Jr Musical Mandela Effect (am I crazy?)

[cattails17]

Posted: 1/31/21 at 2:14pm

Story time, gather round children:
In 2018 I went to the JR theatre festival in Atlanta, and I have a really distinct memory of a group doing Pippin Jr there, they werent in our pod but I remember the t-shirts they were wearing clear as day (I could draw it). I have a slight memory of the group performing Magic to Do on the main stage there, but that may just be my mind playing tricks on me. However the other day I thought of it and looked it up.
It.
Never.
Existed.
Literally theres no trace of it being a show anywhere on the internet. I know itd probably be hard to make Junior, but it wouldnt be the craziest thing ever and I can see what exactly a Jr version of it would look like. I also didnt even listen to that show for the first time until the other day, when I recognized Magic to Do and looked it up.

Has this happened to anyone else with a similar show? I feel crazy but it also feels like the Mandela effect.

[DooWahDiddy]

Posted: 1/31/21 at 5:02pm

Hey, if they can make a junior version of Rent, they can make one of Pippin, lol.

Having said that, I don't know what the JR theatre festival is, but it doesn't necessarily mean they were doing an official junior version, does it? Maybe you DID see the show; maybe they were just doing the regular version? I would imagine it's more about "Here are young people performing theatre" than "You must do a sanctioned junior version of the show you pick". 

Updated On: 1/31/21 at 05:02 PM

[Joshua Rosenthal]

Posted: 1/31/21 at 6:15pm

Similar to what DooWahDiddy said, live the name btw, maybe they did an unofficial jr version of the show? I’d be interested in a Pippin Jr. but yeah who knows 🤷🏻‍♂️ maybe it was just not an official production

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 1/31/21 at 11:36pm

I'm pretty sure MTI pilots JR versions of musicals at festivals like that so you might not have been crazy! It might be something they are working on.

[tmdonahue]

Posted: 2/1/21 at 9:37am

from the second edition of our book, Stage Money:

"Theater licensing organizations have awakened to the number of high schools and even elementary schools that stage Broadway musicals and the organizations are making special efforts to market to this niche’s needs.  According to the New York Times, in 2012, high schools spent about $300 million on theatrical productions.  This figure is from the Educational Theatre Association which also maintains that the potential audience for high school productions in 2017-2018 was over 46 million people. According to the Times, Freddie Gershon, the co-chairman of the licensing firm Music Theatre International, created this business more than 20 years ago working with Stephen Sondheim to adapt Into the Woods for schools.

"One company specializing in this area, ITheatrics, works for licensing businesses to craft simpler, shorter versions of musicals that are appropriate for elementary and middle schools.  For example, Annie, on Broadway is a two-act, 2.5 hour-long musical with eight principal roles and an ensemble. The middle school version is 60 minutes long and has 25 speaking roles plus the ensemble. The 30-minute elementary school version has 20 speaking roles plus the ensemble.  (In school theater it is believed that there should be roles for everyone who wants to appear on stage.)

"There is a national festival called the “Junior Theater Festival” which brings student groups from all over to perform for each other, attend workshops, and witness new adaptations made just for them.  The festival is sponsored by Playbill, Disney Musicals, and Music Theatre International.

"Sean Patrick Flahaven, the chief executive office of the Musical Company, said a successful title in the youth market can generate $1 million or more a year in revenue.  Music Theater International has a program called Broadway Junior, offering 62 shows, some in different formats for different performing venues, some of them shows that have never been seen on Broadway.  Each show includes a “Show Kit” that includes a director's guide, curriculum activities and lesson plans, 30 actor scripts, two rehearsal/accompaniment CDs, a piano/vocal score, a DVD with choreography, and 30 copies of “Family Matters” a book to guide parents of the budding performers.  Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization offers “Getting to Know” or “G2K” versions for younger performers.  Theatrical Rights Worldwide LLC calls its adaptations “School Editions” and “Young at Part.” And so on."

This was written before the pandemic so the "Junior Theatre Festival" happened on-line this year.  This has been going on for some years, at venues around the country.  Maybe you're not crazy.  
 

Updated On: 2/1/21 at 09:37 AM

[missthemountains]

Posted: 2/1/21 at 3:00pm

Mr. Wormwood said: "I'm pretty sure MTI pilots JR versions of musicals at festivals like that so you might not have been crazy! It might be something they are working on."

My money's on this, or that it was unauthorized.