I've seen versions where the Bend and Snap is changed into something more akin to a cheerleader snap and instead of breaking his nose, Paulette accidentally stabs his eye with a pen which honestly was hilarious and works really well.
My daughter was cast as Elle Woods (8th grade) in her middle school production of Legally Blonde Jr. It was a fantastic show that filled the theater. The girl that was cast as Kiki for Bend and Snap was phenomenal (she is also an 8th grader). The scene with Callahan was fine in that he tried to kiss Elle but didn’t get that far so it wasn’t weird or uncomfortable. I am thrilled the school did it and so happy that my daughter got to play such an Iconic role.
I wish they’d cut bend and snap instead of take it like a man, take it like a man is so important to Ella and Emmet’s relationship which is basically the heart of the show
Agreed! Bend and snap is just for the nostalgia/service to the original film, it doesn’t actually further the story or characters. I would have rather them kept it as a line, NOT an entire song, and then keep songs like “Take it Like a Man”, which does further the plot. Thanks for watching! 😊
@cayleejo heyy no hate at all I personally think they should've kept take it like a man but bend and snap slightly progresses plot bc Elle teaches Paulette, without teaching Paulette, she never would've broke ups guys nose, which means no phone call to Elle where she says "unless he's gay or something" which wouldn't lead to the events of there right there! unless they rewrote that specific scene
I did Legally Blonde Jr. Last summer and for our bunny costume we did the Christmas story bunny outfit and it was hilarious the whole audience was laughing, and for bend and snap the changed the lyrics to look at my face look at my eyes. I honestly think you should do it we had ages. 5-14 and everyone had a blast, even if you were ensemble it was the most fun play I have ever done and we changed the Elle and Callahan scene to him moving closer to her and it worked out fine
I directed the full version for our teen community theatre show. We only let actors 16 and up be in the Bend and Snap. It was one of our biggest sellers in years!
I think that's a great way to handle that song! I have always wanted to direct a show that bridges between age groups, but haven't had the opportunity yet. Someday!
How could you cut blood in the water oh my god it's vital and take it like man shows how elle betters Emmetts life just like how Emmett betters hers I appreciate they didn't cut elles scene with callaghan since i think portraying elles sexual assualt as inappropriate when its happens to so many people would be wrong its also a good message to show its not your fault especially to highschoolers
I was playing Professor Callahan for a production of Legally Blonde Jr, and I’d spent ages rehearsing Blood in the Water (I can still sing it word-for-word and as pitch perfect as a girl can get for a sing originally sung by a guy) only to find out it wasn’t in there. I was DEVASTATED. Blood in the Water is my favourite song from the Musical, and the ending to it SLAPS SO HARD! And I was so looking forward to ‘There! Right, There!’ As well! And they cut down Whipped into Shape, which is easily a masterpiece! It was fun, but I really want to do the full version! The songs are just too good! Also, thanks for making this video. I hardly ever see people talk about Legally Blonde Jr. Really appreciate this :)
My high school put on the full length Legally Blonde show and did amazingly! I did notice several parents and audience members being uncomfortable with some scenes but the actors handled it well.
My daughter did this show in middle school. She was Elle in 7th grade. They literally cut the best song in the entire show - Gay or European. Her teacher added Blood in the Water back in. It’s not my favorite musical but the junior version just doesn’t work as well as the full length show. We live in an area that’s quite open so I didn’t find Legally Blonde Jr weird for middle school.
also in bend and snap it is no longer the delta nus (margot, serena, and pilar) it is these new characters that they made up so thats also a huge difference
I've actually seen some high schools do the junior versions of shows but full length is def more common. There was a rebuilding period for my former high school's musical theatre program post-pandemic (less students and less staff in it) where they did a couple junior productions. They did The Lion King Jr. for their first show back (that's the only Lion King option at this time regardless) and Frozen Jr. last year. This year they're doing Seussical for the program's anniversary since it was one of the first shows the school done and I believe it's the full version but either way, it'll be a different version from the one done way back when because they did the Broadway version before and now the licenced show is the tour version.
My theory is this - I would MUCH rather see a high school absolutely nail a Jr. show, going all out with vocals, acting, choreography, set, props, lighting, etc. because it's a reduced "easier" version, than watch them stumble through a 2.5 hr. full length show, because that can be a monumental task for a program to tackle. Sometimes a Jr. show is just the best choice, and I see how LB Jr. could lend itself to being a great show for a HS to tackle. I love hearing that your school did Lion King Jr and Frozen Jr, just because those versions are the only ones available it doesn't mean that they're meant only for middle schools, and I love that your director recognizes that. I'm sure Seussical will be amazing!
I'm curious about the lines between Elle and Warner in "So Much Better", because the lines are very clearly intimate and sexual and Elle sort of moans during the lines so 😭
My middle school did this show and we took out the bend and snap and made it just a few lines. We also changed the bend and snap it's self to hand of your hip and snap to the side.
I feel like with all the junior shows I’ve seen it’s really hard to fully understand the plot. They have to cut and change so many things that it makes me wonder if shows should be written specifically for that skill/age range instead of altering an already existing show to fit that. Legally blonde jr isn’t the worst jr version I’ve ever seen (newsies jr was the worst I’ve seen) but I feel like it’s so hard to emulate the true energy of the show when there is significantly less emotional maturity with the cast regardless of their skill and it doesn’t help that it feels so rushed with the jr version of shows.
I completely understand that perspective! Chopping a 2.5 hour show down to just 1 hour means a lot of the story is lost, and some titles do that better than others. Although, I wonder if that is one of the reasons they keep taking well known full length titles and shortening them - that way the audience is mentally filling in any plot holes because they're so familiar with the title already...
Newsies Jr is a massacre of the original, so is Music Man Jr. @cayleejo I'd love to see your thoughts on both of these as well as Seussical Jr which somehow ended up being a super good adaptation of the full version where they even added a few smaller songs to make it flow better.
@@turkoala9193 It's interesting you mention Music Man as one of the worst Jr versions, because its always been the Jr version I'm okayest with. The only thing cut thing i REALLY care about is "Marian the Librarian". Is there a lot of important cut dialogue I'm not remembering?
As someone who as performed in the jr and proper version of legally blonde i can safely say as fun as the jr version is, the proper one really goes into a lot more depth
I don't think they should of cut Ireland reprise because I recon the main reason they have that is so Elle has time to change into the bunny costume because otherwise she only has like a minute to change and its not a costume you can just chuck on top of your clothes so it would take like at least 2 minutes, so they should of kept it in so there's more time. I'm curious to here what you think on this
That's a really great point and often a logistic that I don't think they take into consideration when adapting this scripts for Jr. shows, unfortunately!
My daughter was just Elle in Legally Blonde Jr. and she just wore a little white tennis dress for the bunny scene, still cute, modest and totally appropriate for a 14 year old.
I found a production of legally blonde jr on yt where both positive and bitw were added back in. And in August of this year I did this production, and oh god we had made SO MANY cuts. The Harvard Variations scene is CUT, and chip on my shoulder was changed into dialogue 🙄🙄, there was no intermission unlike every legally blonde jr show I’ve seen on yt, callahans singing parts were changed to speaking parts, we went straight from the end of the case scene, to callahans office (no bend and snap scene), and we only kept ONE part of LB REMIX. They wanted to make at ONE HOUR NOTHING MORE. 🙄🙄🙄
From what I understand there is no legal (able to be licensed/produced) Heathers Jr. in existence. At least I cannot find anything on the website of the publisher who owns the rights (Concord Theatricals). There is a "Heathers Teen Edition" meant more for high school performers that I am hoping to review at some point :)
YES! A (non-school-related) youth company I used to be in is producing it in 2024, and they very rarely do jr or youth versions of shows unless there's no full version available for licensing (for example, they did The Lion King jr and Frozen jr as 2 out of 4 shows in their 2021-22 season because full-length versions aren't out, and they're currently doing Finding Nemo jr for that same reason). But 9 times out of 10 they do full-length versions, and I know both versions of Anastasia exist, so I was wondering what differences made the youth version work better for them?
I feel like the Jr version still isn't "appropriate". This might just be bc I live in a fairly Christian area, but "Ohmigod You Guys" wouldn't even fly at most schools around here.
I completely understand! I taught in a rural high school for 3 years and that song would have sent a lot of audience members out the door unfortunately.
I've seen versions where the Bend and Snap is changed into something more akin to a cheerleader snap and instead of breaking his nose, Paulette accidentally stabs his eye with a pen which honestly was hilarious and works really well.
That is a creative work around!
My daughter was cast as Elle Woods (8th grade) in her middle school production of Legally Blonde Jr. It was a fantastic show that filled the theater. The girl that was cast as Kiki for Bend and Snap was phenomenal (she is also an 8th grader). The scene with Callahan was fine in that he tried to kiss Elle but didn’t get that far so it wasn’t weird or uncomfortable. I am thrilled the school did it and so happy that my daughter got to play such an Iconic role.
I wish they’d cut bend and snap instead of take it like a man, take it like a man is so important to Ella and Emmet’s relationship which is basically the heart of the show
Agreed! Bend and snap is just for the nostalgia/service to the original film, it doesn’t actually further the story or characters. I would have rather them kept it as a line, NOT an entire song, and then keep songs like “Take it Like a Man”, which does further the plot. Thanks for watching! 😊
@cayleejo heyy no hate at all I personally think they should've kept take it like a man but bend and snap slightly progresses plot bc Elle teaches Paulette, without teaching Paulette, she never would've broke ups guys nose, which means no phone call to Elle where she says "unless he's gay or something" which wouldn't lead to the events of there right there! unless they rewrote that specific scene
I did Legally Blonde Jr. Last summer and for our bunny costume we did the Christmas story bunny outfit and it was hilarious the whole audience was laughing, and for bend and snap the changed the lyrics to look at my face look at my eyes. I honestly think you should do it we had ages. 5-14 and everyone had a blast, even if you were ensemble it was the most fun play I have ever done and we changed the Elle and Callahan scene to him moving closer to her and it worked out fine
I directed the full version for our teen community theatre show. We only let actors 16 and up be in the Bend and Snap. It was one of our biggest sellers in years!
I think that's a great way to handle that song! I have always wanted to direct a show that bridges between age groups, but haven't had the opportunity yet. Someday!
How could you cut blood in the water oh my god it's vital
and take it like man shows how elle betters Emmetts life just like how Emmett betters hers
I appreciate they didn't cut elles scene with callaghan since i think portraying elles sexual assualt as inappropriate when its happens to so many people would be wrong
its also a good message to show its not your fault especially to highschoolers
I was playing Professor Callahan for a production of Legally Blonde Jr, and I’d spent ages rehearsing Blood in the Water (I can still sing it word-for-word and as pitch perfect as a girl can get for a sing originally sung by a guy) only to find out it wasn’t in there. I was DEVASTATED. Blood in the Water is my favourite song from the Musical, and the ending to it SLAPS SO HARD!
And I was so looking forward to ‘There! Right, There!’ As well! And they cut down Whipped into Shape, which is easily a masterpiece! It was fun, but I really want to do the full version! The songs are just too good!
Also, thanks for making this video. I hardly ever see people talk about Legally Blonde Jr. Really appreciate this :)
My high school put on the full length Legally Blonde show and did amazingly! I did notice several parents and audience members being uncomfortable with some scenes but the actors handled it well.
My daughter did this show in middle school. She was Elle in 7th grade. They literally cut the best song in the entire show - Gay or European. Her teacher added Blood in the Water back in. It’s not my favorite musical but the junior version just doesn’t work as well as the full length show. We live in an area that’s quite open so I didn’t find Legally Blonde Jr weird for middle school.
also in bend and snap it is no longer the delta nus (margot, serena, and pilar) it is these new characters that they made up so thats also a huge difference
I've actually seen some high schools do the junior versions of shows but full length is def more common. There was a rebuilding period for my former high school's musical theatre program post-pandemic (less students and less staff in it) where they did a couple junior productions. They did The Lion King Jr. for their first show back (that's the only Lion King option at this time regardless) and Frozen Jr. last year. This year they're doing Seussical for the program's anniversary since it was one of the first shows the school done and I believe it's the full version but either way, it'll be a different version from the one done way back when because they did the Broadway version before and now the licenced show is the tour version.
My theory is this - I would MUCH rather see a high school absolutely nail a Jr. show, going all out with vocals, acting, choreography, set, props, lighting, etc. because it's a reduced "easier" version, than watch them stumble through a 2.5 hr. full length show, because that can be a monumental task for a program to tackle. Sometimes a Jr. show is just the best choice, and I see how LB Jr. could lend itself to being a great show for a HS to tackle. I love hearing that your school did Lion King Jr and Frozen Jr, just because those versions are the only ones available it doesn't mean that they're meant only for middle schools, and I love that your director recognizes that. I'm sure Seussical will be amazing!
I’m playing Emmett in Jr and I practiced Chip on your Shoulder so much just to find out half of the song isn’t even in there 😭😭
I'm curious about the lines between Elle and Warner in "So Much Better", because the lines are very clearly intimate and sexual and Elle sort of moans during the lines so 😭
I'm pretty sure they just cut an entire half of the song
They cut that - there’s no moaning in the junior version.
I played Pilar in my high school production this year as a freshman! Loved it
That's wonderful! Pilar seems like such a fun role!
My middle school did this show and we took out the bend and snap and made it just a few lines. We also changed the bend and snap it's self to hand of your hip and snap to the side.
I feel like with all the junior shows I’ve seen it’s really hard to fully understand the plot. They have to cut and change so many things that it makes me wonder if shows should be written specifically for that skill/age range instead of altering an already existing show to fit that. Legally blonde jr isn’t the worst jr version I’ve ever seen (newsies jr was the worst I’ve seen) but I feel like it’s so hard to emulate the true energy of the show when there is significantly less emotional maturity with the cast regardless of their skill and it doesn’t help that it feels so rushed with the jr version of shows.
I completely understand that perspective! Chopping a 2.5 hour show down to just 1 hour means a lot of the story is lost, and some titles do that better than others. Although, I wonder if that is one of the reasons they keep taking well known full length titles and shortening them - that way the audience is mentally filling in any plot holes because they're so familiar with the title already...
Newsies Jr is a massacre of the original, so is Music Man Jr. @cayleejo I'd love to see your thoughts on both of these as well as Seussical Jr which somehow ended up being a super good adaptation of the full version where they even added a few smaller songs to make it flow better.
@@turkoala9193 It's interesting you mention Music Man as one of the worst Jr versions, because its always been the Jr version I'm okayest with. The only thing cut thing i REALLY care about is "Marian the Librarian". Is there a lot of important cut dialogue I'm not remembering?
As someone who as performed in the jr and proper version of legally blonde i can safely say as fun as the jr version is, the proper one really goes into a lot more depth
Could you do a comparison of Hairspray and Hairspray JR. / Willy Wonka JR. and Charlie & the Chocolate Factory / Matilda JR. and Matilda the Musical
All great suggestions, Thankyou!
My high school is doing the full version of legally blonde next year!
This was awesome!! Could you do Newsies vs Newsies Jr next?
Thankyou! I can add it to my to do list! :)
This school year my kids and I are going to do Legally Blonde Jr. in a middle school located in Mexico Cit. I'm super excited about this play.
I don't think they should of cut Ireland reprise because I recon the main reason they have that is so Elle has time to change into the bunny costume because otherwise she only has like a minute to change and its not a costume you can just chuck on top of your clothes so it would take like at least 2 minutes, so they should of kept it in so there's more time. I'm curious to here what you think on this
That's a really great point and often a logistic that I don't think they take into consideration when adapting this scripts for Jr. shows, unfortunately!
My daughter was just Elle in Legally Blonde Jr. and she just wore a little white tennis dress for the bunny scene, still cute, modest and totally appropriate for a 14 year old.
I found a production of legally blonde jr on yt where both positive and bitw were added back in.
And in August of this year I did this production, and oh god we had made SO MANY cuts. The Harvard Variations scene is CUT, and chip on my shoulder was changed into dialogue 🙄🙄, there was no intermission unlike every legally blonde jr show I’ve seen on yt, callahans singing parts were changed to speaking parts, we went straight from the end of the case scene, to callahans office (no bend and snap scene), and we only kept ONE part of LB REMIX. They wanted to make at ONE HOUR NOTHING MORE. 🙄🙄🙄
Could you do a review like this for Heathers Jr? I’ve seen clips, but I don’t know how they could make it even close to appropriate.
From what I understand there is no legal (able to be licensed/produced) Heathers Jr. in existence. At least I cannot find anything on the website of the publisher who owns the rights (Concord Theatricals). There is a "Heathers Teen Edition" meant more for high school performers that I am hoping to review at some point :)
I’m doing legally blonde at my school and the kiss scene was changed to a touch on the shoulder instead
You should do one for Chicago high school edition!
YES! It's on my list :)
How did you know i was listening to Legally Blonde!!!💗💗💗
In the JR. show I saw, they didn’t have a kiss during that scene, instead had Callahan wrap his arm around Elle’s shoulder.
I played emmett Forrest in the jr version
Could you do into the woods jr? I want to know how it compares to the full length version
YES! It's on my to do list!
Ooo I really enjoyed this video as next summer I’m doing Legally Blonde Jr with a summer camp, that my brother in college is music directing!
I’m in tech week for Legally Blonde jr at my school! I’m a Delta Nu.
Break a leg! 🎭
@@cayleejo Thank you!
Junior veeion shows can be up to 1 hour and 45 minutes
Can you do Children of Eden jr? And the differences?
Can you do a video on Anastasia Youth Edition? I’m curious what they changed and no one ever talks about it!
YES! I've been wanting to dig into this one ever since it was released.
YES! A (non-school-related) youth company I used to be in is producing it in 2024, and they very rarely do jr or youth versions of shows unless there's no full version available for licensing (for example, they did The Lion King jr and Frozen jr as 2 out of 4 shows in their 2021-22 season because full-length versions aren't out, and they're currently doing Finding Nemo jr for that same reason). But 9 times out of 10 they do full-length versions, and I know both versions of Anastasia exist, so I was wondering what differences made the youth version work better for them?
I feel like the Jr version still isn't "appropriate". This might just be bc I live in a fairly Christian area, but "Ohmigod You Guys" wouldn't even fly at most schools around here.
I completely understand! I taught in a rural high school for 3 years and that song would have sent a lot of audience members out the door unfortunately.
my middle school did this show last spring and we literally changed every omigod to omigosh
i guess they did it illegally
The show should have been “Illegally Blonde” then 😂
@@blueberrysussy3578LOL
legally blonde is the perfect musical for everyone and you neeed to do it
We all know why Gay or European was cut 😂
My friend is auditioning for legally blonde this fall, so I'm trying to help her out help.her practice etc
That's so nice of you!
@@cayleejo thanks!