STAGE

A predominantly white Cape Town, South Africa, audience voted Tuesday night to scrap the performance of the musical they were about to see, in sympathy with black protests against Wednesday’s whites-only general election. Cape Town University’s Baxter Theater hailed the decision as “an historic act of democracy.” The Baxter was presenting “District Six--The Musical,” a memorial to a central Cape Town area which was proclaimed whites-only 21 years ago, forcing out its multiracial community, and is now a wasteland. The actors debated the issue from the stage with Tuesday’s audience of about 650 people. The Baxter management estimated that 75% voted to cancel the performance.