What Musicals do you think should be performed more often in High Schools?

[b741ma]

Posted: 11/3/19 at 3:16pm

According to NPR the most performed musicals in high schools are:

• 1. The Addams Family
• 2. Mamma Mia!
• 3. The Little Mermaid
• 4. Beauty and the Beast
• 5. Mary Poppins
• 6. Newsies
• 7. Little Shop of Horrors
• 8. Seussical
• 9. Into the Woods
• 10. Shrek The Musical (tie)
• 10. The Wizard of Oz (tie)

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with these musicals. I'm just wondering if they're any musicals that aren't as popular as these in High Schools but that really should be.

I thought I had a perfect idea for a musical that more high schools should perform. With it's large cast of interesting and entertaining characters and it's very simple costumes, props, and set, I thought that A Chorus Line would be a perfect fit for High Schools to perform. My cousin's high school put on a production of A Chorus Line which she was in. I was talking to one of my theater friends about the possibility of our school performing A Chorus Line and she pointed out something I hadn't considered. Although the musical's lack of set and props may seem like a good thing they're not so good for the school's theater crew who one of their main jobs is to build the set. If a musical has no set than the crew has a lot less to do. I'm still curious how my cousin's high school was able to perform A Chorus Line if the crew had no set to build.

Anyway, what less common musicals do you think would be good fits for High Schools to perform?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/3/19 at 3:37pm

There is no "should". Each school has to make the decisions right for them, based on a litany of things.

A Chorus Line is difficult for most schools since if you dont have great triple threats and a lot of them, you dont have a good show. Regardless of the absence of a set.

Ive only in my last 15 years, only produced 1 one those, so, Id say we already lesser done shows most of yhe time.

Shows weve done:
Millie
Sweeney Todd
Urinetown
Edwin Drood

To name a few.

[LuPita2]

Posted: 11/3/19 at 4:07pm

I think kids would love to do more modern shows. In The Heights, Spring Awakening, and Next to Normal. Relatable shows with topics and themes that directly speak to them. Obviously, most schools cannot perform NTN for many reasons, but I think kids would appreciate being trusted with more adult material. 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/3/19 at 4:13pm

I guess I’m not surprised none of the golden age musicals made the top ten but I am surprised Addams Family is number one.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/3/19 at 4:16pm

Well, under 18s cant perform simulated sex, so Spring Awakening is out.

As new shows have smaller and smaller casts, producing them at a high school is more difficult.

[SisterGeorge]

Posted: 11/3/19 at 4:53pm

AMERICAN PSYCO

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 11/3/19 at 5:15pm

I thought "Hairspray" might be a good one. It has a fairly large cast, roles for whites and African-Americans and great message.

Updated On: 11/3/19 at 05:15 PM

[darquegk]

Posted: 11/3/19 at 5:49pm

My shows.

[laurensambrose]

Posted: 11/3/19 at 5:53pm

I know it probably won't, especially in far less liberal states, but I feel like Head Over Heels would be fun for high schools to do

[TheGingerBreadMan]

Posted: 11/3/19 at 6:03pm

Besides the challenge of most high schools not having enough students who can dance at the level required for A Chorus Line, “Dance Ten Looks Three” would not go over well in many communities, as well as Paul’s monologue.

[Boq101]

Posted: 11/3/19 at 6:30pm

There is also the worry that most of these schools have literally no budget from the school to put on these shows. My high school years in the early mid 2000's we lost lots of money doing Cabaret even though it was the best show I feel like we put together. We HAD to go Oliver next year because we could use costume the school already owned and the large cast plus casting kids from the middle school brought in more families to see the show. 

 

[inception]

Posted: 11/3/19 at 10:36pm

At the highschool down the street from me I have seen Cabaret, Hair, & Urinetown. All were excellent. I haven't seen anything there for a few years now though as they really don't advertise much outside of the school system it seems. They used to always put up a big billboard. Perhaps a new teacher is running the program now.
At another highschool, a few years ago I sae a production of Pippin. It was great seeing the reaction of kids in the audience seeing the show for the 1st time. At intermission the group sitting in front of me were all like, "This is weird...I don't understand" & by the end they were all crying and in awe.

[cjmclaughlin10]

Posted: 11/3/19 at 10:53pm

Agree on Pippin and Hair
Would also add Merrily We Roll Along, Barnum, Damn Yankees, Ragtime, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, Grand Hotel, Spamalot, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Your A Good Man Charlie Brown

Updated On: 11/3/19 at 10:53 PM

[Templeton33]

Posted: 11/4/19 at 12:22pm

And The World Goes 'Round, with an added ensemble/chorus.

[trentsketch]

Posted: 11/4/19 at 1:17pm

Choosing a show is difficult. You have to account for the students you potentially have (never a guarantee they audition) and what the administration of the school would be comfortable with. 

I think most schools could do Honk, All Shook Up (there's alternate text that replaces the race dynamic with a rich/poor dynamic and it works well enough if you don't have a diverse enough community for the original version), and Once Upon a Mattress. They have large casts and the chance for a big ensemble. The burden of the show is pretty well spread out even with 2-3 larger parts and those bigger parts give your stars a chance to show off.

Working and Godspell are solid, too, for being flexible in casting and open to interpretation.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 11/4/19 at 4:49pm

I could see Shaina Taub's version of Twelfth Night being very popular in high schools. Not only was it initally written for the Public Works program and meant to be performed primarily by amateurs, but it's one of the most accessible versions of Shakespeare I've ever seen.

[b741ma]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 4:19pm

dramamama611 said: "There is no "should". Each school has to make the decisions right for them, based on a litany of things.

A Chorus Line is difficult for most schools since if you dont have great triple threats and a lot of them, you dont have a good show. Regardless of the absence of a set.

Ive only in my last 15 years, only produced 1 one those, so, Id say we already lesser done shows most of yhe time.

Shows weve done:
Millie
Sweeney Todd
Urinetown
Edwin Drood

To name a few.

"

Yeah I understand what you’re saying and you make a good point. Most schools don’t have a lot of triple threats and A Chorus Line has heavy Dancing, Singing, and Acting elements. But it’s high school theatre so I don’t think anyone’s going to expect Broadway quality performances. And A Chorus Line has non-singing (Zach and Kristine), non-dancing (optional Zach), and non acting parts (the cut dancers at the beginning) so I think it wouldn’t be impossible. But I completely understand what you’re saying.

[ModernMillie3]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 4:26pm

In a few years, what about The Prom?

[b741ma]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 4:28pm

TheGingerBreadMan said: "Besides the challenge of most high schools not having enough students who can dance at the level required for A Chorus Line, “Dance Ten Looks Three” would not go over well in many communities, as well as Paul’s monologue."

I get what you’re saying and I can see how that might cause problems in some communities. And I may be slightly ill informed growing up in a very liberal area. But I’ve seen high schools perform way more mature shows than A Chorus Line. And I’ve seen videos online from some high school productions of A Chorus Line. Some of them keep the original lyrics of Dance 10, Looks 3 while others change the line “Tits and Ass” to “This and That”. But your original point still stands.

[b741ma]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 4:31pm

Boq101 said: "There is also the worry that most of these schools have literally no budget from the school to put on these shows. My high school years in the early mid 2000's we lost lots of money doing Cabaret even though it was the best show I feel like we put together. We HAD to go Oliver next year because we could use costume the school already owned and the large cast plus casting kids from the middle school brought in more families to see the show.

"

That’s why I suggested A Chorus Line. I thought it would be a nice low-budget alternative to the more expensive musicals schools put on but I didn’t consider the unique problems that show would bring.

 

P.S. I think you could’ve used the left over costumes from Cabaret in a production of The Producers if your school was really scrapped for cash.

[b741ma]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 4:33pm

cjmclaughlin10 said: "Agree on Pippin and Hair
Would also add Merrily We Roll Along, Barnum, Damn Yankees, Ragtime, A Funny Thing Happened On TheWay ToThe Forum, Grand Hotel, Spamalot, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,and Your A Good Man Charlie Brown"

All the shows you said are great. My school did 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee a few years before I got there and it’s currently my favorite musical.

 

[b741ma]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 4:43pm

The YouTube channel Musical Theater Mash did a video entitled “Don’t do this show, Do this show” where he suggested alternatives to the most performed musicals in American high schools. Although some of his suggestions were extremely impractical (I don’t care how progressive your school may be. As great as it is, no high school is ever going to okay a production of Gypsy) several of them were very good and one in particular I liked very much. He suggested instead of doing Mary Poppins, schools should do My Fair Lady as they’re both Julie Andrews shows. By looking through old high school yearbooks and I’ve discovered that My Fair Lady used to be a very popular choice for drama departments to put on. It gives the actors a chance to show off their singing ability and their British accents and it gives the crew plenty of set to build and plenty of costumes to make. It seems like a win-win situation.

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 4:44pm

Pacific Overtures.

[dangeresque49]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 10:17pm

My school did Titanic (with the hydraulic ship), Jekyll and Hyde, Aida, Les Miserables (with the rotating stage) Miss Saigon (with a helicopter), Beauty and the Beast the first year it was available, Cats (Lame), Superstar (overused but good), Joseph and the dream coat, 10+ years ago we were lucky. I never how blessed we were were until I did some work in some other schools that had some bad shows. I would say if you got talented kids go for it on the best show you can make happen. We saw a professional production of Titanic we all thought was worse than the high school production. Best musical can mean what can bring in money without talent for a lot of places. 

[funhamilton_rent]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 10:31pm

Alex Kulak2 said: "I could see Shaina Taub's version ofTwelfth Nightbeing very popular in high schools. Not only was it initally written for the Public Works program and meant to be performed primarily by amateurs, but it's one of the most accessible versions of Shakespeare I've ever seen."

So surprised someone mentioned this show! My high school did a production of this adaptation of Twelfth Night this past fall and it was quite honestly my favorite show I have ever been a part of. I was Malvolio, and had such an incredible experience. The show can be adapted for any cast size, any dance level, etc. It is so joyful and fun and I strongly urge anyone who is able to do this show.