with the headline, “Shrek’s a family musical with gay-pride element,” namechecking “Freak Flag” as carrying a “gaypride subtext.” McAllister said that neither the Town of Parker nor PACE ever required the flag be removed from the production, but he was asked to reconsider using the flag. Contractually, he had the freedom to make the choice about the use of the flag and other creative decisions. McAllister took the suggestion to the cast, who voted to keep the rainbow flag in the song and production. BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL In theater, stopping a show mid-performance is rare. The word actors use in moments of danger or urgency is “hold,” Denver-based actress Bekah-Lynn Broas said. Broas played several roles in “Shrek the Musical,” including the Sugar Plum Fairy and Gingy the Gingerbread Man. Her character opened the song “Freak Flag.” Just before the ensemble cast performed “Freak Flag,” Broas called “hold” and broke the fourth wall to explain to the audience why the cast had decided to continue flying Pride flags. The fourth wall exists to preserve comfort and illusion, just as social norms often expect marginalized communities to remain visible only on approved terms. By stopping the show, Broas made explicit what is often left unspoken. Inclusion frequently requires interruption. She said the moment came from a collective understanding backstage that the song’s message, about those who are banished, labeled as “freaks,” and told they do not belong, directly mirrors the lived experiences of the queer community. Broas, who describes herself as a proud ally, spoke on behalf of the cast when she told the audience that the show is about inclusion and acceptance of all people, including the LGBTQ+ community. In that moment, breaking the fourth wall mirrored a broader reality. Progress rarely happens quietly, and making room in shared civic spaces often means challenging the rules designed to keep certain people unseen and voiceless. “The message that … what you are witnessing tonight is about inclusion, it is about community, and about loving your neighbor, no matter what they look like, or how they identify,” Broas said to the audience Broas said her speech was inspired by the cast being told to reconsider using the Pride flags. She said the cast’s decision to keep the Pride flag in the show felt like putting future performances in jeopardy. “This could have been our last show,” Broas said. “We didn’t know, but we decided it was important to take a stand.” Broas said neutrality was never an option. Removing or avoiding the Pride flag, she said, would itself have been a political statement. “Censorship of identities is something to take very seriously,” she said. “It harms people, it discriminates.” Attempting to be “neutral” participates in harm by allowing discrimination to go unchallenged, she said. “Silence is complicity,” she said. McAllister found the speech moving, especially considering what was at stake for the performance. In all, McAllister estimated the production cost to be more than $100,000. Losing a sponsor could have been financially ruinous, he added. “She gave the speech. The song started. She started to cry. So, I just yelled out from the theater, ‘You got this. You got this,’ because I wanted them to know that I was there and that I had their back and everything was going to be okay,” McAllister said. After she spoke directly to the audience, Broas said she felt physically shaken, overwhelmed by the weight of what she had just done. Nothing had prepared her for such a brazen act outside of theatrical norms. Still, she remains clear about her choice. “I would do it again,” she said. “I just tried to do the right thing.” Cooper Kaminsky, who plays Shrek in the production, said the request to remove the flag made them feel unsafe and disappointed as a queer individual. “Every day presents new attempts at erasing queer people from media, from art, from history, from the world,” Kaminsky said. “Sometimes just existing, waving a flag, and saying ‘Hey, I’m here. I’m okay, you are too,’ can be enough to change another queer individual’s life for the better.” Kaminsky said continuing to be themselves onstage and seeing that authenticity embraced by audiences has been deeply validating and empowering. They believe that theater can have a lasting impact even after a single performance, even in a show like “Shrek.” During one performance, the applause was the loudest when the Pride flags came out for the song, “Freak Flag.” Audience members at the sold-out performance made their support clear when they stood and cheered. Inclusion and acceptance resonated. THE CASE FOR EMPATHY IN PUBLIC SPACES Mike Waid occupies a rare intersection in the story unfolding around “Shrek the Musical” at the PACE Center. On stage, he played the Captain of the Guard. Off stage, he helped build the institution itself. Waid is a former Parker city councilmember and mayor Jacob Frye, who played the Big Bad Wolf in “Shrek,” said seeing the Pride flag in a theater production when he was young would have helped him realize there are more queer people than he thought and that he wasn’t alone. 10 NEWS
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