<p>Hi, S has been elected president of Drama club for next year (his senior year). He and some friends are gathering ideas for next year’s musical production. They did Anything Goes this year, Guys & Dolls last, and Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat the year before that. I think (not sure) that they did Charlie Brown before that…</p>
<p>Anyhow. They are looking for something a little more modern/contemporary/FUN for next year - but appropriate as well. They’ve come up with (probably a couple others I’ve forgotten about)</p>
<p>Once upon a mattress
Little shop of horrors</p>
<p>Wondering if you might have any other ideas of something that would be fun?</p>
<p>A lot depends on who’s available to be in it–if his school is like a lot of others, there are a lot of singing girls, and not so many guys. If this is the case, Little Shop may be a problem because it is really short on female roles. West Side Story is good, if there are people who can dance, and if the pit is up to it. My D’s school is doing Thoroughly Modern Millie, which has more good female roles than some other shows. Fiddler on the Roof has a lot of parts, and was well-liked at the school.</p>
<p>Schools around here have done some contemporary shows that may or may not be “appropriate,” such as Rent and Chicago.</p>
<p>My daughters school did " On the Twentieth Century" when she was a freshman- not modern but a lot of fun.
“A Little Night Music” was her senior year production.
Several schools are doing " Once on this Island", which I hadn’t heard of.
“Urinetown” won local awards, as did " Bat Boy, the Musical" and " The RObber Bridegroom".</p>
<p>Much depends on the talent you have to work with- how many leads do they think they have?</p>
<p>At my local high school the music faculty decides on the show, based in part on talent strengths available. They also seem to alternate between family/safe stuff and more contemporary/challenging/perhaps controversial material. For example, they have done *Sweeney Todd *and *Les Miz *but in between would be shows such as *Guys and Dolls *and Footloose. Sounds like the shows the OP mentioned have all been family (even young kids) suitable, and this may be policy for that school. When our school does something more sophisticated it gives an audience guideline (May not be suitable for those under age whatever).</p>
<p>Sometimes they try to have a theme for the year for all musical events (including choral concerts, etc.) The theme may be understanding of different cultures, a period of time in history, etc.</p>
<p>I always enjoy being exposed to a show I have not seen previously. One I really enjoyed was *Once on this Island *-- don’t know why it is not done more. And I liked Sweeney Todd WAY more than I expected.</p>
<p>^^ re: leads…Hard to say. S was the lead (Billy) in Anything goes, and there are a few other boys who would do well. 2 girls who have historically been the “stars” (VERY TALENTED) are both graduating this year so it will be interesting to see who can step into their place. The girl who played opposite S as Hope will be a sophomore - has a sweet singing voice but came across as fairly stiff…</p>
<p>jyber…the kids dont DECIDE, but S has been discussing options with the musical director.</p>
<p>Rent? Love the music…but I think the themes are a bit too risque for this group.</p>
<p>My favorites have been the classics " Guys and Dolls" and " Pirates of Penzance".
" A little night music" was a little complex for siblings- ( not to mention their parents) and the music wasn’t as catchy as some.</p>
<p>I believe they performed " Rent" at a high school in Orange County last year and it was also performed in a Las Vegas school.</p>
<p>It couldn’t have been more risque than the " Lysistrata" which both my daughters college performed ( as a play), but my younger daughter participated in it as well, as a 5th grader ( she attended a K-12 school, she had signed up for dance with three of her friends, but when it was canceled they were assigned to the play).
I initially was horrified ( after reading the " blunt" translation that Reed College used) , but the director reworked it by setting it in the 1960’s at the People’s Park in San Francisco and it worked quite well. ( Not to mention it is probably old enough to be in the public domain) ;)</p>
<p>One of mine was in “Seussical the Musical” and it was a lot of fun.
Before my kids were in hs they did Into the Woods and I cried…
Others my kids have been in were:
Once on this Island - all the kids were on stage all the time. that was fun too.
Ragtime - this was a lot of fun with catchy tunes
Cats - we were one of the first high schools to do Cats and the kids had a ball.
The Scarlet Pimpenet is a great comedy but you need a strong cast of boys.
Les Miserables is available now to and the kids love it.
This year they are doing Elton John’s Aida - I am sad my kids are all out of hs now.</p>
<p>I love these musical threads.
I miss it.
I had a great time helping with the costuming ( we were fortunate enough to have a parent who majored in fabric/costume design @ Parsons- who did most of the work), and the hair & makeup for older D’s school.</p>
<p>Younger D barely allowed me to be in audience let alone backstage :(.</p>
<p>However, when she portrayed Jane Goodall for her piece in 7th grade- she did let me help pick her costume.</p>
<p>They’d have to look over the script to see if they’d hold up today, but some early ones they might not have heard of, with memorable tunes:</p>
<p>Damn Yankees - sports themes might attract audience; deal-with-the-devil<br>
Oklahoma - big cast
Porgy ‘n’ Bess, with race-blind casting; if voices are great, so will the play soar
Carousel - choke-you-up themes for kids anticipating h.s. graduation, maybe too corny today
Brigadoon - magical Irish village that appears once every hundred years…</p>
<p>I always enjoy seeing Fiddler; did you know it’s the musical that’s been translated and performed in more languages than any other? Has universal appeal. Can work with several strong female leads, and good male support roles. Certainly needs one strong center-of-gravity male lead for Tevye to make the entire production work.</p>
<p>The Wizard of Oz
Me and My Girl
The Music Man
Joseph and the Amazing…
CATS
Les Miserables
Jekyl & Hyde
Annie (3 times…ugh!)
The Wiz
Guys and Dolls
Grease
West Side Story</p>
<p>My favorites were Joseph and West Side Story. S’s favorite was CATS and the Wiz and D’s favorite has always been Annie.</p>