CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – (CLARKSVILLENOW.COM) – A play that was performed as part of West Creek High School’s Spring Showcase prompted social media comments suggesting a Ku Klux Klan meeting had taken place.
The true story is that the school presented the comedy “The Foreigner” by playwright Larry Shue, which takes place in a rural fishing lodge.
A racist character wants to convert the lodge into a meeting place for the KKK.
A message and embedded video sent to ClarksvilleNow simply showed students dressed in KKK robes, milling around in a hallway.
The video without any context prompted outrage by Facebook users.
West Creek drama teacher Rob Silvers said this is the second time the school has performed the play. The first time was in 2012.
“It was published in 1983 by Larry Shue, and is one of the most frequently produced High School plays in the United States,” Silvers said. “It is a farce comedy dealing with deception and misconceptions of prejudice. It contains a 5 minute scene with characters dressed in ‘Klan’ robes, including one ‘member’ in race-car sheet. The students playing the extra Klansmen were all minorities.”