Open Forum

I'd love to hear from folx who have done this show - what worked? what surprised you? what was a delight? what do you wish you'd known going in? what resources were essential to your success?

AND...which version do you recommend for middle schoolers - Jr or one act? I was under the impression the Junior version would only be one act so I'm unclear what the difference between them is. Thanks!

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Carla
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Hello,

I have only directed the full version of High School Musical; however, in looking at the online descriptions, there are a few songs that are not included in the Jr. version:  "Cellular Fusion," "I Can't Take My Eyes Off of You." "When There Was Me and You."(my favorite song in the show), and "Lie to You."). However, the one act version does include "When There Was Me and You."  Also, the Jr. version specifically lists the following characters that are not specifically listed in the full version:  Drum Major, Mrs. Tenny (chemistry teacher), and Moderator for the Science Decathlon who can be double cast as Ms. Tenny.

As far as which version is best for middle schoolers, Jr. versions are designed for middle schoolers and are also listed as a one act.  I have directed other Broadway Jr. shows, and you can make them as elaborate or as simple as you wish.  In general, our cast and audience enjoyed performing the show and its songs.  I would point out that you do need a full basketball team to do "Get'Cha Head in the Game" well.  We did it with a minimal number of players, but it would have been easier with a full "team" on stage."

I hope you find this information useful.

Good luck on whatever you decide to do,

Ken Robinson

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Kenneth Robinson
Drama Club Sponsor
Wapahani High School
Selma IN
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Good point about the basketball scene. Thank you!

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Carla
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-21-2022 09:44
From: Kenneth Robinson
Subject: MTI's High School Musical

Hello,

I have only directed the full version of High School Musical; however, in looking at the online descriptions, there are a few songs that are not included in the Jr. version:  "Cellular Fusion," "I Can't Take My Eyes Off of You." "When There Was Me and You."(my favorite song in the show), and "Lie to You."). However, the one act version does include "When There Was Me and You."  Also, the Jr. version specifically lists the following characters that are not specifically listed in the full version:  Drum Major, Mrs. Tenny (chemistry teacher), and Moderator for the Science Decathlon who can be double cast as Ms. Tenny.

As far as which version is best for middle schoolers, Jr. versions are designed for middle schoolers and are also listed as a one act.  I have directed other Broadway Jr. shows, and you can make them as elaborate or as simple as you wish.  In general, our cast and audience enjoyed performing the show and its songs.  I would point out that you do need a full basketball team to do "Get'Cha Head in the Game" well.  We did it with a minimal number of players, but it would have been easier with a full "team" on stage."

I hope you find this information useful.

Good luck on whatever you decide to do,

Ken Robinson

------------------------------
Kenneth Robinson
Drama Club Sponsor
Wapahani High School
Selma IN
------------------------------

Hi, our catholic school in Somerset, NJ did the JR version, which is one act. We did put an intermission in for our group, to give the kids a break and to let parents have time to purchase wish-grams. We have students in grades 6, 7 & 8. One think I wish I knew going into it was how heavy it is in choreography, and for the entire cast! We had to spend extra time refining choreography at rehearsals and coming up with slightly easier, cleaner moves (actually added some choreography specific rehearsals, which we have not done before for musicals). One thing that is great is that most kids know the music pretty well so the singing rehearsals were a little easier. You can also get away with minimal set and scenery, which is a plus. We used digital backdrops and key set pieces done well. Costumes are also easy since it is normal clothing for the most part. Overall, I would recommend the JR version from MTI, you will have fun! Hope this is helpful.

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Christine Taylor
St. Matthias School
NJ
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I'll make a note of that because we're much stronger in the singing department than the dancing. Thanks!

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Carla
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-21-2022 12:23
From: Christine Taylor
Subject: MTI's High School Musical

Hi, our catholic school in Somerset, NJ did the JR version, which is one act. We did put an intermission in for our group, to give the kids a break and to let parents have time to purchase wish-grams. We have students in grades 6, 7 & 8. One think I wish I knew going into it was how heavy it is in choreography, and for the entire cast! We had to spend extra time refining choreography at rehearsals and coming up with slightly easier, cleaner moves (actually added some choreography specific rehearsals, which we have not done before for musicals). One thing that is great is that most kids know the music pretty well so the singing rehearsals were a little easier. You can also get away with minimal set and scenery, which is a plus. We used digital backdrops and key set pieces done well. Costumes are also easy since it is normal clothing for the most part. Overall, I would recommend the JR version from MTI, you will have fun! Hope this is helpful.

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Christine Taylor
St. Matthias School
NJ
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I'll take a look at the roll of Troy. I'm less familiar with the male voices we've got right now so good to know. Thank you!

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Carla
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-21-2022 13:19
From: John Monteverde
Subject: MTI's High School Musical

When i ran a professional youth theater, i was one of the first company's to produce the show many many years ago and obviously it did great. I remounted it several times. But i've never done it in a high school. I figured at this point it would be very passe' but in fact i feel like it's having a resurgence. 

The movie was never really for high school students. It was a younger kid's fantasy of what high school would be like. And so kids who watched it when they were little have a lot of nostalgia for it. It makes me feel old to know that HSM is now a "classic."

I think it's a lovely show with a strong message. The only pitfall i recall is that the role of Troy is very hard to sing. It's very very high. At least in the regular version. Maybe that's changed in the Jr. version. It was troublesome though. I had a great young tenor playing Troy and he still struggled with some of the high notes. (to be fair Zach Efron didn't sing the role either). And if you are using prerecorded music it's hard to transpose. 

I think one of the delights was to discover how well known Kenny Ortegas choreography is. During "We're all in this together" we had audience members jumping out of their seats and dancing with us in the aisles. We brought some of them on stage with us for the mega mix.