Spamalot: The School Edition

[+ poolboy48220]

I'm seeing this tomorrow at the high school my niece & nephew attended. I've seen Spamalot's touring show when it came to Detroit, and am pretty familiar with the soundtrack. I'm laughingly looking forward to what they'll change to make it "The School Edition", appropriate for a younger crowd. I'm pretty sure Patsy won't call King Arthur a twat, but will they eliminate Lancelot's coming-out entirely?

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

I really dislike 'school editions' of any show.

 

Do it as written or don't do it at all.

[+ poolboy48220]

I have no expectations that it's going to meet the standards of any professional adult show, but it'll be fun.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

I have no expectations that it's going to meet the standards of any professional adult show, but it'll be fun.

 

And a little pre-show cocktail never hurt anyone

[+ quoththeraven]

I really dislike 'school editions' of any show.

 

Do it as written or don't do it at all.

I was left cold by the touring production of Les Miz and loved a local high school's production.

 

And in terms of staging and performance, that high school production (with maybe one exception) was as good or better than the professional one. The set wasn't as elaborate, but that was an advantage; I found the touring company's rotating set alienating rather than helpful.

 

My daughter's high school put on a production of Rent about 8 years ago. It may have been shorter, but the gay aspects of the show weren't cut, and couldn't have been.

[bostonman]

I really dislike 'school editions' of any show.

 

Do it as written or don't do it at all.

 

But you're not taking into account that most schools don't ever "do it as written." I've rarely seen (or done) a high school production of ANY musical that hasn't made some significant changes to the material - songs cut, dances cut, scenes reworked to make them lass "adult" and on and on. And especially in terms of music, I've worked with my share of music teachers who have no real experience in being musical director for a show, and don't know how to handle effective ways of making cuts, adapting huge complex arrangements for inexperienced singers, etc. So one of the reasons the licensing companies started doing the "school editions" (and "jr" shows, etc) is to help make informed and reasonable adaptations.

 

Now, I agree that some of them don't work well - they can go too far and make too many changes. But I think they can be a decent alternative to having drama and music teachers trying to make changes themselves without really knowing how to do it well.

 

Interesting that the Les Miserables School Edition does NOT make any changes in language. (Or, at least it didn't at the time some years back that I played in the pit for several productions of it.) Mme. Thenardier still sings "lifelong shit" and "raise it up the master's ass," and refers to her husband as a bastard (and the "not much there" lyric referring to his, um, manhood is still there too), plus the Dock scene still has the lyric about "even stokers need a little stoke." There are no indications that changes to those lyrics are permitted, though of course every school has to decide how to handle that on their own, permission or not.

 

But then there are misfires like the Avenue Q School Edition changing the iconic comedy of "The Internet Is For Porn" into a very weak tea rewrite about Facebook called "My Social Life Is Online." Awful. They should have just cut the song instead.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

But you're not taking into account that most schools don't ever "do it as written." I've rarely seen (or done) a high school production of ANY musical that hasn't made some significant changes to the material - songs cut, dances cut, scenes reworked to make them lass "adult" and on and on. And especially in terms of music, I've worked with my share of music teachers who have no real experience in being musical director for a show, and don't know how to handle effective ways of making cuts, adapting huge complex arrangements for inexperienced singers, etc. So one of the reasons the licensing companies started doing the "school editions" (and "jr" shows, etc) is to help make informed and reasonable adaptations.

 

Now, I agree that some of them don't work well - they can go too far and make too many changes. But I think they can be a decent alternative to having drama and music teachers trying to make changes themselves without really knowing how to do it well.

 

Interesting that the Les Miserables School Edition does NOT make any changes in language. (Or, at least it didn't at the time some years back that I played in the pit for several productions of it.) Mme. Thenardier still sings "lifelong shit" and "raise it up the master's ass," and refers to her husband as a bastard (and the "not much there" lyric referring to his, um, manhood is still there too), plus the Dock scene still has the lyric about "even stokers need a little stoke." There are no indications that changes to those lyrics are permitted, though of course every school has to decide how to handle that on their own, permission or not.

 

But then there are misfires like the Avenue Q School Edition changing the iconic comedy of "The Internet Is For Porn" into a very weak tea rewrite about Facebook called "My Social Life Is Online." Awful. They should have just cut the song instead.

 

Agree completely.

 

I rarely see HS productions stick to the book, the staging or the music as intended. Legally, that's a dicey move if you don't have permission... And that's rarely granted.

 

I really dislike HS theater teachers who butcher a production simply because they think they can. It happens a lot. In this age of internet, it's getting tougher for them to get away with it without having their hand slapped by MTI or Tams-Wit (or whomever is licensing out the show).

 

As for the HS versions of shows, I would agree that some shows just aren't suitable for those audiences. Then again, if you can get the writers to agree to butcher their own show in the name of extra income, I suppose that's their prerogative. It is, after all, their baby. I just find it a bit sad.

[bostonman]

As for the HS versions of shows, I would agree that some shows just aren't suitable for those audiences. Then again, if you can get the writers to agree to butcher their own show in the name of extra income, I suppose that's their prerogative. It is, after all, their baby. I just find it a bit sad.

 

Well, again, I think that there is more artistic merit to this than you do, lol. To a large degree, I'm sure that the writers would rather have some say into how a show should be adapted for youngsters, instead of others making those decisions for them. The fact is that teens are of course going to want to get their chance to do shows like Rent, even if some may feel it's not the best choice. So I don't think that there adaptations are always about the money.

 

In the case of a show like Spamalot, I would actually think that the target audience for the show is more around my age - those of us that were growing up when Monty Python was in their heyday. But, there's of course a lot to be said for legacy and for young performers learning how to play that kind of zany comedy, so I don't have an issue with it. I don't know what the adaptations in the school version are.

 

Having had the privilege of working on a number of new pieces, I will say that a majority of composers/lyricists are quite eager to adapt their material to suit the performer(s) - but they also like to be asked at very least, and when they can also be involved in the process it's even better. This is one way they can be involved in, and have some control over, how their work is performed and seen. And that seems reasonable to me.

[+ poolboy48220]

Well, they cut out the complete number where Sir Lancelot comes out of the closet. There were a few hints of him being gay in the scene where he rescues Prince Herbert, but that was it. I noticed some minor modifications of the lyrics. I enjoyed the show.

[+ quoththeraven]

Otherwise we might as well prohibit high schools from putting on any musicals, or limit them to musicals created prior to some arbitrary date. That's limiting and a little ridiculous. Are kids interested in musical theater going to have to wait until college to participate in it, or hope they're lucky enough to have a children's theater group in town like the one my daughter participated in? (She got to do Big, The King and I, The Sound of Music and High School Musical.)

 

If they charge money for performances, they have to have rights clearances from Samuel French or whomever. What that gets you in terms of cuts I don't know, but I'm sure the rights administrator is aware that they happen.

[bostonman]

If they charge money for performances, they have to have rights clearances from Samuel French or whomever. What that gets you in terms of cuts I don't know, but I'm sure the rights administrator is aware that they happen.

 

The contracts always say that no cuts or changes are allowed without permission. Now, obviously, especially in the case of school productions, the companies are quite aware that cuts and changes will happen. And I doubt anyone's ever been fined for minor cuts - those can be expected. But larger alterations are supposed to be cleared with the company - and of course this doesn't always happen. Schools and theatres with higher visibility certainly need to be more careful.

 

And of course things do happen in the professional world as well. There's an infamous example of a New England regional theatre doing a production of Annie with a changed ending - in this concept, the final scene wasn't the expected happy ending, but a scene that showed Annie back at the orphanage, with the whole show having been just a dream. They got a cease-and-desist order and were ordered to perform the show as written.

 

But - I once participated in a production of Once Upon A Mattress where the director wanted to make Winnifred (the Carol Burnett role) a gay male and turn the sexuality of the show on its head a little. He asked for permission, and was told he could do it, as long as none of the text (lyrics or book) were changed in order to make this happen. It was a very clever production, and worked very well. I'm glad the director was given the chance to try this. But I guarantee you, had he not asked for permission, the production could have been in danger of being shut down.

[foxy]

I went to an all boy Catholic high school. Every year we put on a play. Girls were imported from a Catholic all girls school. I was involved in painting sets. We put on some great shows.

One year we did Annie Get Your Gun and the next The King and I.

Since both of these productions involved the boys showing lots of skin the brother who was directing the shows thought the boys should not have any body hair.

He had them come down to the gym locker room where he would shave them from the neck down while they stood there in their underwear. No one, including the parents of the boys thought anything was wrong with this. How creepy is that?

[+ Cash4Trash]

It wasn't all that creepy until he decided he needed to shave the boys involved in painting the sets too.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

I went to an all boy Catholic high school. Every year we put on a play. Girls were imported from a Catholic all girls school. I was involved in painting sets. We put on some great shows.

One year we did Annie Get Your Gun and the next The King and I.

Since both of these productions involved the boys showing lots of skin the brother who was directing the shows thought the boys should not have any body hair.

He had them come down to the gym locker room where he would shave them from the neck down while they stood there in their underwear. No one, including the parents of the boys thought anything was wrong with this. How creepy is that?

 

What. The. Fuck.

[bostonman]

What. The. Fuck.

 

Agreed.

 

I know it's the habit of some athletes to shave their body hair (swimmers, for instance, because of the theory that hair gets in the way of speed), but I assume that those that do that are mostly left to their own grooming. Same with male dancers who may shave their pits, etc. (I think that used to a common aesthetic choice, but not so much anymore.) It sounds like the "brother" in charge of these productions wasn't exactly thinking with his aesthetic head...

 

I remember doing a (quite good) youth theatre production of The King And I some years back. I remember the rehearsal where the teen playing the King decided to rip his shirt off during the (attempted) flogging scene - which made for a striking dramatic choice, but the director being rather conservative, he wasn't allowed to do that in the actual show. Which ultimately was probably a better choice in context of the production.