Queens school cancels rework of Greek classic because it criticizes outgoing Chancellor Joel Klein

The Jamaica High School and Queens Collegiate students wrote the play after reading the Greek tragedy "Antigone" in a course called "The Actors Studio," taught at Queensborough Community College.

The play paints a picture of unequal treatment at the two schools, which share one building. Collegiate is a new and growing school, while the Education Department is trying to close Jamaica for poor performance.

Instructor Brian Pickett received an email the day before the performance that principals at both schools had decided to ban it.

"They both had issues with the script and are concerned about implications and negative references to the [Education Department] as well as the chancellor and mayor," the email stated.

The students wrote their play after reading "Antigone," in which King Creon decrees that one of Antigone's brothers will receive a proper burial, while the other is "left out for the birds to feed on."

They also read "The Island," a play about two political prisoners who stage "Antigone" to protest apartheid in South Africa.

The students dubbed their production "Declassified, Struggle for Existence: We Used to Eat Lunch Together." Klein takes the place of King Creon, and Antigone and her sister are students at the two schools.