Child productions

[Talissa]

After recently hearing about a production of Les Mis in which the oldest actors were 14, I'd like to ask whether you have any thoughts on child productions of shows.

Now, ordinarily I don't have too much of an issue with high schools putting on Les Mis, because there are 16-18 year olds as well as the younger children. However, a lot of the roles are very demanding vocally and could be harmful when attempted by a 14 year old. I'm especially thinking of Valjean here. Even in a shortened version he has a lot of singing at a very demanding range. I wouldn't want to see a Valjean who was any younger than 16, at the very least.

Also, some musicals, such as Chicago and Cabaret are inherently inappropriate for child casts. What others do you think should be avoided by young casts, and are there specific roles or shows which you think shouldn't be attempted by anyone under a certain age?

~Julia

[magic8ball]

::shudders at the thought of Valjean being played by a fourteen-year-old::

I know which production you are talking about, and I don't particularly like the thought of such a young cast attempting to put on such an elaborate show. I think that shows which could be performed by younger casts have been so spotted by their creators and now constitute the Broadway Jr. series, and anything that is not part of this series has obviously been deemed too hard for younger casts to perform.

Other shows that I think should not be attempted by younger casts:

Sweeney Todd
Jekyll & Hyde
Assassins

-John

[RoseFyre]

Talissa said:

Also, some musicals, such as Chicago and Cabaret are inherently inappropriate for child casts. What others do you think should be avoided by young casts, and are there specific roles or shows which you think shouldn't be attempted by anyone under a certain age?

~Julia

So true, so true. Here in New York, every February (I think) there's a night called Kids' Night on Broadway, where, for each adult going to the show, you get a free kid's ticket. And, for some reason, Cabaret and Chicago were both offered as possibilities for this. I was about 16 at the time, and I remember my mom refusing to let me see either of those shows...I can only imagine how a 12 year old would've reacted.

Good shows, totally wrong age range.

[Talissa]

RoseFyre said:

So true, so true. Here in New York, every February (I think) there's a night called Kids' Night on Broadway, where, for each adult going to the show, you get a free kid's ticket. And, for some reason, Cabaret and Chicago were both offered as possibilities for this. I was about 16 at the time, and I remember my mom refusing to let me see either of those shows...I can only imagine how a 12 year old would've reacted.

Good shows, totally wrong age range.

That also brings up the question of whether musicals should have ratings, the way television and films do. Because there are some musicals, as we've pointed out, which have themes which really aren't suitable for young children, and a parent might not always be aware of that when they take their child. For example, not everyone knows about the nudity in Hair.

~Julia

[Buff]

Has anyone seen a "Jr" show? I haven't and I would be interested to hear people's opinion on them.

As for show that really young kids shouldn't do, one I would suggest would be "Godspell". As much as I love the show, there are some deep theological issues that a young kid would not understand and would have difficulty portraying. Plus the crucifiction at the end is pretty intense emotionally.

Buff

[Talissa]

Actually, I'd be less tentative about Godspell Jr than Les Mis Jr, because a lot of the music in Godspell is light-hearted enough that it can be performed without delving too deeply into the themes that are behind the songs, instead just appearing to be a colourful religious piece. The same goes for Into the Woods.

Les Mis, however, is innately dark, so it is hard to do without touching on the background themes, and even if that was managed, it's a very emotional piece.

I understand what you're saying about the crucifixion, though.

~Julia

[Buff]

Talissa said:

Actually, I'd be less tentative about Godspell Jr than Les Mis Jr, because a lot of the music in Godspell is light-hearted enough that it can be performed without delving too deeply into the themes that are behind the songs, instead just appearing to be a colourful religious piece. The same goes for Into the Woods.

If you don't delve into the themes, then you might as well just have a song and dance show. It would be like taking the deaths at the barricades and Javert's suicide out of Les Mis

Buff

[Talissa]

But if you're going to have a child production, then there aren't many themes in any show which could be properly portrayed and understood by the actors, so most child productions would be song and dance shows, as far as I can tell. Correct me if I'm wrong, though, because I haven't seen any child productions.

~Julia

[Buff]

It would also depend on your definition of "child".

Looking at the school I work at, grades 1-6 are at one campus and 7-12 at another. The senior campus could handle full blown versions of shows (previously done - My Fair Lady; Annie; Little Shop of Horrors; Pirates of Penzance; Oliver) while the juniors stick to "lighter" fair (Alice in Wonderland; Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn)

Buff

[AcrylicDrama]

If the older ones in Les Mis were 14 how old would Gavroche, Young Cosette, and Young Eponine be?

I'm dying to be in Les Mis!