Junior versions of shows are versions meant to be performed by (generally) younger students, or in places with lower budgets or places that have restrictions. Middle schools, for example, don't often have students with the range and prowess to perform full musicals as written as anyone who has worked with 12-14 year olds on a regular basis has experience with. The harmonies are simplified, the plotlines are streamlined, songs are cut for time. And the most striking feature is that they DO NOT come with an orchestration, which necessitates using the CD that comes with it or simply using piano to accompany it. I'm sure some Jr. HS musicians could play part of a full orchestration but they are rare kids.
"School Edition" musicals are musicals that have generally been edited for content, cuts are minor. And they give the original creatives a way to present their work with their OWN changes as opposed to whatever garbage I could come up with. I generally won't make changes to a script or score- so I would never choose a show with content I'd feel uncomfortable working on with teens or presenting to parents. So a school edition often makes things a little easier to chose a show where someone has already done those minor edits themselves. And they generally are minor. Only the "Rent" school edition and "Avenue Q" school edition make major changes. Those are titles I've always passed on anyway. |
