playbill vip

The Music Man is a beloved classic of the musical theatre performed and for the most part has aged very well with one exception.  The scene in the gym featuring the Wa Tan Ye girls.

The Wa Tan Ye girls is an organzation dating back over 90 years with its roots in Mason City, Iowa--the inspirational city for The Music Man.  The organization is made up of local professional and business women who do services and works for their local community including raising money for scholarships, funding children's programming and educating local citizens about history.  

As a sort of love letter to his home, Meredith Willson included a scene with the Wa Tan Ye girls at the Fourth of July Celebration.  This scene includes the women "performing" a "traditional" Native American chant and dance in headgear and costumes.  At the time this was written, this would have been a common and acceptable practice in the portrayal of Native Americans.

As part of our process in learning as theatre students, we spent quite a bit of time discussing the history and problems this scene presents. We are obligated to perform the work as written, but interpretation in presentation is left up to us.  We also discussed our discomfort with the portrait and message this scene might send.

The cast and crew of WCHS's The Music Man would like to be clear that this scene in no way represents our feelings or ideals regarding Native Americans or persons of any race or culture. We also acknowledge that studying and understanding history is how we change ourselves for the better.