By Molly Snyder Senior Writer Published Oct 17, 2018 at 8:44 AM

After much debate and multiple changes in plans, Shorewood High School announced there will be one "dress rehearsal" of the controversial play for the family of the cast and crew only. It has since been cancelled. 

Here is the letter sent by Superintendent Bryan Davis:

Dear Parents, Guardians and Students,

This morning, the SHS Drama director and student cast and crew members met to discuss the dress rehearsal of To Kill A Mockingbird for their families. Overall, the consensus among the students was that they felt if they moved forward with the dress rehearsal, they would lose the original message they wanted to convey by performing the play and would be performing it for the wrong reasons. Therefore, the dress rehearsal for tonight will not take place. More details about ticket reimbursement will be forthcoming.

We want to thank the cast, crew and staff of To Kill a Mockingbird for their hard work on this play. And we would like to thank all of our students for their willingness to listen to each other with grace and patience, and their desire to seek a path moving forward.

The District is committed to learning from the experience, beginning the healing, and further engaging with the community.
Bryan Davis 
Shorewood School District Superintendent

The show was cancelled last week, hours before the opening night performance, because of the use of the N-word in the script, which some parents and students opposed. 

Three days ago, Davis sent an email to parents and students saying they would have a community performance on Wednesday, but later clarified the performance was for family of the cast and crew only.


Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.

Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.