Musicals For All Girls High Schools

[mgmacts]

What would be some musicals that have a female lead, and quite a number of other female roles? We do have some gentlemen who come from other schools do our shows to fill male roles but we obviously do not want to select a show with a male lead, when the show is first and foremost for our girls. 

 

The music teacher has given us hints as to a show the directors are looking at: It has a TRIO with a female being the lead, No princesses, and may be currently on Broadway or recently done. 

 

Any many suggestions are kindly appreciated! 

[LMcC95]

Anything goes

Gyspy

wicked

Chicago 

[jkl011]

Legally Blonde

[Lovinbroadway2]

Quite a few male roles in it, but (based on the whole trio thing) I'd say Dreamgirls.

[freewilma]

I saw a production of Throughly Modern Millie at an all girls school a few years ago that worked pretty well.  

[Someone in a Tree2]

VANITIES?

Also, consider

MAME

CABARET

WONDERFUL TOWN

DEAR WORLD

RAISIN

THE WIZ

 

 

[disneybroadwayfan22]

SEUSSICAL

YAGM CHARLIE BROWN OR SNOOPY

[mgmacts]

Thank you all! 

 

Keep 'em them coming, if anyone ha anymore ideas!! 

Would Phantom of the Opera work possibly? 

[MaddieBB12]

No, nor can you Phantom as is currently on Broadway, and therefore, the rights aren't available for schools. Same for Wicked.

Not sure why no one has brought "9 to 5" yet. Literally a trio of women in the leads.

[CATSNYrevival]

The Phantom of the Opera is actually available for high schools to license from the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization but since it features a male lead and no trio I doubt that's it. Unless the instructors are just very bad clue givers.

[Call_me_jorge]

Heathers anyone??

[ggersten]

Baby it's You!

Other suggestions:  Moby Dick which I think takes place at an all girls school.  

Nunsense I, II, III, IV, V, Vi or whatever iteration it is up to.

 

[NJ_BroadwayGirl]

I went to an all-girls school in NJ and we put on a musical every spring. It was always relatively kid-friendly because three of our performances were during the day and attended by grade schools as a field trip.

The general rule was that unless a kiss was required, male roles were played by girls. If we needed boys we got them from other schools) Sometimes they just cut out a kiss if it wasn't too integral to the scene.

From what I recall, while I was there we did: The King and I (2 boys), Fiddler on the Roof (we had a girl play Tevye!), Hello Dolly, Peter Pan, Oliver (maybe 1 boy), Sound of Music (2 boys). I know in recent years they have expanded and done shows like the Music Man, Charlie Brown, Cinderella.

 

 

[Littleshopofcarrie]

The King and I??

[BroadwayNYC2]

The general rule was that unless a kiss was required, male roles were played by girls. If we needed boys we got them from other schools) Sometimes they just cut out a kiss if it wasn't too integral to the scene.

 

This is my worst nightmare 

[NJ_BroadwayGirl]

Looking back, I actually don't think I can recall any kisses being cut, I think they stuck to the script and got boys as needed. The only one I wasn't sure about was Fiddler on the Roof - were any of the daughters scripted to kiss their various love interests?

But as for girls playing male roles, it's kind of unavoidable at an all-girls school - where they purposely did not do plays like Annie that would be stereotypical for the setting.

[round2]

How about THE CLUB, written by Eve Merriam, with an all-female cast? It ran for 19 months off-Broadway, masterfully directed by Tommy Tune. Here, from http://www.masterworksbroadway.com/artist/eve-merriam/:

 

"In 1976 her extraordinary musical, The Club, was staged at the Circle in the Square by Tommy Tune. The all-female cast portrayed the exclusively male members of an Edwardian gentlemen’s club, smoking cigars, telling sexist jokes and racy stories, and singing genuine popular songs of the period, all painstakingly unearthed by Merriam from the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts, and all with lyrics embarrassing enough to make one’s flesh crawl. Merriam, Tommy Tune, costume (top hats and cutaways) designer Kate Carmel, and the entire cast won Obie Awards in the Distinguished Productions category in 1977."

[gypsy101]

How can Oliver! be done without a boy playing Oliver? I find the idea of a lesbian Tevye to be kind of interesting. Are schools changing the gender of the characters allowed, legally? I've always wondered that.

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Ruthless! Sylvia can be a man in drag or a woman.

[NJ_BroadwayGirl]

"How can Oliver! be done without a boy playing Oliver? I find the idea of a lesbian Tevye to be kind of interesting. Are schools changing the gender of the characters allowed, legally? I've always wondered that."

No character genders or sexual orientations were changed ... just some wigs and fake beards. I will say Tevye was not expected to be a girl but someone auditioned and was great, so she got the role. It never seemed THAT strange to me.

I think Oliver being played by a girl is pretty innocuous ... he's a young boy it seems no different than Peter Pan (always) being played by a female actor.

[gypsy101]

What kind of keys did she sing in? Was it all-belting?

[NJ_BroadwayGirl]

"What kind of keys did she sing in? Was it all-belting?"

Oh I couldn't tell you ... it was 15 years ago and the girl singing it was like 16 years old, a young 16.

[AHLiebross]

I think Chicago would work very well with "Billie Flynn" as the lawyer, instead of "Billy Flynn." Isn't that the show where the "sob sister" is usually played by a guy?  Leave her to be female, make "Billie" a female, and you've got a pretty darned good show for a girls' school -- except for the sex parts, of course.

 

Audrey

[roseaddams]

Could it be Sweet Charity?

[Wilmingtom]

Cinderella (Enchanted Version)

The Boy Friend

Little Women

Quilters (all female cast)