that the production... labors hard to mitigate through aesthetics," and appreciated the romance but wished it had not attempted "a stab at political relevance." Jonathan Mandell, writing for New York Theater, said that the Jahander subplot was "one of the ways [Rosser and Sohne] are trying to compensate for their Western perspective and the show's focus on the fictional romance. But their efforts at filling in the background don't strike me as sufficient." TheaterMania's review called it "both emotionally and intellectually stirring. Anyone who cares about the future of the American musical should run out and see it now—as should anyone who cares about the country in which the United States is presently fighting the longest war in our history." After an online stream of the original production was released in July 2020, the work received significant backlash from Afghans, particularly LGBT Afghans, who perceived it as romanticizing child sexual abuse and criticized the white American writers for orientalism and misrepresenting bacha bazi as an accepted "tradition" in Afghanistan. The backlash led many to apologize for their involvement with the production and stream; the stream was removed ahead of schedule. After consulting with members of the Afghan community, creators Tim Rosser and Charlie Sohne acknowledged in a statement that "no Afghan voices were empowered in the creation of the show," and chose to end all distribution of the music and donate previous proceeds to Afghan charities. See also Child sexual abuse Human rights in Afghanistan , cross-dressing a daughter as a boy for increased social freedom in Afghanistan The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan (2010 documentary) , cross-dressed male dancers in pre-20th century Egypt , cross-dressed male dancers in Ottoman Turkey Ubayd Zakani, a 14th-century Persian poet References Further reading External links Joseph Goldstein, U.S. Soldiers Told to Ignore Afghan Allies' Abuse of Boys, The New York Times (September 2015) Confessions of an Afghan Boy Sex Slave, Newsweek (May 2015) Forgotten No More: Male Child Trafficking in Afghanistan, Hagar International (April 2014) Kandahar Journal; Shh, It's an Open Secret: Warlords and Pedophilia, The New York Times (February 2002) This is What Winning Looks Like PBS Frontline: The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan Child prostitution Child sexual abuse in Afghanistan Dance in Afghanistan Forced prostitution Human rights abuses in Afghanistan Human trafficking in Afghanistan Male erotic dancers Male prostitution Prostitution in Asia Sex trafficking Sex workers Sexual slavery Sexuality in Afghanistan Violence against