Quincy Christmas Play Cancelled; Farce Is Described As Offensive

The director of the Quincy House Christmas Play cancelled the performance seven hours before curtain time last Saturday because the Master and Allston Burr Senior Tutor said it might "offend religious sensitivities."

Charles W. Dunn, Master of Quincy House, and Senior Tutor Joel M. Porte, told director Robert F. Meenan '68 they would not participate in the play, which is a 20-minute parody on the story of the birth of Jesus.

Dunn had tentatively approved the play last Monday without seeing a final copy of the script. He did not actually read the script until last Saturday.

Porte, who was out of town for part of last week, also did not read the play till Saturday morning although students had submitted it to him earlier. He then judged it "scurrilous."

Porto said yesterday that "it would be demeaning for myself, and especially for the Master" to appear in the play, as the students had planned. "I wasn't terribly happy with the play but I did not forget it--although I saw no other real solution than to call if off," he said.

No Communication

Meenan said, "The issue now goes far beyond the limits of this play. The cancellation was the result of a lack of communication between the students and the members of the Senior Common Room. Porte's objection was that he hadn't known about the play. He didn't know simply because he didn't show enough interest to find out."

The play contained the following lines: "Joel, Joel, the Master did say, will expel all of us students for writing this play."