The Cheerleader Trials (play)

For the historical event see The Cheerleader Trials (historical event)

The Cheerleader Trials is a theatrical production that is thematically based on the infamous event of the same name that took place in early colonial Myddletowne. Although it is regarded as the pinnacle of Middletonian cultural achievements, its productions have notoriously been subject to misfortune and disaster.

Background
The Cheerleader Trials was written roughly a century after the events on which it is based. Upon its debut, the play was met with universal praise for its unflinching deconstruction of themes like persecution, paranoia, and mob violence. Despite its success and popularity, several productions of The Cheerleader Trials ended in tragic accidents that mostly affected the members of its central cast. In time, the play came to be regarded as "cursed", and most schools and theatre troupes refused to perform it.

The most recent production of The Cheerleader Trials occurred at Middleton High School, and like many previous performances, ended in tragedy. Student body president Helen Huxler was assassinated in a yet-unsolved murder involving a prop guillotine, and lead actress "Greta" was killed shortly afterwards by the rest of the cast as retribution for her presumed involvement in Huxler's death.