University says Lenny Bruce play was postponed, not canceled

BOSTON (AP) — Brandeis University says it has postponed but not canceled a stage play about the late comedian Lenny Bruce after some students and alumni alleged the play contains racist language and themes.

The Boston-area university said Tuesday in a letter to nonprofit group Foundation for Individual Rights in Education it has moved the play, “Buyer Beware,” from the fall to the spring.

The Philadelphia-based group had raised concerns over the play’s cancellation in an open letter to the university, saying the university should defend the free-speech principles Bruce fought for. The letter was signed by Bruce’s daughter.

Bruce was known for profanity-laced routines that sparked several arrests for obscenity in the 1960s. An archive of his work is housed at Brandeis.

The university says it maintains its commitment to “freedom of expression.”