Avenue Q - School Edition

[musicaltheatrefan3]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 7:21pm

I just heard that this is no longer happening and will not be released from MTI.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 7:22pm

There is a god.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 7:24pm

I'm guessing once they edited the "questionable material" they realized there was no show left.

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 7:42pm

Where did you hear that? And besides, it is still on MTI's list of shows.

http://mtishows.com/show_detail.asp?showid=000321#

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 8:17pm

But the SCHOOL edition isn't listed....at least not with the other school editions. Rent, Les Miz, Sweeney Todd and Ragtime are the only ones there.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 8:17pm

What would the school edition be? "It's a Fine, Fine Line" and the theme song?

[TonyVincent]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 8:21pm

Sorry to threadjack, but what's the difference between Sweeney Todd and its school edition? I feel like all that content will be either acceptable or unacceptable, with no way to remove the violence.

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 8:26pm

I'm going to see "Sweeney Todd: School Edition" on Friday, so if no one else does before then, I'll post some specifics.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 8:28pm

The difference is basically that it's shorter and some keys have been changed. Nothing else.

[TimeSquare3]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 9:16pm

You just can't do a school version of Ave. Q.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 9:20pm

What about the Ragtime: School Edition? What changed there?

[wickedfan]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 9:35pm

Same thing: shorter, harder songs changed into a more singable key. For the most part, the school editions aren't to make the shows accessible to high school audiences, they're done to make some shows easier for high schools to perform. Les Mis, Ragtime, and Sweeney are all incredibly difficult shows to do, and many high schools wish, but never had the resources/talent, to do them. With shorter scripts, and songs transposed to easier keys, high schools won't feel as intimidated by these pieces and will thus produce them.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 9:41pm

^ I didn't realize Ragtime was that difficult a score to sing. Play? Yes.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 9:43pm

Good
The Rent school edition went down such a storm in the US with people wanting to cancel the shows left right and center so im pretty sure Ave Q would not work

[jejr]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 11:53pm

A school could never do Ave Q 1: the material -they would have to cut Lucy the Slut character and the naked puppets.

No school could pull off the puppet manipulation - the only one in the current Broadway cast who does it right is Carry Anderson.
With all the doubling and tripeling of the puppets there are actually 40 different ones - each costume change is another puppet.

There are many reasons a School Edition just would not work.

Updated On: 7/9/09 at 11:53 PM

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 11:58pm

I actually would object to a High School doing Avenue Q. Rent as a point behind its language and subject matter. Avenue Q is adult comedy and should be kept as such.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 12:05am

personally... i just don't get school editions of anything (unless it's lowering a key or something)... but a school gets to put on the show but i feel like they are bastardizing (i like that word.. haha) it in some way... but then again i'm weird like that...

[winston89]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 12:26am

But then again, just because a show has the optional "school edition" to do doesn't mean that the school has to do it. I know of a high school in my town that didn't use the Les Miserables school edition a few years back because they have the talent to be able to produce the regular version of the show. Also, the director felt that due to the fact that the school edition is sometimes cut down,he didn't agree with the cuts made for the school edition so he used the regular one.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 12:30am

I had an opportunity to direct a jr. production of a musical and couldn't bring myself to direct a truncated, changed version of a favorite musicals (I had several options to choose from but they were all beloved). The company didn't want to do the full version because it was a kids show. Those kids were more than capable of performing the show in the original keys, etc. If there isn't a language or sexual content issue, I don't see the need to abbreviate the show. Ragtime, for example.

Rent has great messages for young people, and warrants a school edition. Les Miz, not so much. If you don't have the talent, don't do the show, changed or not. Keys have been adjusted per performer for years with the necessity of a School Edition.

Again, Avenue Q just has no place inside a High School. Spring Awakening, sure. Rent, sure. But covering up the "naughty bits" of Miss Saigon or Q or making the music of Miz or Phantom easier to sing just doesn't feel right artistically. There are plenty of musicals that aren't overproduced by High Schools that would benefit the community and performers greatly.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 1:30am

"If you don't have the talent, don't do the show, changed or not."

haha... makes me think of the Bad High School Musical thread!

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 1:37am

Well, I don't totally agree. Ragtime has a perfect place in a high school, in fact the other senior English teacher taught the book in class. However, the score isn't easy to perform, so if they want to use a student orchestra, having a simplified version isn't a bad thing.

Remember, the authors (or estates of) approve the cuts and changes, and probably make them themselves.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 2:11am

I was in a youth production of Ragtime prior to the school edition being available so we performed the score as is. I can vouch for the score being extraordinarily difficult for a group of young performers to learn. It's not so difficult to sing, it's just hard to learn. The ensemble harmonies alone took at least two months to get everyone on the same page and sounding professional. Having said that, it was totally worth it in the long run as the show sounded amazing. I'm not sure I would enjoy an "easier" sounding Ragtime, but if you don't have the talent a reduced version makes sense.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 2:31am

the puppets that are going to come with the licensing are appauling. I hope they let Rick Lyon do a set instead

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 2:37am

Those actually look really great compared to the ones the kids are using on you-tube in their school concerts.

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 7:22am

Those puppets are a trainwreck.

I remember a while back MTI had a blurb on "The Producers" page saying Mel Brooks was preparing a "PG-rated" versioin for those companies that would be "lynched by their communities if they performed the full version". Guess that fell through?