On Feb. 7, the musical had their first rehearsal for the first-ever high school production of “Ride the Cyclone.” The next day, on Feb. 8, “Ride the Cyclone” was canceled via an email from theater director Ms. K.T. Peterson.

Theater department chair Mr. Michael Moffatt wrote by email, “We decided to find another musical because the edited script for ‘Ride the Cyclone’ was causing a lot of confusion and concern amongst parents and students.”

Junior Colin Chandler, who was set to play the Ukrainian rapper Misha Bachinski in “Ride the Cyclone,” but will now play the Wolf in the new musical, “Into the Woods,” said, “After the first read through, I think a lot of the people in the cast had their doubts but overall it was going to be a great step in the right direction for Cathedral theater and especially considering that it actually had a gay character in it. Everybody was unsure what their parents would think about it and if their parents would approve of the show.”

Chandler said, “(The production company) forgot to edit out the song names and that’s what the parents saw when they skimmed through the script, but it was actually fairly well edited and censored.” He said, “It looked a lot worse than it was.”

The first act of “Into the Woods” will serve as the replacement for the spring musical. Moffatt wrote, “The cast size is almost the same (as ‘Ride the Cyclone’) and it’s a really great show as well. Our show will feature a turntable set, and it starts in a unique location.” Moffatt noted that the entire “Ride the Cyclone” cast will also be in “Into the Woods,” but some actors got bigger roles, some smaller.

The transition was not easy. Moffatt wrote, “We have had to make quick decisions and scale down some of our usual spectacle.  Soaring lumber costs have also caused us to carefully choose what we build.”

Chandler remains hopeful about the new spring production. He said, “Ultimately, things are going great now, they’re back on track. This will turn out to be a very good show and I think everyone should come see it.”

Both Peterson and President Robert Bridges both declined to comment for this article.