STAGE

A black Oxford, Miss., teen-ager filed a $140,000 suit in U.S. District Court this week, alleging that a teacher told him that he lost the leading role in a school musical because he would have had to caress a white girl. James L. Mosley, 17, a senior at Oxford High School, is seeking $100,000 in punitive and $40,000 in compensatory damages, plus lawyers fees from Ava Bonds, a white teacher and director of the musical, “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.” Bonds allegedly told Mosley he had a leading role prior to casting the musical. Later, Mosely claims in his suit, she informed him that he would not get the part because it “required him to caress a white girl and the community would not be accepting of that.” The teacher allegedly told Mosley he could have had the role had there been a black girl to play opposite him.