A recent trend among theatre companies is the creation of "School Editions" of popular Broadway shows. Those are versions of the show that are only available to groups that work with school-age kids - the shows aren't available to regular community theatre groups.
One of the first shows adapted that way was Les Miserables (at least that I'm aware of - correct me if I'm wrong). The creators of the show adapted it for younger performers and trimmed it down a bit - from almost three hours to just over two. The end product is still a great show, although the content may be a bit mature in places for young kids.
That show has apparently been enough of a success that additional shows are now available or will soon be available. And there are some surprising titles on the list, including Sweeney Todd: The School Edition and, just announced: Rent: The School Edition. Another one we can expect in the near future (I suspect) is a version of Phantom of the Opera (which Capitol High School is working on now as part of a test run).
I'm not sure how I feel about this trend - on the one hand, it's great that young performers get to stretch their skills and tackle some of Broadway's most challenging shows - but it's hard to see how Rent and Sweeney, which are very much written for adult audiences, can be adapted to become acceptable for young audiences.
I'll admit that I'm more of a prude about such things, and certainly what plays well on the east or west coast doesn't exactly go over as easily in the heartland - but is this a good idea? I'm not sure.
There is another show just announced that I find very tempting - but I'll save that one for the next entry.
13 comments:
Hah! I heard that Sweeney was coming out as a School Edition a few months ago and I thought it was a joke. Guess the joke's on me. "Sweeney Todd" is a masterpiece, and probably my favorite musical, but there is a time and place for everything and "Sweeney" for kids ain't it. I even have a problem with "Into the Woods, Jr." because the Jr version is pretty much simply the first act. The lessons don't come until the second act. Plays need to be kept in context. A play like "Into the Woods" loses its power when it's watered down that much. And you and I can both agree that theatre should be a powerful expression of art, both for children and adults.
Speaking of powerful,I saw Emily Asbury in Bertolt Brecht's "Caucasian Chalk Circle" last night. As usual, she gave us much to be proud of.
Have a great weekend!
Even though I have attended a few of these “junior versions” of shows adapted for children, I don't think I would be interested in seeing any more.
I believe that shows deserve to be seen with their original scripts intact. For a lot of people who may not make the trip to Broadway, These “junior versions” may be the only version that they will experience. Imagine what a shame it would be if “Into the Woods, Jr.” was the only version you knew. The “Jr.” version ends on a happy note at the end of act one, and cuts the entire second act. You’d literally be missing half the story. Beyond that you’d be missing the whole point of the piece…that life is NOT always the fairy tale we wish it were. There is real pain, disappointment and fear to be faced and dealt with. It’s theatre that teaches us something about real life.
There are some shows that are so built around adult themes I don’t see how any amount of editing could make them suitable for children to perform. “Sweeney Todd” is a prime example. How do you get around the fact that the whole premise of the show is revenge accomplished by slashing throats, butchering the victims, and baking them into meat pies which are eaten by the public? I couldn’t believe it when I received the email from MTI announcing the availability of “Sweeney Todd–School Edition”. My first thought was that the brilliant mind responsible for that had either seen “Jersey Girl” and had not caught the irony, or was persuaded by teen heartthrob Johnny Depp’s starring role in the film adaptation that the kiddies would love it. The film is rated “R”! And RENT? Can’t wait to see the teen cross-dressing “Angel”, “Mimi” the stripper and all the middle-schoolers coming to terms with their smack addiction and AIDS.
God knows I’m not a prude…Along with my share of Disney and Rodgers and Hammerstein fare, I’ve done shows like “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” , “Cabaret” , “The Rocky Horror Show”, “HAIR” and “The Pillowman”, (which opens in a couple of weeks…plug, plug) But I don’t want to see kids doing those shows…It’s debatable whether kids should even see those shows. It seems laughable, but after this week, with the announcement of the “Sweeney Todd” and “Rent” School Editions, are we really that far off?
Children’s theatre and school drama groups play a vital role in the creative development, self esteem, and the nurturing of young talent. I’ve seen and enjoyed wonderful productions by young people. But there are shows that fit, and shows that don’t in my opinion. I wouldn't want to see elderly actors trying to pass themselves off as teenagers in a geriatric production of "High School Musical" or "Grease" for the same reason, no matter how talented they might be.
It might be a wonderful, challenging experience for the actors, but it wouldn’t do much for the audience.
Denise, I absolutely agree about "into the Woods" - chopping off the second act does seem to miss the point, although there are some "adult" scenes in Act 2. And I'm jealous that you got to see Emily's show - I'm not going to be able to see that one.
Sanctuary, I agree - when they create the "Rocky Horror: School Edition" it'll probably be a sign that the apocalypse is just around the corner. I do think there's a difference between the "Junior" versions, which are heavily cut down, truncated versions of the originals, and the "School Editions," which are versions of the original adapted for younger voices (and feature much less editing), but I agree - given the choice, I'd rather see the original version any day.
Chuck:
I see that "Seussical Jr." is being presented this weekend in Ashland, and it just got me wondering about the difference in the original and the "Jr." version of that one.
I saw the (awesome) First Stage production of "Seussical the Musical"...and I don't recall any content that would need to be edited for children, so I'm confused...
Are some of these "Jr." versions just cut down to make it easier for young children to memorize and perform?
-Ryan
Ryan, I think that's exactly it - they take the original shows, edit them down to about 70 minutes and adjust the music to make them work for Middle School-aged kids. Out of curiosity, I looked it up, and here's the list of shows available from MTI's Broadway Junior Collection. They must do some serious cutting on some of these shows: Disney’s Aladdin Junior, Disney’s Alice in Wonderland Junior, Annie Jr., Bugsy Malone Jr., Dear Edwina Junior, Fiddler on the Roof Jr., Godspell Junior, Guys and Dolls Jr., Honk! Junior, Into the Woods Jr., Disney’s Mulan Junior, The Music Man Jr., Once on This Island Jr., The Pirates of Penzance Junior, Schoolhouse Rock Live! Junior, Seussical Jr. and Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka Junior. I mean, Fiddler? Penzance? Yow!
Chuck and Ryan,
I'm about to direct my second "Jr." show. Last year I did "Aladdin Jr." and I just cast "Schoolhouse Rock." The Jr.s were developed for middle schools with limited resources. They are meant as an introduction, a starting place for students who have limited experience. I'm doing them here because well, we have REALLY limited resources. I can't charge more then $6 for adults and $3 dollars for students for tickets to the shows I'm working on. No one would spend that much around here to see theatre.
As for the Jr. shows, I think they ARE an artistic compromise, but one I can live with as long as I focus on the educational aspects of the experience and am careful about which of the Jr.s I choose. They are VERY watered down, so I have to make sure the message is still intact before I do them.
Denise, you make a great point - the dirty little secret of theatre is that it costs a stunning amount of money to stage shows, and not ever group can manage that kind of expense. If the "Junior" shows offer a way to expose kids to the joys ot live theatre without breaking the bank (and still stay reasonably true to the original show), then I'm all for 'em.
OK,Chuck... this takes the cake... I ran into Jeanette Bills and Stephen Vance tonight after the HSO concert and we were discussing this thread.... They informed me that (along with the full adult version)"Avenue Q - School Edition" has been released! I thought they were putting me on, until I came home and checked it out for myself. IT'S TRUE! Can't imagine that one. "The Internet is for _____?" Maybe "Rocky Horror School Edition" (and the apocalypse) are closer than we thought!
-Ryan
Ryan, I knew about "Avenue Q" and forgot to mention it. (For those who haven't seen it, it's a musical that uses Sesame Street-style puppets, but is very adult and downright vulgar.) Yep, I was shocked to see the "School Edition" version had been created - it would take some severe editing (and dropping several songs) to make "Avenue Q" acceptable for school kids - at least in my opinion.
So, I was curious and checked MTI's site for the lowdown. If you search around it will actually give you a ton of information and a plot synopsis.
If I read it correctly, it is insane.
First, the only change to Sweeney Todd is the keys of the songs.
Second, they are only dropping one song from Rent...contact. Nothing else is changing, and if you look close one box in the corner says that it is ideal for middle schools as well as high schools.
What button could be put on this comment other than...really??????
Stephen, it is amazing - I really don't understand the thinking behind this at all. Do they really think shows like this are fine for Middle School students? I always feel like I'm showing my age when I rail against something like this, but it just seems irresponsible on the part of the theatre companies. If I start a separate post on this, I'm going to take your advice and title it "Really?"
i would like to state that i had partaken in the first licenced edition of Rent: School Edition. i asmit that the show is always better with the full effect, but also that the playwrite was not edited so badly that it was not enjoyable. our production recieved VERY few negative reviews and we all put our hearts and souls into it. the story, which remained in tact even through a small amount of editing, touchd each of us in a personal way that brought us close and impacted our lives. so my point really is that although the show is what audience members are there for, understanding the story and producing such a wonder brings teenagers together.(and i've seen the word "kid" used a lot in the comments and things. many of the students in our cast were eighteen and nineteen years old. of course it's young to you, but we are not "children." we are young adults who can handle a play)
Anon, thanks for your comment! I don't think anyone here means to put down any production of the shows we mentioned, and I think we'd all agree that the content of the shows are fine for older teens - seniors and juniors in high school, as you mentioned. But I think we're not sure if "Rent," for example, is a show that's suitable for Middle School students.
Glad to hear you had such a great experience - that's what theatre is all about!
Oh, and I apologize if the phrase "kids" bothers you - I didn't mean to be insulting. I figure it's less offensive than using the word "children." But you're right, at my age, anyone who isn't a Senior Citizen is a "kid." ;-)
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