Muscatine Community College: Administration Cancels Virtual Play After Voicing Concerns About Controversial Themes

In September 2020, Muscatine Community College canceled its fall play, which was to be a virtual performance of “Dog Sees God,” a reimagining of the “Peanuts” cartoon in which the characters are high school students grappling with issues such as sexuality and drug use. The cancellation occurred after an administrator had voiced concerns about the content of the script and had demanded the faculty theatre director select a different script. In September 2020, FIRE wrote to MCC to make clear that cancelling a faculty-organized theatrical performance based on content and viewpoint concerns violates the First Amendment. In October 2020, the college agreed to offer free tickets to students and to allow the theatre director to select the script for the spring play without administrative review.