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  • 1.  The Music Man, Broadway Jr.

    Posted 02-11-2016 15:46
    Has anyone done this junior musical? How difficult is the vocal music for the quartet compared to the full length version? I can't tell from the web site how many songs they are singing.

    Thanks!

    --
    Ann Hileman, M.A.
    State Chapter Director, Indiana Thespians
    Indiana Thespian Hall of Fame
     
    Maconaquah High School
    256 East 800 South
    Bunker Hill, IN 46914
    765-689-9131 x 5550 (phone)
    765-689-9528 (fax)
     


  • 2.  RE: The Music Man, Broadway Jr.

    Posted 02-11-2016 20:52
    Can't answer the specifics of your question (re: compare & contrast the differences). But have you looked over the audition material on the MTI website? They have the same score snippet of audition material for these 4 characters:
    Ewart Dunlop
    Oliver Hix
    Jacey Squires
    Olin Britt
     
    Click on this link to Audition Central, then choose Music Man from the drop-down menu (ugh - it's alphabetical under 'T').
     
    But the specifics would be answered by getting your hands on a copy of the student libretto/vocal book. Not sure what they charge these days for a perusal, but it is nominal (plus S&H).
     
    The Upcoming Shows search function on MTI's new website is clunky to deal with, but I found these upcoming productions as closest to you:
    The Music Man JR. at Taft MS
    1000 South Main
    Crown Point, IN 46307
     
    The Music Man JR. at The Newton Center
    601 N. Michigan Street
    Lakeville, IN 46614
     
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    Michael McDonough
    New York NY

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: The Music Man, Broadway Jr.

    Posted 02-12-2016 07:21

    We are doing the show right now at our middle school, and I've done it once before.

    It is a fantastic middle school play (good ensemble numbers, lots of kids ...), but in some respects, I feel it has been a bit 'over-juniorized'  compared to some other Broadway Jr. shows.  For example, the scene in which Harold tries to sell to the Mayor is cut (it is only about a page long in the original, and funny!), and Tommy doesn't get to create a music holder for the marching piccolo player (again, such a little bit, but so significant for the actors playing Tommy and Zaneeta!).

    The School Board songs are some of the 'hardest hit.'  They sing the "Ice Cream" chords, modified to work with middle school vocal ranges, then one line of "Sincere" ("How can there be any sin in sincere? Aren't we sincerely in love? Oh, we're in love.")  "Good Night Ladies" is similarly short (GNL x 3, We're going to leave you now.) and that is it!  All the parts are modified in terms of range, but the chords do still sound nice.  "Lida Rose" is totally gone, as is "It's You" - which seem like very sensible Junior version cuts.

    If you have moderately okay middle school singers, they will be fine.  We have strong ones, and they are a little bummed about how little they have to do!  

    Hope that helps!

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    Kristin Hall
    Drama Director
    Lincoln Public Schools
    Arlington MA

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: The Music Man, Broadway Jr.

    Posted 02-12-2016 07:54

    I, too, can't speak to the differences between the Jr. and the Full-Length -- as a high school program with a few under our belts before we attempted The Music Man, I went all-in on the full version.  I can say that, if the quartet was your only major concern away from the full version, there's always the option we did: casting adults as the quartet.

    We had the School Board played by four teachers -- it made a few scenes tricky to block around, as I knew I wasn't going to ask my fellow colleagues to come in as frequently as the students, but we managed to make it work, and I know the students had a blast singing and acting alongside some of their teachers.  It's not a gag I'd do all the time, but for something like those characters -- whose roles are fairly limited -- it ended up being the right fit for us.  Something to consider, maybe?

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    Russell Paulette
    Rappahannock County Public Schools
    Washington VA

    Original Message