10/28/2025
JODI PICOULT RESPONDS TO MISSISSINEWA MUSICAL CANCELLATION: “THE STUDENTS DESERVE TO BE CELEBRATED” 🎭
The story that began in Gas City has now become part of a national conversation about student expression and artistic freedom. Best-selling author Jodi Picoult, who co-wrote the musical Between the Lines, communicated with Channel 27 News via email following the cancellation of Mississinewa High School’s fall production.
In reference to the Mississinewa students and families, Picoult expressed deep disappointment.
“We are so devastated to know that the hours of hard work and preparation by the theater students has been thrown away because of the complaint of a single parent; and that the superintendent chose not to stand up for these kids and their teacher, but instead for that one dissenting voice,” Picoult said.
Picoult added that the Educational Theater Association has already reached out to Mississinewa’s drama department and confirmed that her team has spoken directly with the licensing agent, MTI, to secure permission for the show to be performed off campus.
“We would love to see the show performed at a venue outside the school,” Picoult said. “We would even work to cover the costs of moving the venue. Ultimately, we want the kids to be able to perform the show they’ve been rehearsing for hundreds of hours — and to be celebrated for their hard work.”
When asked how she balances creative freedom with age-appropriate standards for school productions, Picoult explained that the Between the Lines script was already adapted with school audiences in mind.
“There was nothing in the original Off-Broadway Between the Lines show that I would consider objectionable — certainly nothing that a high-school student hasn’t seen in films or online,” she said. “For more conservative communities, MTI provides author-approved amendments. Those edits don’t change the message of the story — which is that teens can be the architects of their own lives — and if those edits help schools perform the show, we support that.”
On what she hopes this moment inspires nationwide, Picoult didn’t mince words:
“There is nothing wrong with a parent deciding what is appropriate for his or her own child. The problem is when that parent makes the decision for everyone else’s children. The parent who complained could have pulled their child from the show or simply chosen not to attend — instead, all the students suffered.”
Picoult encouraged Mississinewa parents to watch the Off-Broadway production of Between the Lines on Amazon Prime or read the free perusal script and approved amendments available through MTI’s website.
“When I say there’s nothing objectionable, don’t take my word for it — see for yourself,” she said. “I also hope people realize that the fever of book bans has now spread to theater. When one individual decides for everyone else what stories can and cannot be told, we sacrifice freedom of expression.”
The Between the Lines cancellation has united a growing network of educators, parents, and theater advocates offering to help Mississinewa’s students perform their show on a new stage — one that may now reach farther than anyone expected.
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