The Me Nobody Knows

[Enjolras77]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 3:04pm

A local school has chosen to do The Me Nobody Knows as the spring musical for their middle school students (ages 11-13). The show debuted in 1970 and tells through song the real stories of teenagers growing up in the NYC ghetto. The music sounds like a blend of Hair and Burt Bacharach and is very much rooted in the 1968-1970 time frame.

After listening to the OBC and reading the script I have had some reservations regarding this choice. The material seems overly dated and some of the themes may be a bit heavy for this age group. Already they have had to cut numerous portions of the show out, and the director is wanting to "update" the Vietnam references to the war in Iraq.

The show was chosen, and is being directed by a parent -- not the theatre arts teacher. The students are used to doing the "Broadway Jr." shows and have never done a full-length musical. Last week they did a pre-audition workshop where potential auditionees were taught some sequences from the show and were acclimated to the material. Many of the kids laughed or snickered at the dated lyrics and totally misunderstood the heavy-handed meanings of many of the songs.

Has anyone done this show or seen a production of it who can give me some insight? Do you think that the show is too dated and are the themes comprehensible for 11 and 12 year olds? Maybe I am off-base but the show seems to me like it would be much more successful with high school aged students. It seems like this parent wants to do something avant-garde to impress everyone with her musical theatre knowledge and to use the kids as her political sounding board. Am I off base with these assumptions?

The reason I am posting this is because I know several of the music teachers over there who will have to work on this show and they asked me for my opinions regarding this choice. Thanks in advance!

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 3:06pm

11 and 12 year olds performing in a show about war is slighly distubring. Updating it to be Iraq is even more disturbing, and seems more like a pawn for the director than a great show for his students.

[Joelbeans]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 3:11pm

That show does seem a little deep for that age. I have listened to the soundtrack and have contemplated doing the show, but like you said it is very dated. I suggest something like "How to Eat LIke a Child" if you are looking for a full length musical for kids that age. It is a very cute show, and not hard to do. It is a series of Vignettes depicting the life of children as they grow up. I have done the show like 5 times, and it is so fun. Lot's of solos, and the dialogue can be split up to offer many parts to kids. I think it is available through Samuel French.

[Julian2]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 3:18pm

I agree with everything previously said, we need to be teaching children to think for themselves, and using them as a "political sounding board" is not going to encourage that. I find the whole idea quite disturbing. I would recommend Honk!, it comes in Jr. and Full Length.

[Enjolras77]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 3:27pm

That's funny because Honk was what the director originally wanted to do before the parent was given permission to direct this year's show.

The school is technically the performing arts school, but it is also a public school, so there is no true audition process. Although, their work is always of top quality, their show choices for middle school are always pretty much in line with other middle schools. That is why this selection seemed so out of place.

[Joelbeans]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 8:29pm

Honk! is a great show, Seussical is a great show for a kids group too. I just directed the full version last summer with kids ranging in age from 5-21 years old. It was one of the best shows I have done. I had some amazing leads and a wonderful support staff. People cam up to me after the show, and told me they had seen the show many times, since it is so popular at the moment, and they said this one blew the others away. A lot of people hadn't heard the show performed with a fairly full orchestra, and our musicians were great. Our lights were like a rock concert, and the set was adorable. My best friend and I did the costumes and they kicked ass.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 9:19pm

i did this show waaay back in 1997 when i was at san diego state... we kept the libreto pretty much the same and updated some of the language... but the lyrcis... geez... we took out entire verses from the songs and stuff... we also went to the orginal book and added "lines" and "dialogue" that we felt would be more updated... and personally... i don't think 11 year olds could do this show... in fact, we had an entire group of kids leave at intermission... i think their parents were offended...

[AnythingCanHappen]

Posted: 12/5/06 at 12:19am

What does the principal/dean/whatever of the school think of this? I think its innapropriate for 11/12 year olds to be doing a show about war. No good. I did a show about anti-tobacco at that age... but NOT war.