Picket Fences (1992–1996): Season 1, Episode 11 - Pageantry - full transcript

(CHILDREN SINGING
O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM)

* Yet in thy dark streets
shineth *

* The everlasting Light *

Shepherds, spread out
a little. You'll have
more room on stage.

Whitaker, don't sing, honey.
You're flat. Just mouth
the words. Excellent.

Now, Michael, take two steps
forward. Cynthia, don't sing
to your feet. Come on.

(SINGING
O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM)

* O little town of Bethlehem *

* How still we see thee lie *

* Above thy deep
and dreamless sleep *

* The silent stars go by *



(DOOR OPENING)

Excuse me,
but we're rehearsing
for the pageant.

I'm sorry, Louise.
I have a court order.

You can't...

Perform a Nativity scene
on school grounds
or any public property.

I beg your pardon?

Rabbi Jacobs went to court
and got the injunction.

This little sketch
is a violation
of Church and State.

We're going to have to
shut you down.

You have got to be kidding.

Read the court order, Mike.

But we have to rehearse
for the pageant.

There just may not be
a Christmas pageant this year.

No pageant?



We've been practicing
for two weeks.

JIMMY: I don't know
what to tell you, Louise.

Well, I know what to tell you.
There will be a pageant.

These children
have been working hard.

I don't care
if the town does call it off.

We'll do our sketch
right here in the school.

Come on, sing, children.
Here we go.

No, I don't think
that's a good idea.
Louise, don't do that.

Louise, please.
Louise.

Is this really necessary?

(CHILDREN SINGING
HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING)

Louise, please.

This is a religious song,
Louise.

I'll have to arrest you
if you do this.

It's a violation
of the court order.

Louise!

MAXINE: Stop the singing now,
please.

We won't stop.
It's a ridiculous order.
Sing, children. Sing.

Jimmy.
Take her.

* Join the triumph
of the skies *

You're under arrest.

Keep singing, children.
I'll be back.
Let's go.

There will be a pageant.
Keep singing.

* Hark! The herald angels sing *

* Glory to the newborn King *

PUGEN: You didn't have to
arrest her, did you?

She defied a court order.
I had no choice.

God,
this pageant has to go on.

The whole point in doing
it early was to accelerate
Christmas shopping,

to jump-start the economy.
We've got...

You can still have
the pageant, technically...

You just can't do
the Nativity scene
or sing any Christmas carols.

What about the Good King
Wenceslaus sketch?

Out. Santa Claus stuff
is okay.
Anything religious is banned.

This is outrageous.
Oh, God.

The Christmas pageant
has gone on for 58 years.

It symbolizes
the love and the spirit
of this community.

That rabbi should be shot.

Henry.
It's a secular event, Jimmy.

He's making it religious.

You can still have
the pageant. You just can't
do the Nativity scene.

What's a Christmas pageant
without that?

I'm going to hire Wambaugh,
take him to court.

That's what I'm going to do.

You hate Wambaugh.

But the man wins his cases.
We can't take any chances.

You called Douglas Wambaugh
a moral sinkhole.

He's also Jewish,
and we're up against
a tough rabbi.

We have got to save
the Christmas pageant.

Yes, sir. We'll check it out.

What was that about?

That was the police chief
out of Lewiston.

He saw Louise's face
on the news,

says she's gotta be a sister
to a guy named Walter Souter.

Who's Walter Souter?

Disappeared nine years ago.
They think either murdered
or kidnapped.

Murder?

Could be.
Case is still unsolved.

They got no record of him
having a sister.

They want us to
question Louise.

She's already
at the courthouse.
I'll question her.

I took the call.
I'll ask the questions.

She was my bust
on the Nativity arrest.

Max.

Hey, what's going on?

Nothing.

Well, assuming the pageant
does go on with or without
the Nativity scene,

I've got some bad news.

What?

You know
the Sheriff's Department
traditionally sacrifices

at least one of its deputies
to participate in the show.

Ginny has drawn
the name out of the hat.

Not in a million years.

Oh, Maxine.
Jimmy.

It's for the town. It's...

It's for Christmas.
It's an order.

CLERK: Case Number 66665,

People of Wisconsin
v. Louise Talbot.

(PEOPLE CLAMORING)

Quiet! You people be quiet.

Douglas Wambaugh
appearing for the defendant,
Your Honor,

and also for the town of Rome,
seeking to overturn
the injunction

against our annual
Christmas pageant.

I didn't shut down
the pageant.

Your Honor, you have banned
the creche, the Nativity scene
and all the carols.

Yeah, what's left,
the cartoons?

(GAVEL POUNDING)

Quiet!

I'll empty the room
if I have to.

Your Honor, we all know
that you've been driven
to this rash decision

by that reckless rabbi
over there.

Oh, I object to that.

Oh, sit down, Barry.
You're not a lawyer.

I'm representing myself
pro se,

and I'm not going to let you
turn this procedure
into a farce

like you do everything else.

You're the one creating
the farce here, Barry.

Henry, don't even think
of getting into this.

Look, we're all getting into
it. The Christmas pageant
is a part of Rome.

And why is that, Henry?

Why isn't Hanukkah
a part of Rome?

Oh, you want me to change
history, is that it?

Hey, both of you
be quiet. Stop it.

The pageant is
for the children. Come on!

(PEOPLE CLAMORING)

BONE: Hey! Hey!

Stop it, now, here.

Behave yourselves. Sit down.

I don't want to shut down
the pageant. I love it
as much as all of you.

But the federal courts
have ruled

that religious symbolism
on public property is illegal

to celebrate the holidays.

To have Christmas
without religious symbolism

seems as ridiculous to me
as it does to you,

but that's what the courts
have held.

Your Honor, may I submit
that the three-reindeer
rule is in effect?

The what?

The Supreme Court has held
that as long as you
camouflage religious symbolism

with reindeer
and Santa Clauses, you can
call this whole thing secular

and pretend that it has
nothing to do with religion.

I know all about
the reindeer rule, Wambaugh,
but it doesn't matter.

No matter how many
candy canes and elves
you've got running around,

you cannot do a Nativity scene
without it smacking
of Christianity.

So now the Christians
get smacked, is that it?

I've made my ruling.

You can publicly
celebrate Christmas.

You just can't celebrate it
as the birth of Christ.

Quiet.

I'm dismissing the charges
against Louise Talbot.

Next I want to see the rabbi,
the minister, the sheriff

and the mayor in my chambers.

We'll try to work out a way
to save the pageant.

That's all.

Mrs. Talbot, excuse me.

Would you be related to a man
named Walter Souter?

Who?

They sent me this fax.
You can see
the resemblance is...

I don't have any brothers.

How about a cousin or...

I don't know
if you were adopted
or something, but maybe...

No, I wasn't adopted,
and I don't have
any relatives by that name.

I can see that person
looks like me,
but it's just a coincidence.

I don't know him.

Are you sure? Because this...

I said I don't know him.

Okay.

I told you not to do this,
Barry. I warned you.

I had no choice.
He wouldn't authorize
the menorah. I had to.

I didn't oppose it.
I just said the town
couldn't pay for it.

We're in the middle
of a recession.

Oh, I am sick
of your recession rhetoric.
All right.

I have a simple solution.

In order to make everyone
happy, instead of calling
the baby doll Jesus,

we'll put a yarmulke
on his head
and name him Yehuda.

You have got to be kidding.
Please!

With Jews like you,
who needs anti-Semitism?

That isn't funny.

It is your conduct
that breeds anti-Semitism.

All right, all right.
No! He made a remark.

If you shut down the open
practice of their religion,

you're only going to give them
a precedent to shut down
on ours.

It is only when religions
become open and public

that the bigotry will stop.

It doesn't matter.

This isn't about balance.

The courts say
none of you can celebrate

with religious symbolism
on public property.

But, Henry, you got a nice,
big church annex
with plenty of good seating.

What?

The law says nothing
about Nativity scenes
on private property.

You want to sing your carols
and have your creche?

Have the pageant
at your place.

That's great. I'll do it.

You'll both do it.

This pageant
will be multicultural.

Jimmy, I'm entrusting this
to the Sheriff's Department.

You see that it's executed.
Done.

Good.

The Rome pageant lives.

We can all be happy,
happy, happy.

Now, get out.

Louise Talbot is a man.

I knew she was
hiding something from me
when I questioned her,

so I sent her prints
back up to Lewiston.

They belong to a man
named Walter Souter.

A man?

And I got a hold of
Louise Talbot's résumé from
the school and checked it out.

It's completely phony.

What do you mean, a man?

We also ran
all the medical
and birth records

at the hospital
she says she was born at.

There's no evidence of
a Louise Wilmette Talbot
even being born.

You say she's a man?

Her whole history
is fabricated.

She doesn't exist anywhere
except this town
for the last eight years.

No, no. No, no, no.

Now, strange things happen
in this town, I admit,

but I know Louise Talbot.

She's taught Kimberly,
Matthew, now Zack.

I've danced with her
at the PTA dances!

She's soft.
She's feminine. She's...

A man named Walter.

Get her in here.

I guess I can't deny it, then.
You ran my fingerprints.
You know.

Your real name is Walter?

My name used to be Walter.

It's now Louise Talbot.

I'm a little confused.

You want confusion,
try my perspective.

I'm a woman
born in a man's body.

Uh-huh.

You see, at first,

I thought I was just
a male homosexual,
liking other men and...

But it's more than that.
Emotionally, spiritually,
I'm female.

I've always been female.

But physically you're a man.

Physically I was a man.

Six years ago, I had
the operation that reconciled
my body with my person.

Dare I ask,
this reconciliation...

Breast implants, nose job,

tracheal shave, electrolysis,
genital reconstruction.

Sex change, Jimmy.

I'm a transsexual.

I was a man. Now I'm a woman.

You knew about this?

How could you not tell me
after all these years?

Doctor-patient privilege,
Jimmy. I couldn't tell you.

Jill, this is the teacher
of our children.
I'm your husband.

And she's my patient.
I have a duty to honor that.

Oh, boy.

She teaches our kids.

Jimmy, so far as I know,
she hasn't committed
any crime,

so this is really
none of your business.

Jill, I'm on
the school committee.

It is my business
to bring this
to their attention.

Now, don't you dare do that.

It's going to come out anyway.

The Lewiston police
are going to come
fishing around.

It might not come out, Jimmy,

and even if it does,
don't you be the one
to invade her privacy.

Think of her position, Jimmy.
Have a little compassion.

Jill, this presents a problem.

There's no need
to be concerned.

I'm just substituting
while Mrs. Talbot
tends to personal matters.

Let's open our books
to chapter three.

Yes, Whitaker?

We're supposed to do
the thought for the day first.

I beg your pardon?

Well, before we do history,
the teacher asks someone
for a thought for the day,

and then we talk about it
and try to work it
into our lesson.

I see.

Well, would anybody like to
share a thought for the day
with the class?

Yes, Cynthia?

Hello, class.

I have a very interesting
thought today,
and it's about Mrs. Talbot.

It's not official yet,
but she used to have a penis.

Cynthia Parks.

(CHILDREN LAUGHING)

It's gone now,
but it was there,
and it was real.

(PEOPLE CLAMORING)

Calm down.
Please, everybody calm down.

Is she a transvestite?
Is it a he?

She teaches gym.
She goes into the showers.

If you'll let me
make my statement...

Why haven't you arrested it?

The Sheriff's Department
is not prepared to comment

on the anatomical makeup
of Louise Talbot.

Is she a man or a woman?
We have no comment.

Oh, my God.

Well, I figure we better
assemble the school committee
as soon as possible.

Since you're on it...

No, the...
All the publicity's
built around her.

All the promotion for
the pageant features Louise.
She's playing Mary.

And now you tell me
her real name's Walter.

You've done nothing
to be ashamed of.

For God's sake, Kenny,
I kissed her.

I put my tongue in the mouth
of a former man.

But technically,
she's a woman now.

I'm a doctor, for God's sake.

Physiology-wise,
I should have known.
I have a trained medical eye.

Did you ever... More...

No!

I offered to give her
a free pelvic once, after
we had a little too much wine.

Thank God she said no.

Look, Carter,
she looks like a woman
to everybody.

So you've dated her, big deal.

I liked her.

Truth is, Kenny,

women scare me to death.

I get so nervous,
the anxiety makes me
almost asexual.

It could almost rise to
the level of simple phobia
on axis three,

but not quite.

Even though
we only went out a few times,

I felt so comfortable
with her. She's so accepting.

Well, you're going to have
to take that up with her.

No, no, no,
I couldn't look at her again.

I'm humiliated.

People know I've dated her.

How am I going to go
onstage for...

Oh, my God,
they're going to laugh at me.

Nobody's going to
laugh at you.

Come on, Kenny,
I know the rumors
going around,

how I supposedly
touch the dead bodies,

how I took that severed hand
home and played with it
in the tub.

Now I'm kissing transsexuals,
and that one's true.

It's all over town, Henry.

I'm surprised
you haven't heard.

I don't want to hear.

If you don't mind,
I haven't eaten all day.

Oh, well, I'm a little
hungry myself.

I skipped lunch because
I was rehearsing
for the pageant,

which is in jeopardy
because of the church
being skittish

over Louise
having a former penis.

Wambaugh,
let me tell you right now,

you better not usher
this sideshow into my court.

Well, I haven't got
a case yet, Judge.

Left to your devices,
I'm sure you'll invent one.

Look,

I've got a problem with this,
transvestites and body parts

and any kind
of sexual perversity.

I'm not proud of it,
but this kind of stuff
makes me very, very squeamish,

even nauseous.

If you ever hope
to get in my good graces,

don't let that subject matter
invade my courtroom ever.

Do you get that?

Are you going to
eat all of these?

Now, you listen to me.

I can put up with elephants
and exploding cow udders

and serial bathers
and killing nuns,

but I got no stomach
for a transsexual.

It could make me faint.

On this one, Wambaugh,
don't you dare test me.

How can you be a man
and then turn into a woman?

I'm not sure.
It's not in here.

Mom probably hid that book.

And that one,
it's got a man's head,
but he doesn't have a thing.

You know, I heard about
this half-man-half-woman
in Australia.

Remember? It was on the news.

It was?
Yeah.

He kept getting himself
pregnant.

When are we supposed to learn
about this stuff?

This stuff here?

Not till high school probably.
This is complicated.

(KNOCKING AT DOOR)

Louise.
I'm sorry to bother you, Jill.

Can I talk to you
for a minute?
Sure.

Can I take your coat?
Oh, no, it's all right.

I've been summoned to appear
before the school committee
tomorrow morning.

Yes, I know.
Jimmy's on the committee.

How's Jimmy taking this?

Well, as a democrat,
he's completely fair-minded,

but, as a parent,
he's a little freaked.

Transsexualism spooks people,
Louise, and Jimmy, well...

I think he'll be okay.

And you?
Well, you know, I support you.

Good,

because I'd like you
to back me up when I go
in front of the committee.

Well, you've treated me.

You've counseled me.
You're very influential.

Yeah.

Well, this whole thing
has me a little shaken up,

and any help
I could get would be a help.

Well, you know that I'm happy
to support you, Louise,

but do you realize
what you're up against?

Of course I do.
Any advice on how
I should approach this?

Aggressively.
The only way to win
that I can see is attack.

Really?

They've got this big
predisposition.

The minute you let that
gain momentum, you're dead.

The best defense
is a good offense?

You bet your ass.

They're going to want you
to be weak and undecided.

They're going to want you
to be defensive.

That will only
reinforce their position.

You gotta pin their ears back.

You've gotta make them ashamed
for even calling this meeting

because if you let them
validate their question,

trust me, they've already
got their answer.

"Find the young child,
Jesus Christ. May God
with man now perspires."

"Resides."

"May God with man now reside."

"Yonder is the instant light."

"Infant light."

"Infant light."

That's great, Zack.
You're going to be
the star angel.

If we even get to do it.
The grown-ups
are trying to stop us.

They're not going to stop you.

Mrs. Talbot has to go
to the school committee today

on account of being
allergic to her thing

and because she had to take
pills to grow breasts.

If they fire her,
we won't be able to do
our sketch.

She's the only one
who knows Mary's lines.

Well, you forget,
Daddy's on that
committee, so...

He already busted her once.

Do you want Mrs. Talbot
to still be your teacher?

Yes, we like her.

Well, I'm sure the committee
will be very fair.

Daddy's fair,

and Mr. Pugen
and Minister Novotny,

they're on the committee,

and these are all
very good, fair people.

Whatever the pretext,
we have to find
an excuse to dump her.

I don't agree. The woman
is a very fine teacher.

I don't dispute that,
but the parents
are up in arms.

Well, it's up to us, then,
to settle them down.

It's not that easy, Jimmy.

Look, let's cut to
the real problem.

If she stays on as teacher,
we have no grounds
to exclude her

from the Christmas pageant.
Am I right?

Right.

Well, let me tell you,
if she's in that pageant,

a former man
playing the Virgin Mother,

the whole thing
will be consumed
in controversy,

tiptoeing up to
outright hatred.

Read my lips on this one.

Between unemployment
and inflation

and a near-zero economic
growth in this town,

Rome, Wisconsin,
needs Christmas
like it never has before.

We need that pageant
to generate a spirit
of giving,

a spirit of shopping
and the good will
of the community.

Well, now, that's not
going to happen
with Louise playing Mary.

Let's face it.
The papers will play up
the scandal.

Well, I'm not going to
sacrifice a person just to
sell more Christmas wreaths.

Look, the viability of
the pageant cannot be a
concern of ours at the moment.

This is a school committee.

The function of this meeting
is to evaluate Louise Talbot

as a teacher,
not as the Virgin Mary.

Yet if she stays a teacher,
she's likely to be
the Virgin Mary.

That's a problem.

That's good. That's good.

There you go.
Keep breathing deeply.

Okay. Better?
Yes.

But what's going to happen
to me when I go before
that committee?

Maybe if I faint,
they'll consider it womanly.

Just remember
what I said, Louise.

We don't even give them
the opportunity
to ratify their prejudice.

We're in the right,
and that's exactly
how we conduct ourselves.

Does Jimmy know
that you're appearing with me?

Nope,
they'll all be surprised.

The trick is to keep them
off their guard.

You're going to be just fine.
I know it, okay?

Oh, Carter,
did you need to see me?

No, I came to speak to Louise.

You didn't return my calls.

I didn't think
there would be much point.

Susan, I need to see you
inside for a minute.

(DOOR CLOSING)

I take it you heard.

I heard.

Were you ever
going to tell me?

Carter, we only
went on a few dates.

That doesn't mean...

You told me about
your parents, your sister,
your hobbies.

We sat for three hours
on a porch,
talking about everything.

You left out the fact
that you used to be a man.

I'm sorry.

Carter,

after the operation,
for the first time,
I felt complete.

I felt that I really
was what I was,

and I thought,

"You know, this is probably
the most euphoric sensation

"that I will ever experience."

I mean, I just wanted
to bottle it because...

But that night on the porch,
when you put your arm
around me,

and you kissed me,

that's the most feminine
that I have ever felt.

It was just a soft,
little kiss,

but, to me, it was magic.

If telling you the truth
had prevented that one kiss,

then, no, I don't regret
concealing my past.

No, I don't.

I still believe
people have to be honest.

There's no substitute
for that.

Well, maybe you're right,

but if you feel that way,
then I want to ask you
a question,

and I want an honest answer.

Knowing what I was,
what I now am,

could you kiss me again?

No.

Excuse me,
why is Dr. Brock
at this meeting?

The purpose of this meeting,
I assume, is to explore
my sexual identity

and examine my character.

Would that be correct?
Very correct.

Well, then, as my doctor
and as my friend,

Dr. Brock is competent
to elaborate on both issues.

As such,
I asked her to attend.

All right.

Let us begin with
a few questions.

Henry,
would you like to start?

Certainly.

What are you?

I'm a woman.

I was born a biological male,

which I considered
to be a birth defect.

In 1982, shortly before
I moved to Rome,

I began dressing
and living as a woman.

In 1985, I had an operation

where my genitals
and male organs were removed.

Forgive me, Louise,
but when you started
teaching at Fisher,

you were a man
dressed as a woman?

That's correct.

Part of the therapy,

in fact, requirement
for any candidate
for a sex change operation,

is that the candidate
live as the other gender

for at least one year.

I did not perpetrate fraud
on the school.

I was merely complying
with the suggestions

prescribed by my counselor.

Dr. Brock, you knew
of Louise's condition?

Yes, I became aware of it
in 1987, two years after
the sex-change operation.

And you didn't see fit
to tell the school?

She is molding the minds
of our youth.

Her character is
and has always been
beyond reproach.

Louise Talbot
has taught all of my children,

and I find her to be
an extraordinary educator

and an exceptional role model.

Michael, you know that's true.
She's probably
your best teacher.

Well, some of my assumptions
have proved to be erroneous.

This is a school committee.

The function
of this meeting should be

to evaluate Louise Talbot's
teaching credentials.

Those credentials
are without blemish,

and she should not be
discriminated against

because her sexual identity
makes you uncomfortable.

Now, let's all be grown-ups.

Excuse me, I just have
a couple questions
for Dr. Brock.

Transsexualism,

that's defined by
the medical profession
as a disorder, right?

Well, according
to that textbook.

This woman has
a mental disorder.

I don't consider it
a disorder, no.

Well, the psychiatric
profession in general

categorizes transsexualism
as a disorder,
as abnormal behavior?

Yes.

It says here these people
are subject to severe
anxiety, depression...

Well, I would say that
that anxiety is caused more

by society's condemnation.

These people typically suffer
a lot of psychological
problems, yes or no?

Louise Talbot had treatment.

The sex change operation
served to alleviate
her problems.

And as I understand it,

the doctors wouldn't even
consider doing the operation

unless they found a severe
personality disturbance.

Is that right?

That would be right.

After the operation,
in many cases,

particularly men
becoming women,

the personality disturbance
or disorder or depression,

that continues. Is that right?

I have not found that
with Louise.

Sometimes, the people
want to get back
to their original sex.

That's extremely rare!

You consider this person
to be stable?

I do.

A man who thinks of himself
as a homosexual male,

who then decides
that his spirit is more
that of a female,

who cross-dresses
for two years,
then has himself castrated,

this is stability?

What are you doing?

Louise,
have you ever attempted
to take your own life?

I don't think
my past problems are relevant.

My kids are
in your classroom, Louise.

Have you attempted suicide?

When I was in my 20s.

I have no more questions.
Thank you.

That was an ambush,
and you know it.

I just asked questions.

You didn't ask questions,
Jimmy.

You served up conclusions
in question form.

It was blatant bigotry.

Jill, the teacher is one
of the most important people

in the community.

The teacher,
more than anyone else,
is responsible for those kids.

And she's a great teacher,
Jimmy.
So it seems.

But read your own
medical books, will you?

She's defined as a deviant.

Transsexualism is considered
a mental disease.

Jimmy, that's an
archaic description.

The American Psychiatric
Association said homosexuality
was a disorder

right up until...

The point is there are
questions, Jill.

Well, then why not give her
the benefit of the doubt?

Because the doubt
has to benefit the kids.

My God, Jill,
she's got to have
deep emotional scars.

How can we trust her
to be the caretaker
of our kids?

(KNOCKING AT DOOR)

Excuse me.

I've been the caretaker
of your children
for eight years.

And by all accounts,
you've been a great one,

but you lied to me
and you lied to every other
parent in this town.

When we leave our children
in your care, that's trust.

That's an enormous trust,

and you lied about
what you were, who you were
and what you are.

You betrayed that trust.

Well, I guess I can predict
how the committee
will vote tomorrow.

(SIGHING)

We already voted,
right after the meeting.

It was unanimous.

You've been discharged
effective immediately.

It'll be announced tomorrow.

(EXCLAIMING)

Louise...

You blew it.

Really?

Yeah.

Look, I got no problem
with people
choosing their lifestyle,

but Zack is in her class,

and they might get the wrong
idea. They're just children.

Uh-huh.

So what's your excuse?

(SIGHING)

I can't go to court.

If it turns into
a public circus...

It's already out, Louise.

The whole town knows.

Yeah, but the next town
doesn't.

If I sue, this calls
more attention to it.

Then, no matter
where I go, people are...

Why do you have to
go anywhere?
This is where you live.

This is your town.

But it's not fair
to the children.

I mean, I should just let them
have their pageant without...

What's best for the children
is for those fathead
Rotarian men of Rome

to be taught a lesson
in civil rights.

This is a stand
that has to be taken
somewhere.

I think you're just the woman
to take it.

All set?
Yeah, let's go.

Jill.

You know, if Louise
hadn't been your patient,

if you had found out
she was a transsexual
the way I did,

you probably would have
reacted the same way I did,

the way you reacted
with Frank the Potato Man.

I know.

Then we both would have
been guilty of ignorance.

Maybe.

Let's go.

The fact, Your Honor,

that this fine teacher
used to be a man who,
in good conscience,

had his male unit removed
to make himself female

represents her commitment
to the truth.

The fact that she had the best
specialists in the world
construct female parts

that could fool
board-certified gynecologists

represents her commitment
to detail.

The fact that she
systematically took estrogen

to improve
her feminine appearance
to make herself attractive

to the men in Rome,

most notably Carter Pike,
who has kissed this woman...

Wambaugh.
I have witnesses.

I don't care.

First of all, two days ago,
you stood in here
representing the town of Rome.

Now, you're the enemy.

Two days ago, I represented
both Louise Talbot

and the town.

Now they're divided,

and Douglas Wambaugh
has to choose sides.

Douglas Wambaugh,
champion of principle.

Justice lies
with Louise Talbot.
Righteousness...

Oh, shut up, will you?

Just once?

Damn it, I told you
I didn't want this case
in my courtroom.

Louise,
I'm going to be honest.

This whole thing
makes me nauseous.

Would Your Honor like
a short break to vomit?

(PEOPLE LAUGHING)

I think I misspoke.

All right, everybody,
listen up, and listen good.

Like I said, the thought
of a man having an operation
to remove his...

So he can then become a woman,

it makes me extremely
squeamish, if not ill.

Now, that's a human
reaction, I guess,

and we can all be forgiven
for having it.

What is not forgivable,
however,

is to indulge
our own personal distaste

at the expense
of somebody's civil rights.

There's been no evidence
that this woman
has been anything

but an exemplary teacher.

No suggestion

that she hasn't adhered
to the highest of standards.

You are seeking to strip her
of a job because of her status
as a transsexual.

Well, that is flat out
against Wisconsin law.

Her sexual identity
is her business.

You cannot discriminate
against her because of it,

and I don't need
a single minute to deliberate

because this one
isn't even close.

Shame on all of you!

The decision of the school
committee is overturned.

She has her job back,
she can be in the pageant,

this matter is adjourned,

and I'm gone.

* Hark! the herald
angels sing *

Cut! You've got to get more
together. You're too straggly.

All right, angels
and shepherds over here.

Louise, we've got to have
a mock tech.

You know what the lighting's
like at the annex.

I'm coming.

You know, I don't even know
if I really want to
do this now.

You have to, Louise.

I know. Thank you, Jill.

Now, if you could just
smack Jimmy for me.

Don't worry.

All right, darlings,
very good.

Cynthia, move
to the other side. Good.

LOUISE: What's this?

We've come
to get our children.
What?

The court might not have
a problem with this,
but we do.

Stevie, let's go.
We're going home.

Elaine, come on.

Jill, I have
nothing against her.

You know I'm a pretty
liberal person,

but the children shouldn't
be exposed to this.

It is a sexual deviancy.
Cynthia...

The pageant is tonight!

I'm sorry.

Cynthia, now
or you'll get the sock.

You're all overreacting.

LOUISE: All right, hold it.

This is not going to happen.

I'm withdrawing
from the pageant.

Louise.
No.

These children
have worked too hard.

I'm not going to sacrifice
their efforts just to
prove a point. I'm out.

Well, who's going to
play Mary?

I think what's important
to these parents is who's not.

All right, listen to me.

Gather in.

Don't let this
affect you tonight.

I want you to make me
very proud.

You're all great kids,

and the sign of a good
performer is to not let
this distract you tonight.

You've all done great work,

and this is going to be
the best pageant yet.

I know it.

Good luck

to all of you.

Me?

Zachary said
you know all the lines.

The show is scheduled to begin

in less than three hours,
and we have no Mary.

Do I look like
a virgin to you?

Kimberly.

Now, honey, Zack's worked
really hard on this.

So have all of the kids.

And Matthew's willing to
fill in and play a wise man.

I don't think
it's too much for you...

I don't want to be
in the Nativity scene.

Please, Kimberly.
You know the lines.

Zachary said
you were even good.

They need your help, honey.

(SIGHING)

Where are the kids now?
I'll need to rehearse.

They're still in the annex.

The wise men
still have to practice
their second-act songs,

so they won't be able
to rehearse with you,

but they know their part.
Don't worry.

Take me to the annex.

You owe me big.

We're just trying
to have a simple Christmas.

Why does everything
get so complicated?

We made it complicated, Bill.

We put the message out
that there was a problem.

Come on, Jimmy.
She's a transsexual.

People would have reacted
whether we did
anything or not.

Maybe we licensed
the backlash.

Do you know that both Oregon
and Maine had a proposition
on the ballot

legalizing discrimination
against homosexuality?

What's that got to do with us?

It has to do with the country
rolling backwards
in some places

on the issue of
sexual identity,

and I hope with the way
we treated Louise

that we haven't started
the wheel turning here
in Rome.

Oh, don't try to second-guess
yourself, Jimmy.

Well...

Everybody agrees with
what you've said and done.

Well, that either makes me
more right
or just more dangerous.

* Jingle bells swing
and jingle bells ring *

* Snowing and blowing up
bushels of fun *

* Now the jingle hop has begun *

* Jingle bell, jingle bell,
jingle bell rock *

Quiet!

(WHISPERING)

Are you ready?
I'm ready.

Are you ready?
All set.

I'm not happy.

You just do your part.

Cynthia,
straighten your wings.

* That's the jingle bell *

* That's the jingle bell *

* That's
the jingle bell rock *

Here comes the big scene
barred by the federal courts
in public places.

(SHUSHING)

(CHILDREN SINGING
O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM)

* O little town of Bethlehem *

* How still we see thee lie *

* Above thy deep
and dreamless sleep *

* The silent stars go by *

* Yet in thy dark streets
shineth *

* The everlasting Light *

* The hopes and fears
of all the years *

* Are met in thee tonight *

What child is this, Mary?

This is the child,
Jesus Christ, our Lord to be.

Let me take this soul
into my arms.

No, the wise men
are not welcome. Please leave.

What...

The children are not happy.

The children don't like
the world of the grown-ups.

It is a world of bigamy.

Bigotry.
Bigotry.

MATTHEW: We are afraid
that the wise men
might condemn the children

because of what they are.

We are afraid that
the wise men will judge us
by our race or our religion

or our sexual identity
and not our character.

This is not in the script.

Louise Talbot is our teacher.

She is a good teacher.
She has been prejudiced.

The children of Rome
hereby reject the prejudice
of its parents.

We reject your fear
and your narrow-mindedness.

We embrace the spirit
of tolerance and the spirit
of individual freedom.

And as we sing,
we invite Ms. Talbot
to join us on stage.

WHITAKER: To take her rightful
place in this pageant
and the community.

CYNTHIA: Recognizing
that the future of Rome
and the world

lies in the hands
of the children.

And we invite
those of you out there,
who join us in the spirit

that we are all God's
children,

created equal under God
and under the law,

to rise up and sing with us.

(SINGING HE'S GOT THE
WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS)

* He's got the whole world
in His hands *

* He's got the whole
wide world in His hands *

* He's got the whole world
in His hands *

* He's got the whole world
in His hands *

* He's got the Earth and sun
in His hands *

* He's got the night and day
in His hands *

* He's got the sun
and moon in His hands *

* He's got the whole world
in His hands *

* He's got the whole world
in His hands *

* He's got the whole
wide world in His hands *

* He's got the whole world
in His hands *

* He's got the whole world
in His hands *

* He's got the whole world
in His hands *

* He's got the whole
wide world in His hands *

* He's got the whole world
in His hands *

* He's got the whole world
in His hands **