dealing with the trials of prepubescence, crushes, awkwardness, expectations from parents. It was pretty much what the kids in Meshi's class were living through every day.
- [06:08]
Lee
I think I went over my song or my monologue once. The teachers were kind of looking at me and they're like, oh, this is, this is pretty good. I felt really, really good about myself. I remember when I did my monologue, my friends clapped and I was like, oh, thanks. It was a very, very good, like, it was a very good vibe.
- [06:24]
Narrator/Storyteller
Which was a big deal for Lee. Being at school hadn't been easy. Other kids beat them up and made Fun of their skinny arms or their squeaky voice.
- [06:32]
Lee
They would call me into the bathroom. They would, like. One of them would, like, be behind the stall. They would grab my arms. They punch me in the stomach. They would call me gay. They would, oh, my God. People would do this a lot to me because I was really, really skinny. They would come up to me and they would put their fingers around my wrist and be like, look how much space there is. Oh, my gosh. They used to take my stuff, too. Like, they would, like, take my backpack and open it up and take stuff out. Think about it. Now all I think about for middle school is how much I was bullied. Like, not even, like, my homework or projects that I had to do just at the theater or being bullied. Like, that's all I remember.
- [07:07]
Narrator/Storyteller
The theater class waited for a whole week for Ms. G to announce the cast list for the musical. When she finally taped it to the door of her room, the kids could barely contain themselves. Lee was hoping for the lead role, playing a nerdy kid with a peanut allergy named William Barfay.
- [07:25]
Lee
And I remember me and my friend Kyra running to the room being like, oh, my gosh. Like, Ted, did I get it? And I was like, I'm William.
- [07:30]
Ms. G / Other Cast Member
Yay.
- [07:30]
Lee
And I was so excited. I was so happy.
- [07:34]
Parker
I was really a quiet person in middle school, and I was very excited to be kind of like, behind the scenes running things.
- [07:42]
Narrator/Storyteller
Parker was new to this whole theater thing. She had always been more of a wallflower poet type, but now that she was in middle school, she was ready to branch out, and she was excited to get the role of assistant stage manager.
- [07:54]
Parker
Ms. G always said it was like trying to herd cats, you know? She was like, I just need more people to be around me to help, like, keep everyone in the same place, you know?
- [08:04]
Narrator/Storyteller
Lee and Parker didn't know each other that well yet. But soon after auditions for the musical, they had a conversation that gave them an instant connection.
- [08:13]
Parker
There's nothing like getting real deep real quick with someone to make you really bond.
- [08:20]
Narrator/Storyteller
During auditions, Lee had started to notice two of their classmates. One was a girl and one was a guy. Lee thought they were both kind of cute. Lee didn't know what to do with that. What did it mean?
- [08:33]
Lee
I think I remember almost like a light bulb going on top of my head. And I was like, I could just ask Parker. Like, Parker would know.
- [08:41]
Parker
Seventh grade was right when I had cut my hair real short, which I feel like is a very gay experience. I had my hair real short. It was dyed. I would wear all these colorful sweaters.
- [08:53]
Narrator/Storyteller
Parker had come out as queer the year before to her parents and her friends.
- [08:58]
Lee
The colored hair, the dyed hair, the nails, the rings, you know, all the jewelry. I was like, they're probably gay. I mean, I was wrong. I felt safe when I saw them.
- [09:07]
Narrator/Storyteller
So on the bus home after auditions, Lee texted Parker.
- [09:11]
Lee
I think it would just help. And then I think you asked what was wrong. And I was like, I like this guy, and I like this girl, and what do I do? And I think I'm gay. But then I also like this girl, and I think I'm definitely not straight. But I remember your answer was very, very simple. Very, very. Just, you can. You can, you can. You can. Like, both. And I was like, you like bisexuality? And I was like, oh, okay, cool.
- [09:35]
Parker
I was already kind of aware of my own sexuality, so I. Cause we kind of had that, like, yeah, let's figure out together. And I'll tell you kind of how I knew. And then I guess we helped each other out. Looking back, I didn't know as much as I thought I did, probably.
- [09:54]
Narrator/Storyteller
There are moments in childhood when you realize you're not who you thought you were and the world isn't what you thought it was. For Parker and Lee, the musical spelling bee would become one of those moments. On the first day of rehearsal, everyone gathered around in a big circle to read the script out loud. Right away, Lee jumped into the role of William, adding little touches, like sneezing in the middle of a line to show that William had allergies. But as the story unfolded, the kids couldn't help but sneak glances at each other.
- [10:27]
Parker
I mean, there is a whole song about the kids erection.
- [10:31]
Narrator/Storyteller
The song is called my unfortunate erection. Ms. G decided to use a version called My Unfortunate Distraction. But it's still about the same thing.
- [10:40]
Lee
All the jokes, I had no idea what they were talking about. One of the characters say, like. And I heard that she's pro choice, though still a virgin. And I remember reading that and being like, what does that mean?
- [10:51]
Parker
A lot of that show was just saying the lines as they were written.
- [10:55]
Lee
I remember, like, being on stage with script in hand. And then she was like, okay, we're gonna do this scene.
- [11:00]
Narrator/Storyteller
And that's when Ms. G asked Lee and another boy to read the parts of two gay men, the dads of one of the characters.
- [11:09]
Lee
You're gonna read the gay dads. Gay dads go, like, go. And I was like, huh? Like, what? What? Hello?
- [11:14]
Narrator/Storyteller
It was a bit part. So Ms. G said Lee could play both William and the gay dad. There's really only one scene in the play where the dads appear, and it's super brief, but it's punctuated by another joke Lee didn't get. One of the dads is drilling the kid on her spelling, and the other one interrupts for a snack break.
- [11:32]
Lee
And then the other dad's like, well, if you. If you worry about the snacks, and she's not gonna say the words correctly and stamina or whatever. And he's like, don't talk to me about stamina, Carl. That's one of the lines. And then he says, daddy conference right now. And then that ends the entire thing. And I had to, like, look through it. I was like, what? Like, hello? And there's, like, sexual innuendos and stuff.
- [11:53]
Narrator/Storyteller
Ms. G seemed to sense that playing the gay dad in particular might be a big deal for Lee.
- [11:58]
Lee
She was very like, are you okay? Like, are you sure you want to do this? And I was like, no, I'm fine. Like, I was very, like, I can do this. Like, I. Like, you know, I definitely treated my entire middle school theater career very professionally. And I was like, I can do this. Like, it's whatever. It's just gay. It's acting. Just acting. And honestly, at first, I didn't have a problem with it. At first, I was like, okay, cool. I can do this. I can. It's. You know, it's a. It's a excuse to show who I want to be. At least show. Show who I can be. You know?
- [12:34]
Narrator/Storyteller
If anything, Lee Parker and the rest of the kids liked the fact that the play was for an older audience.
- [12:40]
Parker
I was like, this is really different than anything we'd ever done, because, like, before, we had done, like, the Lion King, and it's so fun, but it's so theatrical, and it's so made for kids that it doesn't feel as real, you know? And the spelling bee felt very, like, interesting and adult.
- [12:59]
Narrator/Storyteller
Maybe even more appealing was that Ms. G trusted them with the material.
- [13:04]
Parker
She would be real with us, and she would kind of talk to us like we were human, which felt really different and nice.
- [13:11]
Narrator/Storyteller
But then one day, Lee was in the middle of rehearsing a scene when some students came into the auditorium.
- [13:17]
Lee
And I remember looking out during rehearsals and seeing one of my bullies there looking at me, and I was like, that's gonna suck.
- [13:28]
Narrator/Storyteller
The next day, those same students started taunting Lee nonstop.
- [13:32]
Lee
They would say it so loudly in class, and so, like, everybody would hear, and they'd be like, lee, you're in musical.
- [13:38]
Narrator/Host
You're in the musical. Musical.
- [13:39]
Lee
I mean, I was singing and dancing on a stage, and so they were like, that's also gay, too. Like, I don't know if you know that, but that's also gay. Like, we thought you were, because, you know, you have a high voice and you talk with your hands and stuff. But now you're in theater, and now we see the characters are playing like you're. You're definitely one of them. And they did not have. They did not like that at all.
- [14:00]
Narrator/Storyteller
Being called gay. This wasn't new. But now, as Lee was starting to explore their own identity, it felt different.
- [14:09]
Lee
Being in that vulnerable state, figuring out who I was, being bullied before I even could figure out who I was. It's like, I don't even know what I am. Having a wave of emotions and a wave of experiences, being, like, crushed onto me before I could even figure out what the word gay meant, you know, or different sexualities at that was a lot. Was a lot. And it didn't help that I felt like I didn't have time to figure out who I was. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't exhale.
- [14:39]
Narrator/Storyteller
But Lee still loved theater class.
- [14:42]
Lee
I was like, okay, cool. I'm being bullied in school, but in rehearsal, I'm free. I'm happy. I can do whatever I want, you know, let all that wash off me and, like, be someone who wasn't the words that they told me that I was, you know, like, I could be myself. I could be people who, you know, loved me and actually cared about me and be. Be with them.
- [15:00]
Narrator/Storyteller
As the weeks went by, the kids learned their lines and started to put together costumes. Lee's was a dress shirt and tie with baggy shorts and sneakers. Parker channeled her inner boss and learned how to keep the rowdy middle schoolers.
- [15:13]
Parker
On task the whole time. People were so excited to be doing this. Like, you know, every time we would learn a new dance, we would learn a new song. Like, people would. Would talk about it. They would sing the songs. Like, outside of rehearsal, they would do the dance. Like, I would see people in the hallways, like, doing the things and practicing, and it was just. It was really fun.
- [15:40]
Narrator/Storyteller
Then one day, only three weeks before performance time, Ms. G took Parker and the other stage manager aside. She looked upset.
- [15:48]
Parker
I think we went out into the hallway, and it was very, like, you know, like, don't tell people. I don't want to cause a panic, but I feel like you guys should know this. And she was like, it's not happening. They canceled it.
- [16:05]
Narrator/Storyteller
Lee heard the news and just started sobbing. It felt like they had lost their refuge.
- [16:11]
Lee
My paradise was gone.
- [16:13]
Parker
You know, my initial reaction was definitely anger. I mean, I was angry and upset and frustrated that we had put all that work into it and it was getting just swept away and it didn't matter. But I think it kind of quickly became disappointment. And then figuring out why it was canceled.
- [16:41]
Narrator/Host
When we return, Parker and Lee find out why the play they've worked so hard on got canceled by the school. Snap judgment. This podcast is brought to you by Squarespace. Squarespace is the all in one website platform designed to help you stand out and succeed online. Whether you're just starting out or you're scaling your business, Squarespace gives you everything you need to claim your domain, to showcase your offerings, to grow your brand, and to get paid all in one place. And no one knows like I know. When you're launching your bootstrap enterprise, your business, your nonprofit, your thing, you don't get to hire a big team of graphic and user interface professionals. No, you gotta do it yourself. And with Squarespace's collection of cutting edge design tools, anyone can build an online presence that perfectly fits their brand or their business. Start with Blueprint AI, Squarespace's AI enhanced website builder to get a fully customized website in just a few steps. Intuitive drag and drop editing, beautiful styling options. Check out squarespace.com snap for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, use offer code SNAP to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Okay, so I put money in the bank, right? It's there. Then I go to pay my bills, the money I put in the bank. And there's all kinds of bank fees they come talking about. The requisite time frame of the deposit was not met, necessitating various charges. What? No more. See, Chime understands that every dollar counts. That's why when you set up direct deposit through Chime, you get access to fee free features like free overdraft coverage, getting paid up to two days early with direct deposit and more. Open a checking account with no monthly fees and no maintenance fees, not to mention access to over 47,000 fee free ATMs, more than the top three national banks combined. Work on your financial goals through Chime. Today, open an account@chime.com snap that's chime.com snap Chime feels like progress.
- [19:05]
Parker
Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services and debit card provided by the Bancorp Bank NA or Stride Bank NA members. Fdic Spot Me eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Timing depends on submission of payment file fees apply at out of network ATMs. Bank ranking and number of ATMs, according.
- [19:18]
Narrator/Storyteller
To U.S. news and World Report, 2023.
- [19:20]
Parker
Chime checking account required.
- [19:28]
Narrator/Host
Welcome back to Snap Judgment, the Stuck in the Middle episode. When last we left, Lee Parker and the rest of the theater kids were busy and excited to put on their big play until the teacher broke the news that this play was not happening. Snap judgment.
- [19:45]
Narrator/Storyteller
Ms. G said the school had concerns about a bunch of things in the play. She also, in Parker's words, heavily implied the cancellation had something to do with the gay dad scene. Whatever she may have said, the kids came away with that impression. That spread quickly among the other kids, and eventually it got back to their parents.
- [20:07]
Parker
I remember my mom being like, we have to protest. We have to get it back on. We don't want people to think that this school board or, like, this group of parents that have children in this school would be the kind of people to, like, think this way or to cancel play just because it has a scene with two gay people in it. Like, she was like, we can't be homophobic. Like, that's wrong. I'm gonna write to your principal, and, like, I'm gonna write to the school board. And she was like. She would ask me, like, oh, do you know, like, who the superintendent was? And I'd be like, no, I'm in seventh grade.
- [20:44]
Narrator/Storyteller
And it wasn't just the middle school parents who were upset.
- [20:47]
Parker
I remember Jamie McConcall was in our living room, like, this is awful, and this is terrible, and they can't do that. And him and my mom were talking.
- [20:58]
Jamie McGonigal
The first piece of information we got was that it was canceled because there's gay characters in it. So all my gay antennae went off, and I put on my cape.
- [21:09]
Narrator/Storyteller
And that's Jamie. He's Parker's neighbor. He didn't even have a kid in the play or the school.
- [21:16]
Jamie McGonigal
But I know the play very well. I had a history with it in New York. I had a lot of friends who were in it on Broadway initially. And I just went right into action. It's a thing I do when I get mad about a thing. I tend to the social justice warrior real, real fast, and especially when it's something gay. I was, like, putting my shoes on. I'm like, I'm out. Let's go.
- [21:43]
Parker
I didn't really understand who he was or, like, why he was here or why he was talking about the play. It was odd to have this random guy be so, so worked up about this. Like my school play, I had at.
- [21:59]
Jamie McGonigal
The point I had a year old child that was probably gonna be going to that middle school someday. And so I was coming at it from a perspective of also in addition to like, yeah, I need to stand up to bullies, also, like, I want my kid growing up in a place where a school play is not going to get canceled because there happened to be gay dads in it.
- [22:19]
Narrator/Storyteller
As a teenager, Jamie had been called a lot of the same things Lee was being called. He saw this as an opportunity to be the adult he wishes he'd had when he was a kid, someone to stand up for him.
- [22:30]
Parker
He was like, I'm so, you know, I'm so sorry. Like, you shouldn't, you shouldn't have to feel like the community doesn't accept you. I definitely did feel a little. Feel a little too seen at that moment. I don't think, like, I understood, you know, why. I was kind of uncomfortable with that at the time.
- [22:48]
Narrator/Storyteller
Within days after the musical was canceled, Jamie joined other parents who were protesting in front of the school, trying to pressure the principal to reverse the decision.
- [22:58]
Jamie McGonigal
I think it was like three or four of us by the city bus stop outside, just holding signs and waving at people.
- [23:06]
Narrator/Storyteller
Then he took to the Internet. He created an online petition that talked about how hard the kids had worked, how their parents had driven them to rehearsals on nights and weekends, and how the kids had found a supportive community where they could make art. He also said it was important for families like his to be represented and frankly, abhorrent to remove them from the play.
- [23:27]
Jamie McGonigal
I publicized the petition. I still have a lot of friends in the Broadway community, so I reached out to like, the Broadway websites and things like that. They put it up there and then I think I know that Jesse Tyler Ferguson shared it.
- [23:40]
Narrator/Storyteller
Dan Levy from Schitt's Creek also shared Jamie's post on X back when it was Twitter.
- [23:45]
Jamie McGonigal
I remember being surprised how quickly and far it went.
- [23:49]
Narrator/Storyteller
Jamie had set up the petition so that the principal would get an email every time someone signed it. The petition gathered more than 60,000 signatures, three times the population of Hyattsville. People all over the world signed it.
- [24:02]
Jamie McGonigal
School administrators aren't used to getting thousands of emails about a particular situation.
- [24:08]
Parker
As a kid, you kind of feel powerless to that kind of stuff because it's the system and the county and the school board. You're like, I'm not Going to make a difference. It was really surprising when the community rose up like that.
- [24:19]
Narrator/Storyteller
Still, Parker was not excited about this movement. In fact, the whole uproar about the cancellation was starting to bother her in a way that she had trouble putting her finger on at the time.
- [24:30]
Parker
Canceling the play is one thing. And making the whole conversation be about, like, the community's views on, like, homosexuals and pride and all that is. It's such a different thing to experience. And in middle school, I definitely wasn't ready for that kind of spotlight on us as kids. Cause I wasn't ready to talk about it. I wasn't ready at the time. I wasn't ready to be out. So many people were like, we see you. And I just. I did not want to be seen in the moment, like, in the transition period that I was in. Like, I wanted to time to reflect personally and individually before I allowed people to see, like, that part of me. And they were just not. They were looking too hard at me.
- [25:24]
Narrator/Storyteller
Meanwhile, Lee was miserable.
- [25:26]
Lee
Even when the play was canceled, I still had school. I still was bullied during school. You know, I couldn't, like, go to rehearsal afterwards. I just had to go straight home. You know, people would make fun of me and stuff on the bus, like, on the school bus way home. And so, like, I. Yeah, I never caught a break. It was just constant, constant, constant, constant, constant.
- [25:45]
Narrator/Storyteller
A week after the cancellation was announced, the school held a public meeting about the play. Parents would finally get the chance to ask questions about why it was canceled. Lee wanted to be there, if not to change the administration's mind, at least to speak up about how all of this was affecting them. So they and their mom hopped in an Uber and rode the 20 minutes to Hyattsville Middle School.
- [26:07]
Lee
We saw, like, news outlets. We saw people with, like, the big, like, the cameras and the microphones and people being, like, speaking and stuff. And I was like, this all feels so surreal and, like, movie, like, it's just so confusing.
- [26:18]
Narrator/Storyteller
The meeting was in the school cafeteria where the play would have taken place. And it was packed.
- [26:23]
Lee
We walked in. It was very, very loud. Everyone was speaking, and we had to, like, find a seat somewhere.
- [26:31]
Narrator/Storyteller
People were holding signs with messages like, the show must go on in rainbow lettering. Lee saw Ms. G across the room, and she looked like she'd been crying. The principal and other administrators from the district were there. So was Jamie.
- [26:45]
Jamie McGonigal
I sat with some other parents. Initially, I surreptitiously took out my phone so I could record the principal speaking.
- [26:53]
Ms. G / Other Cast Member
First, let me say thank you for.
- [26:54]
Lee
Everyone for coming out this evening.
- [26:56]
Jamie McGonigal
To our parents, students, the principal read a prepared statement.
- [27:01]
Ms. G / Other Cast Member
Basically, the Department of Creative and Formal.
- [27:04]
Lee
Arts encouraged teachers in each discipline to provide students with the very best instructional.
- [27:09]
Ms. G / Other Cast Member
Materials possible in an atmosphere of freedom and creativity.
- [27:14]
Narrator/Storyteller
The principal said the problem was that the play was not appropriate for middle schoolers. It was only officially cleared for high school students. It had been a mistake to let the kids do this production. The parents in the room were not buying it. Anytime they directly asked the administrators what exactly in the play was inappropriate, they refused to answer. That evasiveness led people to believe it really did have something to do with the gay dads.
- [27:38]
Jamie McGonigal
People just wanted an explanation of what happened, and they weren't giving it.
- [27:43]
Lee
They were passing on mics, and everyone was speaking in the mic. Gay people need to be alive and real. And it's like, aha. But that has nothing to do with the show.
- [27:51]
Jamie McGonigal
I do remember kids being very upset about it, obviously, because they'd put so much work into this.
- [28:00]
Lee
And I remember raising my hand, like, two times, and they did not give me the mic. And then they. And I was. I was. I was crying. I remember crying.
- [28:08]
Narrator/Storyteller
Finally, Lee did get ahold of a mic. Through tears, they tried to tell the room what they were feeling.
- [28:14]
Lee
You guys are all worried about the wrong thing. Like, that has nothing to do with what the actual problem is.
- [28:20]
Narrator/Storyteller
Lee talked about finding something they love to do, then losing that safe space where they could be themselves and just being confused about why everyone was now arguing about gay rights and censorship.
- [28:31]
Lee
I think I was just allowing things to just come out, you know, because I felt so emotional. I think I was trying to put up a front that, like, hey, like, I'm also an adult. Like, I also have feelings, too. I'm also trying to prove a point here. Like, I'm also trying to stand up for myself.
- [28:48]
Narrator/Storyteller
Basically, the mic was passed to someone else.
- [28:51]
Lee
I was, like, very, very, like, just upset that they weren't. That no one was asking me anything. Like, no. No one cared to ask me about anything.
- [28:59]
Narrator/Storyteller
Leigh felt like their words fell on deaf ears. And then the meeting ended. Talking to at least a couple of the kids who were involved in the play. They were totally blindsided by the focus on the gay characters. Like, why are you guys taking this and making this about this big political issue when we're just sort of sad that our play got taken away? And they kind of felt somewhat left behind by that. But they also felt put on the spot. Like, the kids who were. Had sort of Emerging sexualities were sort of like, the last thing I want is for a spotlight on my. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [29:41]
Jamie McGonigal
I hadn't. I hadn't considered that in that. From that perspective so much. I can see that. I can see that still wanting that private part of you when you're at a pretty tender moment in a tender age, anything that might possibly shine a spotlight on that can be kind of terrifying. And I should have considered that, but I didn't. I think in my blind rage at the time. You don't always consider all the, you know, every perspective of every person involved when you're trying to accomplish a big task like that. I also go back, though, to the idea that maybe it wouldn't have felt like such a sharp intrusion if there weren't still a lot of societal pressure and prejudice against queer people. That stigma is still very much there for these kids. Otherwise they wouldn't have had these same kind of issues with anyone shining a spotlight on who they are and having to hide. Right.
- [30:45]
Narrator/Storyteller
On the day of the meeting, Jamie, who was at this point kind of a rogue spearhead of the parent movement, stepped up the protest.
- [30:53]
Jamie McGonigal
We reached out to someone at the local ABC affiliate and we're like, hey, they're canceling this show Tonight. Questions are swirling over the sudden cancellation.
- [31:02]
Ms. G / Other Cast Member
Of a middle school musical in Maryland. Was it profanity in the script that caused concern? Sexual innuendo? Or was it the play's portrayal of a same sex couple?
- [31:12]
Narrator/Storyteller
The ABC news crew showed up at the school and Jamie gave an interview.
- [31:16]
Jamie McGonigal
I'm a gay dad. I have a background in theater. I have no doubt in my mind that the fact that there's gay parents in the show is one of the primary reasons for the cancellation. When we asked pointedly if that was one of the reasons, they said they could not say.
- [31:33]
Narrator/Storyteller
The next day, Ms. G called Parker and the other stage manager up to her desk during class. She had breaking news of her own.
- [31:40]
Parker
She was like, guys, the play is back on. Like, it's uncancelled. They took that back. I almost didn't believe it for a second. I was really surprised and confused and excited, but almost like hesitantly excited.
- [31:57]
Narrator/Storyteller
The pressure from the protesters had worked. The school reversed its decision to cancel the play. There was one compromise, though. There would have to be a disclaimer before the performance about the mature content.
- [32:10]
Lee
I don't think I was like, hooray, like, gaping for the win, like, we made it, you know, another stonewall. I was still in the show, so I still got bullied because of that. So, like, nothing really changed, really. There was no, like, I didn't walk down the hallways and people were, like, praising me. I didn't like it. There was no, like, roses on the way to my class. You know, I think. I think I was happy that, one, the show is back on, but two, I could be myself again.
- [32:34]
Parker
The feelings were complicated. Definitely. When I got put back on, like, it was hard to be as excited as I was before. Like, how long is this gonna last, this new. This new acceptance of the play? Like, now it's a bigger deal because it's not just a play that we're doing. It's like a statement almost that we, you know, overcame this, like, adversity. Everybody, like, is expecting some kind of, like, triumph story from us when really it was just a thing that we were doing. It was just a play that we were doing for fun.
- [33:09]
Narrator/Storyteller
The kids had only three weeks to get the play back on its feet.
- [33:13]
Parker
I remember thinking, like, oh, we don't have all the blocking down. You know, people don't know their lines. Still. We have to really get this perfect because now that it's become such a big deal, we have to be good.
- [33:25]
Narrator/Storyteller
Before they knew it, it was tech week. Theater kids call it hell week. It's when everything has to come together. All the moving parts, the sets, the lighting, the costumes. The rowdy middle schoolers have to actually put on a play.
- [33:39]
Parker
I was making sure everyone hit the tech cues, right. I was like on the headset. Like, I was doing last minute crafts for the big props. And then I was making the blocking for the two dads.
- [33:54]
Narrator/Storyteller
Right, the dads.
- [33:56]
Lee
We were not worrying about that last. That small part. You know, we had to get through songs and dances and lines and montages. Like, it was a lot. Like, that was the least of our problems.
- [34:09]
Narrator/Storyteller
When it came time to rehearse the scene, one of the actors who was supposed to play a gay dad, Lee's scene partner, dropped one final bombshell. He wasn't going to play the role. Ms. G asked the other theater boys if they could do it, even one of the tech crew. No one was up for playing a gay dad, not even Lee.
- [34:29]
Lee
I didn't have a problem with playing the two gay dads at first. After the bullying, of course, and after it was like, oh, so you do theater and you're gay and now you're playing a gay dad? And I was like, okay, I don't think I want to do that anymore.
- [34:42]
Narrator/Storyteller
Then Ms. G had an idea. Did anyone in the class think their dads might be willing to play the characters.
- [34:49]
Parker
I went home and talked to him about it. He was like, absolutely. He was so excited.
- [34:53]
Narrator/Storyteller
So Parker's dad and another dad started coming to rehearsals to work on the scene.
- [34:58]
Parker
My dad was so excited to be acting again. Like, he did plays in theater in high school. And I had to tell him a lot of the time, like, you're overreacting to things and you're acting very loud. And he was acting really flamboyant. He kind of pitched his voice a little higher and was, like, talking with his hands a little, like, moving a little more, like, different than he would. I had to pull my dad aside. I was like, you're not gonna want to hear this from your daughter, but you're acting a little too gay. I was like, you're acting very stereotypical. You have to dial it down a little.
- [35:37]
Narrator/Storyteller
Even though Parker's dad was overdoing it, Lee felt comforted that the adults were stepping in to play the gay dads.
- [35:44]
Lee
Now I don't have to get the backlash from everybody else, you know, like. Cause after the show, I was gonna have to go to school, and they would have. There would have been people talking about it and stuff. And I was just glad that I could have just been William. And that was it, you know?
- [36:00]
Narrator/Storyteller
Finally, it was opening night. Lee's hyperactivity went up a few notches as they got into their costume. Parker was in tech kid mode, wearing all black with a headset. She had butterflies, but not in a good way.
- [36:14]
Parker
I was so intensely nervous. If we do go through with this, is it going to be worse? Now that this scandal has been brought up, are people going to see this play and, like, yell bad things? Like, I thought, should I be, like, looking out the curtain windows and, like, watching for people?
- [36:34]
Jamie McGonigal
I was all excited to go because, you know, I, I, I felt like I had some tiny, tiny part in helping to make it happen. So we got dressed up, we went, we sat in the front row, and.
- [36:46]
Narrator/Storyteller
Jamie had one last little show of support for the cast.
- [36:50]
Ms. G / Other Cast Member
Hi, guys.
- [36:50]
Narrator/Storyteller
This is Jose Lana original Chip Tolentino, sending a big shout out to the kids and drama teachers at Hyattsville Middle School over in Maryland.
- [37:00]
Jamie McGonigal
I reached out to a lot of the original cast members who were in it on Broadway and asked them to put together messages for the kids. They all knew the story. They'd all passed around the petition that.
- [37:10]
Narrator/Storyteller
I made toward the end of the video. There was Jesse Tyler Ferguson. He went on to play a gay dad on Modern Family.
- [37:18]
Ms. G / Other Cast Member
And I just Want you to know there's gonna be lots of kids out there who see themselves in all those characters. Gay, straight, white, black, skinny, chubby ones with mucous membrane problems. Ones who just love to read the dictionary on the toilet. And that's the great thing about the arts is it can really bring people closer together and it can change hearts and minds. And I think spelling bee does just that. So best of luck, and I'm sending.
- [37:44]
Narrator/Storyteller
All my good vibes your way. Backstage, Ms. Gathered the kids and played them the video.
- [37:51]
Parker
And everyone was like, oh, my God. That's the actual original spelling bee cast. That was a big deal. I was like, this is a huge deal.
- [37:57]
Lee
Yeah. After that, I was like, whoa. Like, I. Whoa. Yeah.
- [38:02]
Narrator/Storyteller
It was a full house backstage. As the kids scrambled to their spots, Ms. G rushed in with a new plan.
- [38:09]
Lee
For the longest time during rehearsal, we couldn't say, like, cuss words. We had to, like, bleep them out or whatever. Opening night, Ms. G was like, you.
- [38:17]
Narrator/Host
Guys can say them now.
- [38:18]
Lee
It's like, just, like. Just say them, you know, like, don't be afraid to say them. I was like, okay. But, like, nobody got it. So there's one line where it's like. Like, God damn it, or whatever, right? And we've changed, like, gosh darn it, or whatever. But it's like one person saying, goddamn. Another person saying, gosh darn it. And it's like a mix of it. And, like, I remember, like, doing it, looking at them, be like, what do we do? Like, this is going horribly. Like, what do we do? You know?
- [38:41]
Parker
That kind of fit, though, because wasn't that in the song called Pandemonium? Yeah, so it kind of worked.
- [38:46]
Lee
That's true.
- [38:46]
Narrator/Host
Yeah.
- [38:55]
Narrator/Storyteller
As soon as the curtain went up, the stage lights wouldn't turn on. From there, it was a cascade of unfortunate events. Lee's mic kept cutting out. A rat had chewed through the wires in the sound system. People kept missing lines.
- [39:14]
Parker
It was a very, like, the show must go on, even though people are forgetting their cues and doing stuff wrong on stage, and the lights won't turn on and everything's going crazy.
- [39:31]
Narrator/Storyteller
The kids stumbled through the rest of the play and then came to the scene, the one with the gay dads. Did your dad tone it down by the time?
- [39:41]
Parker
No, it came back. He did not. He was really dramatic the whole time. It was good, though. It was entertaining, I'm sure.
- [39:52]
Lee
Baby, it's time for a break.
- [39:53]
Narrator/Storyteller
Dan.
- [39:54]
Narrator/Host
Dan, we're in the middle of work here.
- [39:56]
Ms. G / Other Cast Member
Yeah, but, you know, she doesn't smell.
- [39:58]
Lee
Well when her blood sugar is low.
- [39:59]
Ms. G / Other Cast Member
Carl, we need to build her stamina. The be could last three hours.
- [40:03]
Lee
Don't talk to me about stamina, Carl.
- [40:05]
Narrator/Storyteller
Dad. Daddy.
- [40:09]
Lee
You know, after that, everyone goes, yeah, yeah. And, like, all. It's like. Like, a bunch of people in one corner because there are probably people who, like, were invested in this and who went to the meetings, and they're like, yeah, like, yeah, they're just clapping and stuff.
- [40:22]
Narrator/Storyteller
Lee was on stage during the scene outside the spotlight, and I remember being.
- [40:27]
Lee
Like, rolling my eyes, being like, come on, guys. Like, come on. Like, come on. Like, come on, you know, you got what you wanted type thing. Can we keep the show going when.
- [40:38]
Parker
Everyone is, like, clapping and cheering so much for the one scene that, like, is kids and the one scene that's just the two adults, you're kind of like, oh, are they really here for me?
- [41:05]
Narrator/Storyteller
The play ended. The cast took their curtain call. Jamie and his husband joined in a standing ovation.
- [41:20]
Parker
Because it was such a big deal. Even though I didn't like that it was such a big deal, it was a little sad to be. To just have to go back to normal life after that because I liked hanging out with those people.
- [41:36]
Narrator/Storyteller
Even though they both felt like the protests had passed them by, during this ordeal, Lee and Parker had gotten closer.
- [41:42]
Lee
Meeting someone and becoming friends with them and then realizing, oh, we're kind of the same person. We're kind of going through the same things, you know, at the same time. That. Yeah, I think that's. We kind of listened to each other, and that's. We kind of found what we needed in a way.
- [41:58]
Parker
I had never had a friend like that before. Like, not specifically like, that someone I could get really close to and to talk about, like, this important journey.
- [42:11]
Narrator/Storyteller
On closing night, after they all got out of their costumes and wiped the makeup off their faces, Lee and a bunch of other kids from the play hung out together in a friend's basement. They played Minecraft and ate candy and reminisced about the year.
- [42:24]
Lee
I was very, very certain in that moment that these people were like, my kin. Like, I have friends, and they, like. These friends love me, and I actually love them, and we're cool, and we get to hang out and stuff, you know? Yeah, I think that was like a. Like a. Like a. Not a somber moment, but like a. A good moment to like, oh, this is.
- [42:40]
Ms. G / Other Cast Member
This is.
- [42:41]
Lee
This is pretty good. Like, I can actually have friends. And this is. This is. This is good.
- [43:03]
Narrator/Host
A very, very, very big thank you to Lee and Parker, who are best friends to this day. They graduate from high school this very month. Also thanks as well to Jamie McGonigal. His son will be attending Hyattsville Middle school starting in 2029. The original score for this piece was by Dirk Schwarzoff. It was produced by Mark Bettencourt. Now, after the break, the secret to magic revealed. Stay tuned. Did you know there's an online cannabis company that ships federally legal THC right to your door? I'm talking about Mood.com's incredible line of functional gummies. You can get 20% off your first order at Mood.com with promo code Snap. Best of all, not only is every Mood product backed by a 100 day satisfaction guarantee, but as I mentioned, listeners get 20% off their first order with code SNAP. SNAP. So head to mood.com, find the functional gummy that matches exactly what you're looking for and let Mood help you discover your perfect mood. And don't forget to use promo code Snap when you check out to save 20% on your first order.
- [44:33]
Parker
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Sponsor Voice
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- [44:43]
Parker
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- [44:44]
Sponsor Voice
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- [44:52]
Narrator/Host
Welcome back to Snap Judgment, the Stuck in the Middle episode. You are in for a treat because I saved a seat for you right front and center with the full house. Snap Judgment Live.
- [45:11]
Ms. G / Other Cast Member
A haiku to start. I am Mike McGee. I love women and free food. Running makes me sad. True. Now I have the luxury of not enjoying running. But I was born with spina bifida. And those of you who don't know what that is, it is a neural tube defect. It's a birth defect that, you know, it's a spinal deformation. And most people with it can't run, usually in wheelchairs. They need help with mobility. I don't. I can, you know, karate chop. I can't kick very highly now because of spina bifida. I do have a certain amount of nerve damage, basically between my nipples and my knees. And that nerve damage affects my bladder. It doesn't work at all. I have no bladder control whatsoever. Not a drop of it. I wear diapers. I've worn diapers my whole life. 37 years of diaper changing. I'm pretty good at it now. I'm pretty comfortable now with wearing diapers. But I wasn't as a kid. As a kid, it was tough because kids could hear them whenever I'd walk through School, they'd hear my diapers and they'd find out about it. And I was Catholic, so I couldn't lie about it, you know? So I would explain to them what spina bifida was, and they just weren't having it. And they thought I was a freak, and they would tease me. Diaper boy. Really original. We moved a lot, and everyone came up with diaper boy. Times were tough. I mean, not too tough with my family. You know, I've been chubby my whole life. My mouth has been high fiving food since 1985. But being teased so mercilessly through school made it really tough. And one day, I came home crying. One time, one time only, I came home crying, and my mom grabbed me, and she said, michael, if you're going to survive this life, you got to make them laugh with you and not at you. She was right. Right then and there, she gave me permission to be hilarious. But I was still pretty bad at it. I got into eighth grade, and I was just as mean, as ruthless as everyone else. I avoided public swimming pools, locker rooms. The idea of being seen in my diaper was, like, foreign. It was impossible and unacceptable. I couldn't do it. But the meanest people in school were these rich kids in 8th grade at Hoover Middle School in San Jose. They would sit on this grassy knoll near the cafeteria, and they would just bestow insults upon everyone, especially the poor kids. I was considered a poor kid. So I thought, well, I need a team. If I'm gonna take down these kids, I'm gonna need a team to help me out. So I rounded up all the funniest kids in school, and we sat at the bench between the cafeteria and the grassy knoll, and we aimed all of our insults at the rich kids. Every once in a while, kids would come out of the cafeteria and they'd get hit, too. Sort of a little sit by shooting, you know? But it was working. And it made the rich kids hate me even more. And I was fine with that. These John Hughes bastards. And we would mess with everything about them as much as we could. The gel in their hair and their New Kids on the Block Conversations, 1989. So all of a sudden, in the spring of 1990, pantsing became the thing. Pantsing and my crew, we were the clowning crew, all got pantsed. And we were trying to figure out how was it that everyone I liked was getting pantsed. And it turns out that the rich kids loved the idea of pantsing, but there was no way they were ever going to touch the clothing that was bought at Kmart. So they had a hired gun, and his name was Corey. Corey was the fastest kid at Hoover Middle School. And the reason he was the fastest kid was because he was the skinniest kid. The reason he was the skinniest kid is because he was easily the poorest kid at school. He got free lunch, like us in the cafeteria. We couldn't understand how the rich kids lured him in. He had principles. And then one day, we figured it out. The rich kids lured him onto the grassy knoll and made him pants people by raiding their cupboards and pantries at home. Food they knew no one would miss. And they'd fill his backpack with groceries to take home to his family. It was the only way to get him to do it. And he did, with efficiency. He was of the wind. He could pants anyone. By the time you knew your pants were around your ankles, he was gone. And he probably had your wallet, too. He was so good, and there's no way I could outrun him. And that occurred to me one day. I was like, I'm going to be a target. There is no way the rich kids aren't going to make sure that I get pantsed. My clowning crew grew nervous. So for days, we tried figuring out a way to avoid me getting pants. Because if I get seen in a diaper, it would be the end of my life. From here on out, I'd still be alive, but it would just be dull. So we tried figuring this out, and there was just no way around it, because my wardrobe consisted, literally, of three T shirts and four pairs of sweatpants. Sweatpants, a cloth made of the finest dryer, lint, and hope pants maneuver for pantsing. I was so scared it was going to happen. There's no way around it. I couldn't outrun Cory. He, a tiny, very hungry cheetah waiting for a buffet, and me, a fat, lazy zebra, really just ready to be a buffet. The day came. I woke up one warm June morning knowing it was going to happen. I went to school like nothing was going on. I got my free lunch. I stood outside the cafeteria, and I kept my eye on Cory. The whole school kept their eye on us. They knew it was coming down. My clowning crew was nervous. They knew it was gonna happen that day. I stood there, kept my eye on him, thinking, if I can see where Corey is, I'm safe. There's no way it's gonna happen. And if it's not gonna happen, then that means I've won. Maybe I'VE already won. And by the time that thought hit my brain, I felt two bony handfuls of sweatpants being tugged down by Corey behind me. The ninja Pantser. I looked down to see the elastic of my sweatpants around my ankles. I had been pantsed. Corey and the rest of the lunch crowd looked up expecting to see me in a diaper, but instead, what they saw was a second pair of sweatpants. It didn't work. I couldn't believe it. Corey couldn't believe it. I looked back at him. We just smiled, knowing that we had both won. He rose to his feet, shook my hand, walked up the knoll, claimed his groceries one last time. I eyed the rich kids. They knew we had won. There was nothing they could do do about it. I returned to my seat, claimed my spot on the bench with my clowning crew, knowing that Corey and I were the winningest losers at Hoover Middle school class of 1990.
- [53:43]
Narrator/Host
Big, big love to Mighty Mike McGee for the hilarity. Mighty Mike McGee scene the the full video of this performance in all of its Technicolor glory. It's all on our website, snapjudgment.org.
- [53:58]
Parker
If.
- [53:58]
Narrator/Host
You missed even a moment, know the Snap Judgment Storytelling Podcast is available right now. Wherever you get your podcast. This app is brought to you by the team that never caused a moment's trouble in middle school. Except for the uber producer, Mr. Mark Ristich. Now there's Nancy Lopez, Patmosine Miller, Anna Sussman, Renzo Goriot, John Facil, Shayna Shealy, Taylor Ducat, Flo Wiley, Bo Walsh, Marisa Dodge, David Exame, and Regina Bediaco. On Team snap, the union represented producers, artists, editors and engineers are members of the national association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, Communications Workers of America, AFL CIO Local 51. And this is not the news. No way. It's just the news. In fact, you could show up at your kid's middle school dressed in blazing pink sparkly wig just so they understand what you're capable of and you would still not be as far away from the news as this is. But this is prx Sam.