The Miami-Dade School Board recently announced that students will not be allowed to see the 20th-anniversary presentation of  “Anna in the Tropics,” a play written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz. Miami New Drama offered to bus all students aged 14 and up to see the play, which will be shown in January 2023.

Last Thursday, the school board quietly sent an email declining the invitation. Miami-Dade Schools spokesperson, Ana Rhoades, claimed the school board declined the invitation, for reasons about suggestive and sexual content involved in the play.

This caused controversy since, in the past, Miami-Dade has sent high schoolers to see the play. Coincidently, this email was sent the same day that the school board voted not to recognize LGBTQ+ history month in October. Even though the school board has stated that the decision has nothing to do with Cruz being gay, the timing is cause for suspicion. Cruz has expressed concern that his play was censored because he is part of the LGBTQ+ community himself.

Iran is the only other place in which Cruz’s play is censored. This draws concern from many as they believe the play is a victim of Governor Desantis’ so-called “culture wars.” There is also concern over the fact that the school board did not share their specific reasons for declining the invitation now with the production, even though there have been no issues with the play in the past.