Last year, we told you that a former Ponderosa High School assistant principal had filed a lawsuit claiming he was fired because he publicly disagreed with his theater department performing the play “The Laramie Project” based on his personal religious beliefs, which he said should be considered protected speech.

For the record, it wasn’t so much that he disagreed with the production that got him fired, but how he went about disagreeing with it that got him fired – along with other unrelated allegations.

As first reported by Michael Karlik of Colorado Politics, a U.S. District Court judge dismissed the lawsuit on Aug. 28, ruling that Corey McNellis did not credibly allege he was discriminated or retaliated against because of his status as a Christian. (You can read Karlik’s entire report on the ruling here.)

To recap: Ponderosa students performed “The Laramie Project,” a play that explores the brutal murder of gay University of Wyoming college student Matthew Shepard, as well as the Laramie community’s efforts to heal⁠ from it. Ponderosa High’s theater department presented the play virtually during the 2020 pandemic shutdown.

The DCPA Theatre Company gave “The Laramie Project” its world-premiere staging back in 2000. According to data from the Matthew Shepard Foundation, the play was performed by 2,073 schools and theater companies from 2010-2020 alone. The script has sold more than 100,000 copies. HBO says its 2002 film adaptation has been seen by more than 20 million people worldwide.

In his lawsuit against the Douglas County School District, McNellis described “The Laramie Project” as “not family friendly.” He claimed he was fired for “offering to provide a Christian perspective” to the play’s director, teacher Kayla Diaz. On a staff-wide email list, McNellis said he believed the message of the play is that “people can do bad things,” and he suggested that the performance should end with “a prayer for all people.” He asked Diaz whether “the love that Jesus can provide will help the play.” In a later email to The Denver Gazette, McNellis further said he was concerned about the play’s potential impact on students.

Diaz responded by saying that a variety of religious perspectives are expressed throughout the play, which was compiled from verbatim interviews with 60 real-life Laramie residents ranging from a rancher to teachers to doctors to politicians to three religious leaders of differing faiths. Everyone’s point of view is presented without judgment – even the notorious Baptist Rev. Fred Phelps. “I think this is a wonderful time to teach our students that hate and violence is never the answer,” Diaz wrote to McNellis.

“The Laramie Project” is not, in itself, widely considered to be a controversial play. Upsetting and infuriating, yes – because the realities that made it possible for Shepard to be left to die tied to a fence like a scarecrow are both upsetting and infuriating.

When McNellis filed his lawsuit, I asked Aurora Hinkley High School teacher Kristen Martin, who directed “The Laramie Project” at Littleton High School all the way back in 2006 – why it is important for schools to continue to stage “The Laramie Project.” Her answer: Because the play can be a transformative experience for anyone watching it.

“This play needs to be taught in high schools because this is our last chance before we release these students into the wild,” Martin said. “This is our last chance to teach them what it means to be a compassionate human being.”

When she heard today that the lawsuit has been dismissed, Martin was relieved. “I am delighted to see the judicial system stand up and tell someone that there’s not enough evidence for the law to do anything here,” she said.

There hasn’t been another local staging of “The Laramie Project” to the scale of the Denver Center’s world premiere since 2000. Until now. The Arvada Center is opening a major new production on Sept. 29.

Record summer for Colorado Shakes

While many performing arts organizations will never return to pre-pandemic attendance numbers, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival just posted a record year, at least for revenue. We just don’t know what that record is, exactly.

“Colorado Shakes hit its highest ticket revenue total in its history, surpassing the previous high set in 2017,” said Producing Artistic Director Tim Orr. “It was a very successful season.” He declined to say what that revenue record was, however. The last published revenue report appears to be $1 million for the 2016 season.

“We had 30,000 in attendance this summer,” Orr said. “That was the average in attendance for the last three pre-COVID seasons we produced, and up from 24,000 last season. That’s the extent of the details we can share at this time.”

Now that’s a horror-ible email!

When you receive hundreds of emails a day, it takes something special to get your attention. This one did: “Colorado is home to a dynamic and joyously creepy horror community …”

I’m interested.

The annual Colorado Festival of Horror takes place Sept. 15-17 in the Marriott Denver South in Lone Tree. It is described as “an intimate fan experience, a creative incubator and convention for all things horror.” Among the celebrity actors and comic-book artists making appearances: 1980s scream queen Michelle Bauer (“Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama”), Allen Danziger and John Dugan of the 1974 classic “Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” and a bunch more names I don’t know from movies like “My Heart is a Chainsaw” (a theme, perhaps?) and “Hellbent for Horror.” It’s a veritable menagerie of the macabre. Info at cofestivalofhorror.com.

Briefly …

I don’t know how Blake Carrington would feel about this, but I was pretty happy to hear that the 37^th annual fancy-schmancy Carousel Ball (which apparently still happens) will be headlined by Counting Crows on Oct. 28 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Denver. Turns out, the social event of the year I last heard about on “Dynasty” now alternates annually between Denver and Beverly Hills. Since 1977, the Carousel Ball has raised more than $110 million to benefit the Children’s Diabetes Foundation. Tickets start at $600 at childrensdiabetesfoundation.org …

Cleo Parker Robinson Dance will set its upcoming interpretation of the famous ballet “Firebird” in the Hawaiian Islands, with the Firebird being an incarnation of Pele, the Goddess of the Volcano. Robinson is partnering with Thomas Talawa Prestø, founder of a Norwegian company called Tabanka that is focused on the African diaspora. Performances Sept. 15-16 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. Info at axs.com …

Tickets to see comedian Hasan Minhaj from “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at axs.com. Minhaj will perform at the Buell Theatre at 7 p.m. on Nov. 10.

A buffet of Jimmy Buffett tales

Local veteran music guru G. Brown, executive director of the Colorado Music Experience, served up some tasty local memories of the late Jimmy Buffett last week. Buffett’s first-ever tour was throughout Colorado, Brown wrote, “circa 1971,” and his first gig as a touring artist was at The Cafe York on Colfax Avenue.

“Buffett carried his two Martin guitars from small coffeehouses to college campuses,” Brown wrote. Quoting Buffett: “I lived in a little sleazy hotel in metropolitan Denver, and then I went to the mountains, as everybody has done — up to Evergreen, Bailey, then Breckenridge where I did the summer mountain circuit, having a glorious time. I wound up the tour in downtown Pueblo, not known as the most beautiful spot in Colorado. But seeing every side of Colorado eventually led to me settling there for a while.”