Choosing the Right Musical: Seven Schools Share Their Approach
How does a school pick their next musical? We're breaking it down.
Every school theatre season ends with a simple question: What's next?
For theatre educators, answering that question is one of the most exciting—and challenging—parts of the year. Long before auditions are announced or rehearsals begin, directors spend months searching for the right title, weighing everything from the strengths of their students and educational opportunities to technical demands and community appeal. Sometimes it's a beloved classic. Other times it's an unexpected discovery that simply feels right.
BroadwayWorld spoke with educators from seven schools that recently licensed musicals through Music Theatre International (MTI) about how they selected this year's productions. While every program had its own priorities, one thing quickly became clear: choosing a musical is about much more than picking a favorite show.
It Starts with the Students
For many directors, the students themselves are the deciding factor.
At Rider University, director Linda Lorence-Critelli selected 9 to 5 because it perfectly matched the performers in her program. "The show has great roles for leading females and roles that have a lot of depth and a chance to show comedy chops," she explained. "We had seniors that were perfect to fit these roles." She also appreciated that the musical's themes remain just as relevant today, giving students the opportunity to explore its historical context through dramaturgy while creating a production that audiences embraced.
Across the Atlantic, Farlingaye High School in Suffolk, England, had a different priority. After previously producing shows with casts approaching 100 students, the school wanted another title that would keep a large ensemble actively involved throughout the production. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang proved to be the perfect fit, giving students meaningful opportunities to shine as everything from Toot Sweets factory workers to Vulgarian villagers.
At Weiss High School in Texas, director Alexis Hargy knew she wanted a show that relied on the strength of its ensemble. When she stumbled across Alice By Heart while listening to potential musicals over the summer, she immediately connected with its score and storytelling possibilities. "The music makes you laugh, cry, love, and long," she said. "As a director, this story was a golden opportunity for storytelling and using the strength of a good ensemble."
Sometimes the Perfect Show Is the One Nobody Knows
Interestingly, several schools found success by choosing titles that weren't immediately familiar to their students.
When Notre Dame High School in Tennessee announced Band Geeks as its spring musical, many students weren't sure what to expect. Because the musical had never been produced in the Chattanooga area, the announcement was met with some skepticism. That quickly changed once rehearsals began.
"Once they heard the music and connected with the story, they quickly fell in love with it," director Pearson Smith said. Throughout the rehearsal process, students embraced the show's message to "embrace your inner geek" while growing in confidence and building a close-knit company.
A similar experience unfolded at Weiss High School. Hargy herself had never even heard of Alice By Heart before discovering it over the summer. Going into the score completely blind made the experience even more rewarding, and she found that her students shared her excitement almost immediately. "Some of them were a little intimidated by the idea of doing something so different," she recalled. "The minute they listened to the music, they were hooked."
At Long Island High School for the Arts, The Who's Tommy was also relatively unfamiliar. When the production was announced, only a handful of students knew the musical, but that changed when the show's Broadway revival was announced during rehearsals. Suddenly, students found themselves working on the same material that was making headlines in New York, giving them an exciting connection to the professional theatre world.
Every Musical Is a Learning Opportunity
While entertainment is certainly part of the equation, educators repeatedly emphasized that every production serves as an extension of the classroom.
For Long Island High School for the Arts, The Who's Tommy provided opportunities to explore subjects far beyond musical theatre. Students discussed trauma, resilience, communication, celebrity culture, and emotional storytelling while tackling one of the most musically demanding shows in the repertoire. Because nearly the entire story is told through song, performers learned how to communicate character development and plot almost entirely through their vocals and stage presence.
At Rider University, 9 to 5 became an opportunity to explore history alongside performance. Students dug into the social issues that shaped the story while discovering how to balance comedy with emotional truth. "The students discovered playing the truth and heart in their characters," Lorence-Critelli said, noting that the production succeeded because it never became a simple spoof of the popular film.
For Chicago's Theatre School at DePaul University, Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience offered lessons of a different kind. The production challenged design and technology students to build an imaginative underground world while reinforcing themes of individuality, acceptance, and the courage to challenge tradition. According to director Emily DeBold, the show created "a vibrant and upbeat community" that became one of the most joyful productions of the season.
Growth Happens in the Rehearsal Room
Nearly every educator described the rehearsal process as transformative—not just for the finished production, but for the students themselves.
Hargy admitted that Alice By Heart became the most demanding directing experience of her career. As rehearsals progressed, however, she watched her students take ownership of the storytelling, collaborating on ideas and learning how to balance the show's real-world characters with their Wonderland counterparts.
Notre Dame High School saw similar growth during Band Geeks. Students supported one another from auditions through opening night while embracing the show's message of authenticity. That spirit extended beyond rehearsals, helping strengthen the theatre program and earning multiple regional award nominations, including recognition for Outstanding Ensemble Performer and Best Set Design.
Even productions with significant technical challenges became opportunities for growth. At Grambling State University, students embraced the classic Little Shop of Horrors, committing fully to its unforgettable characters while faculty worked together to bring the show's iconic giant plant to life onstage.
The Impact Lasts Long After Closing Night
The success of a school musical isn't measured only by ticket sales or applause. It's reflected in the lasting impact productions leave on students and their communities.
At Weiss High School, audience members returned to see Alice By Heart multiple times, while students could still be heard singing its music throughout the halls long after the final curtain.
Farlingaye High School sold out its entire run of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, welcomed enthusiastic families who posed for photos with the famous flying car, and even received a surprise video message from former West End star Adam Garcia on opening night. The production has since earned five nominations at the National School Theatre Awards, with students invited to perform at the ceremony in London.
For Long Island High School for the Arts, audiences praised the students' thoughtful handling of a complex and emotionally mature story. Parents were particularly impressed by the performers' commitment to challenging material and the depth of their work.
Whether producing a Broadway favorite like Little Shop of Horrors or introducing audiences to newer titles like Band Geeks and Alice By Heart, each school shared a common goal: creating meaningful opportunities for students to grow.
Every musical is months of collaboration, creativity, problem-solving, and discovery. As these seven schools demonstrate, choosing the right show isn't simply about finding the next production—it's about finding the right story for the students who will bring it to life.
About MTI
Music Theatre International (MTI) is one of the world's leading theatrical licensing agencies, granting theatres from around the world the rights to perform the greatest selection of musicals from Broadway and beyond. Founded in 1952 by composer Frank Loesser and orchestrator Don Walker, MTI is a driving force in advancing musical theatre as a vibrant and engaging art form.
MTI works directly with the composers, lyricists and book writers of these musicals to provide official scripts, musical materials and dynamic theatrical resources to over 100,000 professional, community and school theatres in the US and in over 150 countries worldwide.
MTI is particularly dedicated to educational theatre, and has created special collections to meet the needs of various types of performers and audiences. MTI’s Broadway Junior® shows are 30- and 60-minute musicals for performance by elementary and middle school-aged performers, while MTI’s School Editions are musicals annotated for performance by high school students. Launched in May 2025, MTI's Broadway Senior™ musicals are geared and adapted for adult performers 55 and over.
MTI maintains its global headquarters in New York City with additional offices in London (MTI Europe) and Melbourne (MTI Australasia).
MTI is a sponsor of BroadwayWorld's Next on Stage. Sign up to be the first to know when submissions open for Season 7.
.jpg?format=auto&width=365)
