A creative choice to feature a Pride flag in Shrek the Musical at Parkers PACE Center has ignited controversy, prompting complaints, sponsor backlash and a public stand by the cast.In its third week of shows at the Parker Arts-m anaged PACE Center venue in Parker, "Shrek the Musical" is a hit, especially for director Kelly McAllister.People love it. It is an awesome, awesome show, he exclaimed.As the director, McAllister puts his own unique, creative spin on the show, such as incorporating the Pride flag into one of the musical numbers.I felt like I was doing something that I could be proud of and that we could all feel proud of, and we did, McAllister said. Theres a musical number called 'Freak Flag,' where all the fairy tale creatures who have been kicked out of their homes by Lord Farquaad are deciding they've had enough of being dispossessed and treated like garbage. And they stand up for themselves. It's time for standing tall, basically."So in the show, they're waving flags, and I thought it appropriate to have them wear wave Pride flags, because Pride flags are a flag of inclusion and also representative of an oppressed community where a lot of people are shoved aside, threatened, having hard times," he added. McAllister said opening night was one of the most exciting nights of the year for him, but it was quickly overshadowed.After opening weekend, I was contacted by the PACE Center, which answers to the town of Parker, saying that there were a lot of complaints about the Pride flag, more than usual, he remembered. On top of that, the show's sponsor was threatening to pull out their sponsorship for our show, and they asked me if I could find some way to change that part of the show, because specifically, it was the Pride flags that people were complaining about more than anything else, which was distressing."McAllister said the cast and crew did consider other options, such as flying flags from other communities alongside the Pride flag or just flying flags of different colors.When asked what exactly the staff said to him and his team, McAllister said, The wording was, 'we're losing ticket sales. Our sponsor is going to pull.' And I've been in the theater long enough, and I've been alive long enough to understand subtext when someone's saying something, what it means."Despite the strong suggestion to remove the Pride flag from the show, the cast and crew decided that wasnt an option for them. In a video taken by McAllister, on January 23, the second week of shows, a cast member, whom he identified as Bekah-Lynn Broas, who plays the character GIngy, speaks to the audience before the musical number that includes the flag.In her speech, she is heard saying, We respectfully, as a cast and peacefully and with fire in our eyes protest this request, and this is our protest, and we resist this."The controversy surrounding the flag has prompted Lutheran High School, a regular sponsor of Parker Arts, to withdraw its sponsorship of the PACE Centers production of "Shrek," stating that the musical's content "does not align with its mission and values."A parent sent Denver7 the following communications from Lutheran High School. The full message reads: Lutheran High School Community, We hope youre having a great end to your week. Lutheran High School greatly values the partnership that it has with the Parker community, especially the partnership that we have been able to form with Parker Arts. We are blessed to be able to rent the PACE Center and the Schoolhouse Theater on a regular basis as well as participate in workshops, art openings, and more. In addition, we are a regular sponsor of the family musical that Parker Arts sponsors each winter. We have decided to sponsor that show as a partnership between our performing arts department and Parker Arts because with titles such as Mary Poppins, Sound of Music, and Beauty and the Beast; the values promoted in those shows align with the types of musicals that we present. We also use it as an opportunity to market and advertise our own musical. This year, we chose to continue our sponsorship of the family musical with their presentation of the show, Shrek. After the first weekend of shows, we were made aware of content in the production that did not align with our mission and values. We want to thank those of you who brought that to our attention and we are sorry for anyone who attended and was caught off guard by what was presented in the show, especially with it being sponsored by Lutheran High. As sponsors, we do not have the opportunity to view the show before it is presented to the public so we were also caught off guard by the content presented in the musical. Throughout the week, we have been in contact with Parker Arts and they have been in communication with the production company that is presenting the show. Through these conversations, changes have been made to the production for subsequent weekends. We greatly appreciate the productive conversations that we were able to have with Parker Arts and thank them for working with us through this unforeseen situation. We can confidently say that our partnership continues to be strong. I wanted to send a follow up email to the one that you received yesterday afternoon in regards to Lutheran High Schools sponsorship of the musical Shrek at the PACE Center. After receiving word that last nights performance continued to include the content that does not align with the mission of Lutheran High School, we have notified Parker Arts that we are removing our sponsorship of the show for the remainder of the run. I do want to make an important clarification. While Parker Arts is the presenting entity, the show itself is produced by an outside production company and all creative decisions are in the hands of that production company. Parker Arts has been gracious, understanding, and helpful through this whole process. We appreciate them working with us as we navigated an unforeseen situation. The removal of our sponsorship is not indicative of our relationship with Parker Arts but rather a decision based on the content presented in Shrek not aligning with our mission.McAllisters company, Sasquatch Productions, which he co-owns, is the producer of the show in association with Parker Arts. He told Denver7 that hes worried about his future partnership with the PACE Center after this show.The night that Bekah spoke, my partner, August, texted me and said, 'Looks like Sasquatch is done here.' I think he's right, and that hurts, McAllister said. I like making a living just as much as the next person, but I know it's right. I know it's right, and I think that's important."Showings for "Shrek the Musical" at the PACE Center run through February 8. McAllister said the flag will remain a part of the musical.We are flying our flag. We are flying it high. We're flying it proud every night, and it's glorious," he said.Parker Arts released a statement on social media saying the town did not demand or require that any part of the show be removed or modified. We recognize that not every show or event is going to appeal to every person, or that every person is going to agree with the messages of a specific performer or program."Denver7 did reach out to the Town of Parker for an updated statement, but they said they had no additional comment. Denver7 also reached out to Lutheran High School for comment and has not heard back. ...read more read less