A Texas high school student is suing her school district after officials canceled a production of “Little Shop of Horrors” rather than let her play the male lead.
Ana Mota, 17, a senior at South Grand Prairie High School, and her parents filed a federal lawsuit against Grand Prairie Independent School District and Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo. They accuse the district of violating Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded education programs, The Dallas Morning News reports.
Mota was cast as Seymour, the musical’s lead character, after auditioning for the role. But district officials later told her she could no longer play the character because she is female, according to the lawsuit.
“I was excluded from participation in an education program receiving federal financial assistance because I am a female. Maybe it wasn’t the intent of the district, but it is what happened,” Mota told the school board during a public meeting Thursday, KERA News reports.
“Little Shop of Horrors” is a horror-comedy about Seymour, a shy florist who discovers a strange plant that feeds on human blood and grows increasingly powerful. As the plant demands more victims, Seymour struggles to balance his growing fame and romance with coworker Audrey against the plant’s deadly appetite. The district ultimately scrapped the production and replaced it with Disney’s “Frozen.”
The district cited Senate Bill 12, a 2025 Texas law that restricts certain diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and LGBTQ-related programming in public schools. The musical’s themes, including an abusive relationship between characters, were also reportedly concerning to officials.
However, the district has not publicly identified a specific provision of the law that explicitly bars a female student from playing Seymour.
“SB 12 contains no text that can reasonably be read to require an actor’s biological sex to match the sex of a fictional scripted character,” the suit argues. “She was portraying a scripted fictional character in an official school theatrical production — a centuries-old theatrical tradition.”
The complaint asks a federal judge to restore the musical, reinstate Mota as Seymour and prevent the district from excluding her from the role because of her sex.
The dispute began after four days of auditions, when Mota was selected to play Seymour, who develops a romance with Audrey in the musical. On October 6, her teacher told her district officials had raised concerns about casting a female student in the male role, according to KERA News. The school had already cut a scripted kiss between Seymour and Audrey from the production.
Mota was offered a different part. But after meeting with Mota and her mother, Nancy Jimenez, on October 8, the district decided to cancel the entire production.
The Independent has contacted the Grand Prairie ISD for comment.
Other North Texas school districts have canceled high school plays over similar casting or subject matter.
In 2023, Sherman ISD, located about an hour and 20 minutes North of Grand Prairie, canceled “Oklahoma!” after a transgender teenage boy landed a leading role, according to KERA News.
A year later, Keller ISD, about 45 minutes north of Grand Prairie, pulled “The Laramie Project,” a play about the 1998 murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard. Both districts eventually reversed course and allowed the shows, according to the outlet.
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