<p>The issue of which musicals are right for which high schools is enormously complex. Assuming that a high school has a good theater teacher (and my experience has been that good high school theater teachers are rare, indeed), selection of a musical would normally include these factors (among others):</p>
<p>What does my talent pool look like? How many males do I have who can handle large roles? How many females? What are the vocal ranges? How experienced are these people at various styles?</p>
<p>What am I trying to do with my program? Is it my intent to develop talent year-to-year? If so, what is my philosophy with this? Do I think it’s a good idea to give roles to people when I know there is a high probability that they will fail, or do I think it’s a better idea to develop people in reasonable stretch roles knowing there is a high probability they will succeed and pick up valuable skills along the way? </p>
<p>What can the orchestra do? Is it too much to ask them to master a score like “West Side Story”? What are their development needs? Is there a really talented jazz trumpet players? If so, should we take that into consideration when choosing a play?</p>
<p>What is my financial situation? How large and involved have audiences been in the past? Do I need to develop audiences, or are they already developed and seeking more up-scale fare? What are the royalties and other production costs? What sort of gate revenue can I count on?</p>
<p>What will this community accept? Must I stick with maudlin plays, or can I move it upscale a bit? Can I even go as far as controversial? And if I do, do I have the talent for it? And what will the kids be learning from it?</p>
<p>What have I done in the past? Shouldn’t I choose plays that require different acting styles from those my kids have experienced from past shows? If I don’t change it up, will they graduate able to function in various styles?</p>
<p>Having said all that, here are some categories and comments on individual musicals:</p>
<p>Category: Same old Stuff (substitute anything you want for the word “stuff”)</p>
<p>These plays are formulaic. There are usually two romantic leads, two juvenile leads, one or two comic relief characters, tuneful songs using mostly major scales, large choruses, and more men cast members than women.</p>
<p>Oklahoma
South Pacific (called “South Pathetic” by much of the theater community. This play has not aged well.)
The Music Man (has aged better than most and has more female roles than most)
42nd Street (insipid plot and needs a large number of good dancers as well as a good choreographer)
How to Succeed in Business … (no juvenile leads and requires many more males than most. Hasn’t aged particularly well, but a more interesting plot line than average)
The King and I (Bring out all the Yul Brenner impersonations, because that’s what you’ll get. Needs children big time.)
1776 (much better than most. Love interests played down. But requires a SUBSTANTIAL number of good males and is very skimpy on female roles. Generally not good for high school)
Annie Get Your Gun (better than average female role as a star vehicle)
Brigadoon (usually leads to awful Scotts accents. Music is so so.)
A Funny Thing Happened … (Plautus at his best. Funny, funny stuff and teachers acting for farce. Better than average music.)
Fiddler on the Roof (overdone in high school mostly with boys who have not business playing the lead. Absolutely DEPENDS on the lead.)
Guys and Dolls (hackneyed but popular. Doubt the kids learn much, but it does tend to draw and audience)
Kiss Me Kate (better than average farce)
My Fair Lady (still a GREAT musical, but depends heavily on two characters. If they don’t pull it off, the show bombs terribly. Also difficult to costume and the set needs to be more expensive than average)
Once Upon a Matress (probably doesn’t quite belong in this category. It’s good. Lots of roles that can go male or female. REQUIRES a stunningly good Fred or the whole thing falls apart)
Showboat (try avoiding having a white kid sing “Old Man River”)
The Sound of Music (stage version not as good as movie version. Can send audience into diabetic shock)
Paint your Wagon (imagine hearing Clint Eastwood singing “I Talk to the Trees”)</p>
<p>Children’s plays (sort of)</p>
<p>Generally, this category is designed to appeal to children and adults. </p>
<p>Annie (girls’ show. At high school level, requires older kids to play younger kids and tends to detract from the production.)
Barnum (lousy show in my book)
Beauty and the Beast (wonderful show, expensive, but great audience draw. Easy to do badly, however)
Cinderella (Great if you have a young Leslie Ann Warren)
Honk! (It’s OK. Funny in places. Hard to say what the kids learn from this)
Secret Garden (Once again, it’s OK.)
Oliver! (I hope I never have to see another production of this. I’ve never liked it, but that’s just me. Anyway, you really need a great young boy to play this role.)
Peter Pan (not bad)
Seussical (mostly insipid with average music, at best)
You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown/Snoopy (two musicals with the same themes. Good stuff but relatively small cast)</p>
<p>Teen age plays</p>
<p>These plays require a lot of teenagers and are generally about teenage life.</p>
<p>Bye Bye Birdie (never seen except on high school stages. I will have to be dragged to see one more production of this but, on the whole, it’s really not too bad)
A Chorus Line (not really teen age, but close. Big cast show but many of the roles are just opening dancers. Hasn’t aged all that well, but still viable)
Fame (best done with really stellar dancers, musicians, actors.)
Footloose (fun stuff)
Grease (maybe the best of the teen age musicals other than West Side Story)
Hair (dated)
Hairspray (overrated in my book. But can still be done)
Rent (not sure if the rights are out. Can be controversial. Not really teenage, but young adult, certainly)
Tommy (not quite all teenage, but close enough. Good music but a mess of a musical)
West Side Story (the best. Romeo and Juliet as a musical. Somewhat dated in terms of how unscary knives are these days compared to what modern gangs carry. Tough, tough music. Requires great dancers)</p>
<p>Religious</p>
<p>Godspell (small cast but underrated show. Good music and energy)
Jesus Christ Superstar (unsingable except by the most amazing voices.)
Joseph and the Techicolor … (I find it maudlin and trite. Others disagree.)</p>
<p>Not easily categorized</p>
<p>The Wiz (gag me with a spoon)
Wizard of Oz (much better than the Wiz)
Camelot (almost an SOS, but there’s enough meat here to make it more worthwhile than the average musical. Over long second act. Requires superb actor for Arthur)
Cats (among theater people, often considered to embody everything that is wrong with the theater today. No acting required. Mostly a dance show. Not much plot. Spectacle.)
Les Miserables (excellent show. Huge cast. Requires a number of stunning voices.)
Little Shop of Horrors (small cast but wonderful show from top to bottom)
Man of La Mancha (needs a Cervantes. Good luck finding one. Good show.)
Martin Guerre (great music for high tenor voices. The book is a mess.)
Pippin (not a great book, but good music and high energy. Sometimes controversial in conservative communities)
The Rocky Horror Show (good luck finding the lead boy. Wonderful show. Controversial most places)
Victor Victoria</p>
<p>Sondheim</p>
<p>Sondheim musicals are sophisticated, very difficult to play and sing, and usually appeal to a more educated audience with more educated ears than the average play. They are not usually big sellers, but there is much, artistically, to recommend them.</p>
<p>A Little Night Music
Company
Follies
Sunday in the Park with George</p>
<p>Simply the Best</p>
<p>These shows are entertaining for most people, but can be darker than the normal musical so may turn off people who only go to musicals for laughs.</p>
<p>The Threepenny Opera (difficult to pull off in high school because of the Brechtian intent, but excellent roles, music, and message)
Cabaret (when done well, it is simply breathtaking. Difficult for high school students to master, but lots of good roles. Dark. Can be controversial depending on the production)
Chicago (excellent satire. Skimpy outfits draw teenage boys into the audience.)
Into the Woods (adult fairy tale with grim message. Lots of good roles. Sondheim.)
Sweeney Todd (dark, dark, dark. But funny and fun)</p>