In DeSoto, Missouri a concerned parent requested that his daughter’s high school not continue with their production of Almost, Maine because one scene features a gay couple falling in love.

LHS just wrapped up production of this exact show, and as the assistant director, I support the show wholeheartedly.

This play is about love: the good, the bad, the ugly and the pretty. The show did not promote or oppose gay marriage. It promoted love.

The play features nine different stories. It leaves nothing out with everything from a married couple getting divorced to love at first sight. There is a woman who suffers in an abusive relationship and a man with the incapacity feel who learns what love is. Every other scene requires the actors to kiss on stage. I understand that there are many questionable aspects of this show, but the inclusion of homosexuality should not be one of them.

Why would you leave out the anticipated story of two best friends falling in love? That’s what that scene is, and the fact that it happens to be two guys who are best friends just shows that love can come in any form.

Senior Connor Stephens and Junior Chris O’Connor play the gay characters.

“It’s not uncomfortable at all to play a gay character. It’s with one of my best friends, Chris, and it’s great for me to get a different perspective on the idea of love. That’s what acting is all about, getting a different perspective and trying new and challenging things,” Stephens said.

Unsurprisingly, the DeSoto school district denied the parents complaint and went on with the production.