Most elementary school Musicals I have been to were done on a shoe string. What little budget the school provided went to renting the show, a few important costumes, a couple of body mics, and building sets.
So when I go to a show at an elementary school that is able to rent an expensive show package, such as Disney's "Alice in Wonderland," complete with script, stage directions, prerecorded score, plus has enough budget left to cover delightful costumes for 100 kids, props, sets, and at least eight lavalier mics, that leaves me speechless. A school that also has two follow spots, a lot of ambient lighting effects, risers for the ensemble choir, stage lighting, professionally painted backdrops, and operable stage drapes is almost unbelievable.
So when I go to a show at an elementary school that is able to rent an expensive show package, such as Disney's "Alice in Wonderland," complete with script, stage directions, prerecorded score, plus has enough budget left to cover delightful costumes for 100 kids, props, sets, and at least eight lavalier mics, that leaves me speechless. A school that also has two follow spots, a lot of ambient lighting effects, risers for the ensemble choir, stage lighting, professionally painted backdrops, and operable stage drapes is almost unbelievable.
My granddaughter's school mounted this production, that was generally really good. The decorations for the stage and around the hall were so cute, and quite expensive looking. For example, cute large flowers were made out of craft foam. They were much sturdier than construction paper and held up very well. They mirrored the "flower" characters' costumes, that were also made of craft foam. It is doubtful that the families of the cast members had to provide much at all beyond shoes and black "basics" of long-sleeved teeshirt and pants.
Then, there were the other costumes like the deck of cards, shrimp Sailors, characters at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, Cheshire Cats, and so forth. Great care was taken to make these costumes look so great.
I just wonder where they got their funding for all of this. Nothing for this show looked cheap.
Then, there were the other costumes like the deck of cards, shrimp Sailors, characters at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, Cheshire Cats, and so forth. Great care was taken to make these costumes look so great.
I just wonder where they got their funding for all of this. Nothing for this show looked cheap.
However, I have a bone to pick with the production. The music backgrounds were so busy and highly produced that we in the audience could barely follow the singing. It is always difficult to follow individual characters singing when ALL of the voices are in treble clef.
The songs were reworked and updated from the 1950's Disney animated feature. Since the child characters could not be expected to be anything like the animated characters of the movie, voiced by professional actors, most of the songs were changed to be upbeat ensemble numbers. A lot of the charm of the original songs was negated by the added words, different rhythms, and busy orchestrations. Too bad.
The songs were reworked and updated from the 1950's Disney animated feature. Since the child characters could not be expected to be anything like the animated characters of the movie, voiced by professional actors, most of the songs were changed to be upbeat ensemble numbers. A lot of the charm of the original songs was negated by the added words, different rhythms, and busy orchestrations. Too bad.
This was a beautifully rendered artistic production and delightful to look at. However, it was hard to follow because of the very loud music and the out of tune singing (yelling). Oh, how I wish that more could be done to train young actors how to sing well and in tune. That would go a long way to help an artistically appealing show become much better show!
P.S I have since found out from my daughter that for this school production, the parents of the cast members were required to give monetary support or volunteer service in order for their kids to be involved. A professional artist provided the lavishly painted backdrops. Some professional seamstresses designed and provided imaginative costumes. Many more parents helped on committees. Wow!
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