How Book Banning in the USA Effects Theater Censorship- Part 1

Book banning is awful, and it doesn't bode well for censorship of art in general, including theater. Let's talk about it.

There’s something icky going on in the American government (duh). Oh, which thing am I talking about?

Today, at least, I’m talking about banned books.

“But Brynn,” I hear you saying, “what does that have to do with theater?”

I’m glad you asked! Before I get into the breakdown of definitions and news and all that crazy stuff…Let’s talk about the obvious.

Plays…are books. Yeah they tend to be pretty thin and written in a different style but, they’re books. Plays have been banned in this country before, both from being read and from being watched and performed. There is an intrinsic link between censorship in theatre and the banning of books, and with the book banning that has been occurring at an alarming rate in the US since 2020, there have also been multiple instances of performances being canceled.

Want more reasons to pay attention? Let’s get into it.

What does being “banned” mean?

Let’s start by defining a few terms.

First off, what is censorship? Oxford languages defines it as “the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, film, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.” Pretty unbiased definition, obviously, but let’s break it down into its smaller parts.

So suppression and prohibition of parts of media, essentially presenting a work of media without certain parts for reasons of obscenity or safety, is the main part of this. But when we’re discussing book banning especially, we’re not talking about just parts– the whole is being banned.

Book banning itself is just a more specific form of censorship. According to Reader’s Digest, “book banning is the act of removing materials from a school or library’s collection as a result of objections from groups or individuals who say that they need to protect others– typically children– from the difficult information or ideas contained in the books.”

If you’ve been reading the news lately, or watching independent reporters and/or creators on places like TikTok (RIP) and Youtube, you’re probably very aware of this. The most rampant rash of book-banning started in 2022 but really began to pick up at the end of that year into the beginning of 2023. Obviously, however, this is not the first time books have been challenged in the good ol’ U S of A.

So, when did all the bullshit begin?

The History of Book Banning (In the USA) and Banned Books Week

The first ever recorded instance of a book being banned in America was in the early days of the country– before it even was one, actually. The very first recorded book ban was in 1637 in modern day Quincy, Massachusetts. The book banned? Thomas Morton’s New English Canaan. Why? The Puritan’s considered it to be a “harsh and heretical critique of Puritan customs and power structures.” (Gutman Library)

Some of the other first books banned were The Meritorious Price of Our Redemption by William Pynchon and The Christian Commonwealth by John Eliot. One of the most famous early book bans, however, was of the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beacher Stowe. I bet you can guess where it was banned and why…

If you guessed “the South” and “because racism”, you’d be correct! It was banned for being “abolitionist propaganda”, i.e. they feared the ideas in the book would push more people to be against slavery, which the Southern plantation owners obviously did not want.

Any of this sounding…familiar? Yeah. Yeeaaaah.

About two decades after the situation with Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Congress decided they were getting involved now, and they passed the Comstock Act of 1873, making it illegal for anyone to “possess, sell, give away, exhibit, or send obscene books, pamphlets, pictures, drawings, or advertisements through the mail, along with anything else considered lewd, lascivious, immoral, or indecent.” The problem with this? It’s extremely subjective.

Despite this subjectivity, over 3500 people were arrested and charged under this law from 1874 to 1915. The books banned under it were wild. Once again because of the subjectivity, books such as medical textbooks, pamphlets about sex education, anything by Oscar Wilde, and even old stuff like The Canterbury Tales were deemed too lewd to be sent through the mail.

Luckily, nowadays the Comstock Act is outdated and no longer recognized. In 1933 in the case The United States vs One Book Called Ulysses, a helpful precedent was set. This case concerned the federal ban– yes you heard that right, federal– of James Joyce’s novel, Ulysses. Judge John M Woolsey “found legal cause to challenge the previous judge’s definition of pornography– and by extension, his definition of art.” (Lit Hub) Basically he decided that depictions of sexual activity should be allowed in “serious literature”. He is quoted as saying, “Whilst in many places the effect of Ulysses on the reader undoubtedly is somewhat emetic, nowhere does it tend to be an aphrodisiac.” The Comstock Act would remain officially on the books until about 1957.

Unfortunately, there are some people in our current government (*cough* MAGAts *cough*) that would like to utilize the Comstock Act to potentially ban books and other art at the federal level as a part of Project 2025. But we’ll get to that in a moment.

Book bannings after 1957 began to lessen. In the 60’s and 70’s, art got a lot more out there. Lots of artists began experimenting with strange and explicit images and acts, and consumers were receptive. But then, of course, who comes along to ruin everything?

Okay, if any of you took APUSH in high school or are in that course now, I have a little multiple choice question for you.

What politician came along after this time period that arguably ruined a lot? Was it, A) James Carter B) George McGovern or C) Ronald Regan?

If you said Ronald Regan you’re right!

In this house, we despise Ronald Reagan.

After Regan was elected, the amount of books being challenged across the country went way up. According to an article on Lit Hub, the amount of challenges went up into the 700s and 800s.

And now one of the cool parts– Banned Books Week was established in 1982!

Chris Finan, the director of American Booksellers for Free Expression, has been quoted as saying, “The point of the event was to get people to understand that these books weren’t pornographic or excessively violent, but simply depicting the real world…and that many were classics of American literature.”

Libraries would participate by displaying often banned or censored books as well as informational posters to encourage people to read these stories. Some booksellers and libraries have gone above and beyond since the 80’s though, going as far as to create whole events and activities based around banned books. For instance, in Washington D.C., there is a city wide scavenger hunt for banned books wrapped in black paper with words such as “smut” and “filthy” printed on them.

“Okay, Brynn,” I’m sure you’re thinking, “again, what does this have to do with theater????”

I promise, I’m getting to it.

Theater Censorship in the USA

Just like all art forms, including books, the theater world has faced censorship, unjust decency laws, and more. The history of these occurrences goes as far back as the theater itself! But, as this essay is focused on America, let’s just discuss what has been banned and censored here in the past.

Remember that Comstock Act I told you about earlier and its effect on the history of book banning? Well, lots of theatrical performances were canceled or cast members arrested under those same laws. Plays affected included classics such as Lysistrata by Aristophanes, Mrs. Warren’s Profession by George Bernard Shaw, Salome by Oscar Wilde, The Drag by Mae West, and God of Vengeance by Sholem Asch. The Comstock Act or Comstock Laws were used to arrest artists performing and sanctioning these works and works like them that discussed themes such as sex, homosexuality, and prostitution.

When the Comstock Act was repealed, theater artists were no longer arrested for doing these types of shows. However, a different and less official form of censorship began afterwards and still continues to this day.

This unofficial censorship takes many forms. From what I’ve researched, I’ve developed a couple of terms for them.

First is Production Censorship. This is when a show has trouble being picked up for a production anywhere due to subject matter. For instance, just look at our traditional theatrical canon. Who is it filled with? White cisgender men. To this day, playwrights of color have a harder time getting their work produced due to subconscious (or scarily conscious) bias against people of color in this country. This applies to LGBTQIA+ playwrights and artists as well. Plays censored under this type may use uncomfortable language or situations to show the hardship that oppressed peoples experience, which producers, directors, and board members use as a reason to avoid doing plays about issues that make their donors (usually rich white people) uncomfortable.

Another is Community Censorship. This is what is the most similar to our current problem with book banning. A lot of productions at colleges, high schools, and community theaters are banned every year due to parental or community objection. These objections are scarily similar to the objections that surrounded plays that were taken down by Comstock Laws in the early 20th century– sex and homosexuality being the most common reasons from my observations. Works that have suffered from this are ones such as Rent by Jonathan Larson, American Idiot (a Green Day jukebox musical), Indecent by Paula Vogel, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by Rachel Sheinkin and William Finn, Down in Mississippi by Carlyle Brown, Perfect Arrangement by Topher Payne, Hair by Gerome Ragni and James Rado, and many, many more.

Both of these forms of silent censorship occur yearly in America. In the past year or so, as book bannings have been increasing, more and more artists have found their work being protested by groups such as Moms for Liberty, Florida Citizens Alliance, and others that falsely have words such as “freedom”, “patriot”, or “education” in their title. Frankly, they’re popping up like weeds, and there are almost too many to count due to the small, localized nature of the majority of groups. But rest assured, they’re there, and I highly recommend doing a google search to see what groups exist in your area.

As of writing this piece, new instances of theater banning are occurring extremely frequently. Unfortunately it’s hard to know the exact frequency, as most community theaters, colleges, and high schools are not usually considered national news worthy. We only really hear about the censorship occurring in these spaces when the students, artists, and/or community members make a big enough stink about it (you are all heroes).

And that’s why, when you hear about this sort of censorship occurring in your community, I highly encourage you to post about it, write about it, and make a fucking stink.

It’s the best way to cut through the noise.

And that’s the end of part 1 of this essay! The next part will be released next week.

Happy theater making!

~Brynn