Same-sex kiss nixed from ‘Les Miserables’

A kiss between two male actors has been removed from a production of the musical “Les Miserables” in Singapore following complaints from the public.
Singapore’s Media Development Authority told the show’s organizer, Mediacorp VizPro, that the “General” rating it had given the show was based on a script that did not include the same-sex kiss, local media reports said. The show’s producers then decided to remove the kiss.
“Under our classification code, such a scene would fall under an ‘Advisory’ rating,” the MDA said in a statement, according to The Straits Times newspaper. “The applicant decided to remove the scene so as to keep the ‘General’ rating for the rest of its run. MDA will take action against this breach of licensing conditions.”
The head of Mediacorp VizPro International, Moses Lye, said the scene was meant to be comic. “On June 3, we took immediate action and worked with the producers to adapt the scene,” he was quoted as saying by Channel News Asia.
The authorities in Singapore are known to enforce often stringent guidelines for public performances. In February, Madonna was forced to tone down her concert in the Southeast Asian city state to conform to the MDA’s standards.
“Les Miserables,” based on Victor Hugo’s novel of the same name, was originally staged in Paris in 1980. It later enjoyed a long run on Broadway and has run continuously in London since 1985. The show opened in Singapore in May and runs through July 24. AP