Songs/Scenes Cut for Amateur Productions- Page 2

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 6/8/06 at 1:07am

Apparently, although its not in the current version of the script, TICK TOCK is actually made available for both amateur and professional productions of COMPANY, who specifically request it.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 6/8/06 at 5:54am

There was a production of BYE BYE BIRDIE in PA that infamously cut the "Shriner's Ballet".

I was about to achieve my long-held dream of playing Dolly Levi but dropped out when the director discussed his plans to cut the "Hello, DOLLY!" number because he felt it did nothing to move the plot forward. The production fell apart shortly afterwards and never made it to dress rehearsals.

[TheActr97J]

Posted: 6/8/06 at 7:18am

I have never seen an amateur production of Little Shop of Horrors that has included "Call Back in the Morning".

When my high school did Little Shope, we also performed "Call Back in the Morning." Good to know that at least we weren't doing anything illegal!

[WhenURScrap]

Posted: 6/8/06 at 7:53am

I have heard of several productions of Pippin cut the Keyhole scene with Pippin and Catherine.

When I was in my younger days -- oh some 10 years ago -- I was in a theatre company that performed 1 full-length musical and then 1 shortened musical a year. The second musical, the shortest, was maybe an hour and included major points in the plot. The funny thing is ... I now think our shows were extremely bad, because the shows weren't in tact. We did Lil' Abner ... we started with Typical Day ... Went to Druthers ... Went to Jubilation T. Cornpone ... Rag off'n the Bush ... and then the ending where the Government Man (Me) allows the city to not be bombed. I look back and think, Why did we ever do that!!!!

[LuvUrBatBoy]

Posted: 6/8/06 at 8:54am

When I did Guys and Dolls, the director cut the Crapshooter's ballet, mainly because most of the guys in the show couldnt dance.

Ive also seen a production of Working that cut "Just a Housewife". Not sure what the reasoning was, but that's the BEST song in the show.

In a related interesting story, a dinner theatre around here in MD just did Thoroughly Modern Millie. When a local Asian rights group heard of the whole Mrs Meers/slave trade thing, they threatened legal action. The producer of the theatre actually hired the lyricist of the show to come down to MD and change all the asian refences to Lithuanian. All the Ching Ho and Bun Foo dialouge was translated to Lithuanian. The whole thing was so bizarre and not nearly as funny. Very sad.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 6/8/06 at 10:14am

That is so bizarre about MILLIE - I would have let them sue and than I would have pointed to the Broadway, London, touring and other regional productions which have had no problem using the script with the original Asian characters. Absurd.

[MisterRussell]

Posted: 6/8/06 at 1:45pm

Many moons ago, my high school was invited to do a show for the International Thespian Conference. They chose PIPPIN, but after a student brought her script home and her parents read it, they got their panties in a bunch and got their entire Baptist church to protest. The result: numerous cuts to dialogue, such as Berthe's line "I think men raise flags when they can't get anything else up," Charlemagne's "The fornicating I'm getting's not worth the fornicating I'm getting," line, the entire sex sequence and the staging to "Morning Glow."

It sucked.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 6/8/06 at 1:47pm

Bottom line - if you for whatever reason can't do the show as written - don't do the show.

[Enjolras77]

Posted: 6/8/06 at 1:51pm

Exactly! Well said MB.

[overthemoon419]

Posted: 6/8/06 at 3:12pm

Bye Bye Birdie
A verse was cut from "An English Teacher" ("Then it was goodbye, Geoffrey Chaucer; Hello, William Morris/Goodbye NYU; Hello, Almaelou...") which didn't bother anyone too much, because there are two "English Teacher" reprises. However. When the vice principal videotaped the show so it could be distributed to the cast, he made some cuts. The middle of "Honestly Sincere" was nowhere to be found; the same thing happened to the first half of "Kids (Reprise)" - The worst, though, was that Mae Peterson's entire bit at the train station was cut: the scene went from Conrad in a dress to Albert waving goodbye to a train leaving. It bothered me the most, since I was Mae.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Don't ask me why, but they cut "Pretty Little Picture." I couldn't figure it out, especially since (as Domina) I was requesting they cut "That Dirty Old Man" because, to be frank, I couldn't do it justice.

Once Upon a Mattress
My God, they ripped it to shreds. This was all removed:
-The Queen's first monologue
-The scene where Sir Harry is sent to find a princess
-Every time Fred falls in the moat
-The character of Lady Mabelle
-Any and all references to the Jester or his father dancing
-"Very Soft Shoes"
-The "Rapunzel" verse of "Happily Ever After"
-In "Man to Man Talk," the entire verse about the Bee and the Boy-flower Dust.

[morosco]

Posted: 6/8/06 at 3:41pm

"The producer of the theatre actually hired the lyricist of the show to come down to MD and change all the asian refences to Lithuanian. All the Ching Ho and Bun Foo dialouge was translated to Lithuanian."

[sarcasm] Shouldn't the asian community have stood up for the lithuanian community as well?

[jv92]

Posted: 6/8/06 at 4:29pm

My director ridiculously changed "Passin out the whisky" to "Passsin out the beverage" in Guys and Dolls and cut out the drunken Havana brawl.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 6/8/06 at 6:37pm

Let me just point out that my high school theater teacher was MORMON and even he let us keep most of the dirty stuff in our plays. If you think the play is inappropriate for your school, don't do it!

[Ruby Slippers]

Posted: 6/8/06 at 7:16pm

When West Side Story was performed at my old school, they cut the bit where Anita is threatened by the Jets after Bernardo's death. I'm not quite sure what that was about, but the teacher who produced it said that the scene suggested she had been gang raped by all the Jets (had been, not would be) and was inappropriate for a school audience. Nobody complained.

Re. Tommy: I'm in a production now and we have cut Fiddle About but kept Acid Queen.

[ILoveMyDictionary]

Posted: 6/8/06 at 7:19pm

When I was in Once Upon a Mattress, my school cut out the whole thing with Larken being pregnent and we cut out the birds and the bees song. I think it's rediculous that we cut it out, considering that the year before that we did Grease, and we left everything in.

[Kevinoes]

Posted: 6/8/06 at 10:20pm

A private school in my area put on INTO THE WOODS and cut the whole the second act...They said a) It was just too challenging for the cast and b) the second act is pointless. I for one am on the pro second act list. I think it proves that everything you do will come back to you some way.

But yeah, that was pretty bad.

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 6/8/06 at 10:40pm

I believe there is a young version of Into the Woods that cuts the entire second act. So. It was a legal cut.

kmc

[Phantom487]

Posted: 6/8/06 at 10:51pm

When I played Patrick in "Mame", the director cut the song "St. Bridget", so the show opened with "It's Today"...

[Johnnytoc]

Posted: 6/8/06 at 11:06pm

Overthemoon419, in regards to Once Upon a Mattress, how did that work out plot-wise?

[overthemoon419]

Posted: 6/9/06 at 1:32am

Well, watching the show without knowing of what had been cut, it wasn't too bad in the sense that it was understandable... but knowing what had been taken out, it was a little embarrassing.

Sir Harry just sort of *decides* to go find a princess and brings back Fred, who swims the moat, but doesn't fall back in - she just flirts with the knights while other dialogue happens in that scene.

The Lady Mabelle dialogue had been removed, so there was one girl that Sir Harry danced with who ended up next to him after the "Quiet" scene. Too bad, because her character had some simple laughs.

The verse removed from "Happily Ever After" was merely for time, I think, and it didn't make much difference.

The verse removed from "Man to Man Talk" made for an interesting song, if you listened to the lyrics - all of a sudden the prince is singing about bees when they had never been mentioned before; he sings about two flowers and all of a sudden understands the secrets of a honeymoon. Overall, it was something that most of the audience didn't even pick up on, and easily forgettable.

The Jester bit. This broke my heart, as I adore "Very Soft Shoes" and our Jester had a lovely voice. He was, however, on the large side and not too skilled with his feet. The original plan was to have another actor dance in silhouette as the "ghost" of his father (in his memory) while he sang, but that got scrapped for time and because the production was behind schedule. Without the song, all dialogue referencing the Jester dancing was pretty pointless and cut as well. The director just kept saying, "This is obviously a song and bit that was added because the original guy was a really good dancer or something. We don't need it."

It was... an experience.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 6/9/06 at 2:05am

KJ, that's only if you get the rights to do the Broadway Jr. version of Into the Woods.

And that's just terrible about Mattress, overthemoon. Why do the show then?

~Steven

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 6/9/06 at 2:15am

The Distinctive Baritone- I belive the High School got permission to get rid of Cliff being gay, becuase it was innapropriate on several levels. Not that they felt homosexuality was wrong but it had to do with when the show was, and the actors, and the school itself.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 6/9/06 at 2:18am

Cliff is not really gay in the original Cabaret but rather asexual. I think that's right... There's no real mention to him being gay in the original book.

~Steven
Updated On: 6/9/06 at 02:18 AM