By Micheal Hutchins, Herald Democrat
An investigation into the troubled production of “Oklahoma!” by Sherman High School found that former Superintendent Tyson Bennett acted on his own opinions and rather than facts when instating controversial casting decisions.
The report focuses on the decision by district leadership to change casting policies to require roles in SHS dramatic productions to be cast based on the performer’s gender as assigned at birth. The decision, which was made during the production of “Oklahoma!” in late 2023, drew immediate and strong pushback with some concerns of perceived LGBTQ+ discrimination.
“It appeared clear from the investigation that events were driven largely by Dr. Bennett’s personal opinions and perceptions rather than by any consensus that something was inappropriate in a high school play was at issue,” the report states.
The Herald Democrat received a copy of a report of the investigation by Fee, Smith & Sharp, LLP through a open records request. The report is dated June 10, more than a month after the board accepted Bennett’s resignation from his position as school superintendent for Sherman Independent School District in May.
The controversy surrounding the production focused primarily on the removal of multiple student performers whose birth gender did not match the role they were cast in, including one transgender male performer.
“As will be evident from the following, the investigative results support the conclusion that Dr. Bennett acted with poor timing, overreacted to the underlying situation given the reaction of other involved participants, failed to listed to concerns of his subordinates, failed to fully and properly investigate the situation (in some cases it appears willfully so), and failed to consider the broader impact of his actions on students and the school community,” the report states.
In October, a casting change to the production of “Oklahoma!” was made with regard to the role of Ali Hakim, a secondary character who is seen as a comedic role and who shares a stage kiss with a woman during the performance. The male actor who was originally cast in the role, quit the production to focus on other things, and a transgender male actor was chosen to replace him in the production.
In late October, a school board member was approached by a school parent and was told that two girls will be kissing on stage and that the female student was uncomfortable with this. The investigation found that this kiss was planned to be a fake, stage kiss where the performers turn away from the crowd and act as though they are kissing. The investigation also found that neither the female student or her parents had any concerns about this portion of the performance.
“When the board member was approached with the inquiry about the kiss, and referred the inquiry to Dr. Bennett, the board member should have later been advised of Principal Johnston’s finding that it was just a fake stage kiss, and the matter would have then been ended,” the report stated.
Bennett asked SHS Principal School Johnston to investigate the production, and Johnston was informed by SHS Theater Director Kyle Nichols that the kiss would be a stage kiss and nothing more.
“Dr. Bennett himself apparently did not see any distinctions between what was actually staged in the play and what he personally viewed as ‘inappropriate’,” the report stated. “Nor did he appear to solicit or consider whether the participants in the play or their parents or faculty thought anything was ‘inappropriate.'”
The following day, district officials contacted outside legal counsel for advice on the matter, but the report found that context regarding the stage kiss was not given to counsel. UIL guidelines also allow for casting or roles outside of the set gender as long as the gender of the role itself is maintained.
Members of the school board told investigators that they were not informed that it would be a stage kiss by administration and that Bennett’s decisions were made based on outside counsel.
“In this context, while Dr. Bennett claims legal counsel guided him, it appears from the investigation that he had unilaterally decided on a course of action and then sought support for that course,” the report stated.
On Nov. 3 district officials contacted students and families regarding the changes. Investigators received conflicting reports on if the changes were stated to be a part of the district’s policy.
“The investigation establishes that while Dr. Bennett claimed to keep the board fully appraised, he clearly controlled the flow of information to the board and also shaped its phrasing to meet his own goals,” the report states. “The investigation also established that Dr. Bennett’s actions arguably trespassed on the board’s policy-making prerogatives, in substance if not in form.”
A week later, the district appeared to step away from the casting decision to some degree, but also said that “Oklahoma!” was intended for older audiences despite the fact that it had been performed multiple times previously by SHS students. The district would instead consider an “age appropriate” version of the play.
“Indeed, the “youth” version of “Oklahoma!” that was reviewed was comically inappropriate for a high school production. Witnesses confirmed that the “youth version” would have cut a three-hour production to some 45 minutes to an hour, would have taken out the whole orchestra and deprived all school band or orchestra members of involvement as that version came with a recorded score, was written for elementary school voice ranges, removed numerous cast members and would have some students apparently playing cows and chickens.”
On Nov. 13, the school board overrode Bennett’s direction and reinstated both the original script and cast list. The board would go on to remove Bennett’s oversight into fine arts programming later that month and retained Fee, Smith & Sharp to conduct an investigation into the production.
The performance ultimately went on successfully in early January following the delays.
In March, the board voted to suspend Bennett during the course of the investigation. Then Deputy Superintendent Thomas O’Neal was named as acting superintendent during the suspension and was ultimately named as the new superintendent following Bennett’s resignation in May. The report stated that O’Neal, Johnston and other leaders expressed concerns about the changes to casting decisions throughout the process.
In response to the report, district officials said SISD is focused on moving forward as a district.
