The biggest problem especially for my high school is that we can't afford not to do popular shows, because if we do not extremely well known musicals we wouldn't making enough money to keep the program going.
My high school had the opposite problem. We couldn't afford the licensing for popular shows and often didn't have enough people (250 students in the entire school, most having no earthly interest in extracurriculars). We were also a Lutheran school, so we had to censor even instances of 'hell' and narrowing the shows we could do further (def not that cool hs drama program that lets kids do next to normal). We usually did obscure shows or Gilbert and Sullivan bc it was what we could do.
instead of fiddler on the roof... actually no, just do fiddler on the roof, honestly. it's the perfect high school show because it has a huge ensemble, a ton of great characters, and pretty easy-to-sing but beautiful and fun music. plus it's universally relatable and relevant while also being a classic
my school is doing that, they are currently casting an audition to the orchestra for who should be the fiddler. They're going to harness the fiddler and have them fly around the stage. there also might be other orchestra students hiding in the crowd who will pop up and play music
Instead of Fiddler on the Roof, consider Rags. It's kind of a spiritual successor to Fiddler, dealing with immigrants fleeing pogroms and such in America.
I got it Musical Theatre Mash! instead of "Beauty and the Beast", don't do "Big"...DO "Hunchback of Notre Dame" both Beauty and Hunchback are based off of Classic Disney films, they are both Alan Menkin musicals, they both have a Deformed character as the main lead, they have a killer ensemble cast (Especially for Hunchback), they both have the gothic setting, both shows share the "don't judge a book by it's cover" theme, and both have Beautiful BEAUTIFUL music!
Just in general, Tuck Everlasting isn't a widely known musical because it came out right after Hamilton, but it is a compelling story and can have a great ensemble if done right
my school did urinetown last year, it was a great show for a high school, but the director got kicked out the program because the name was inappropriate. The year before we did grease, if that tells you anything.
the head of the musical at my camp was gonna do Urinetown and we all got our parts and we were super excited. but then the heads of camp said we couldn't do it cause of the name. So we casted, learned, choreographed, and performed Bye Bye Birdie in less than 2 weeks.
I actually squealed when he said Be More Chill, i wasn't expecting it and it's my FAVORITE show ever!!! (well i mean tied with rent and dear evan hansen of course...)
How to realistically pick a musical for a school production: a) There have to be at least 10 semi-important roles, so noone gets buthurt b) 3/4s of these roles have to be female or at least could be played by a teenage girl dressing up as a male without disturbing suspension of disbelief too much, because let's be honest you're lucky to even have 3 boys in your troupe c) it has to be unpopular enough to be dirt cheap, because in this day and age you have to be thankful for the school board allowing funding for non-sport extracurriculars at all and mummy and daddy will spend their money on tickets anyway, whether they ever heard of the play or not d) it has to adress a social issue in order to be pedagogical, but the adressed issue can't be too controversial. A struggle of a bygone era, like the civil rights movement is a good topic, that way mummy and daddy can give themselves a pat on the back about how far society's come without having to think about the problems it currently has e) It has to be funny
My school actually got to do Les Mis a couple of years ago, and we could only get, like, five guys to be on it. Needless to say, almost all of our students were girls and we also had a female Thenardier and a female Marius (myself, actually). Les Mis is great, but they really should have picked a musical with more girls.
That's got me thinking... The characters are pretty one-to-one. You got the young girl in the title role; the big, beefy man; the sweet, motherly figure; the unscrupulous con artists; the comedic worker at a government building; and two ensembles of kids and adults. "Naughty" and "Tomorrow" are kissing cousins, as are "Revolting Children" and "New Deal for Christmas". There's a theme of escaping bonds, literal and figurative. The songs in Matilda are a bit more complex, and I think there's a bit more dancing involved.
we did Matilda for the student run show at my high school and it was extremely successful, everyone loved it and it sold out, and because of the specific characters it was cast very well
For a more obscure replacement to Annie, Anne of Green Gables the musical is wonderful and it’s an incredibly similar story, right down to the names of the protagonists
Tommy can you please make this a series? Honestly I think giving alternatives for people might make it easier for people to spark their own interests in researching lesser done shows.
I'm still in middle school, but I still really want them to do it. I would love to play SQUIP, because I love the mood swings and, well, the PITIFUL CHILDREN
I was thinking Zombie Prom instead of grease because it also is 1950s and good girl falls in love with bad boy but it adds, well, a zombie. And it pays homage to grease and kinda makes fun of it
Margo McCready The problem is that while the stories are equally mindless, but the music in Grease is SO MUCH BETTER than the music in Zombie Prom. And I know this because I did both shows at my high school. Zombie Prom is a joke. Most shows take themselves at least a little bit seriously (Grease's "There are Worse Things I Could Do" is a great example of this), but Zombie Prom is just a joke all the way through. The dialogue tries to be funny and fails, and its music and especially lyrics are really cliche and stupid.
While I agree that at the core of the work, Grease certainly tries harder in it's writing..... but I think that only makes Zombie Prom all that much more FUN. It's so carefree and silly. It works especially at a school like the one I went to. A overrun by sports tiny arts budget school that had maybe 3 kids that carried HARDCORE about the deeper meaning of the songs and then about 30 kids that just wanted to have fun and didn't care about being serious. Sometimes it's okay to be dumb if you are having fun. And I would rather a dumb show with fun campy material then overdone and overrated shows like Grease.
Margo McCready Zombie Prom has a really weak script in my opinion while vocals are good the story is a little too cheesy even though it is meant to be.
While I love the idea behind this and several of your comparisons (Guys and Dolls/How to Succeed, Addams Family/Young Frankenstein, etc, absolutely) but there are more things to consider than just the overall themes of the show. Music Man will get butts in the seat, Anyone Can Whistle will not. Several high school theaters can only do big name shows in order to sell tickets and keep the program running. Dance requirements are also a huge factor for a lot of high schools. My high school did Oklahoma, Hairspray, and Guys and Dolls consecutively because they had so many dancers. When they were short of dancers they switched to shows like Children of Eden, Parade, and Urinetown.
I love your list and agree with most of them, but Anyone Can Whistle is a terrible show. The audience will not know what’s going on in your cast will be miserable.
I'm really hoping The Lighting Thief gets optioned for school use at some point. It's a great show that has a lot of really great roles of all sizes. Roles can be doubled up or not as needed based on cast size (the original did double up a lot). There's space for an ensemble even though the original had a tiny cast. The music is fun and has some interesting parts but isn't too technically challenging for kids. And on top of that it's based on an extremely popular middle grade book series so it might be good for a middle school to do to help introduce kids to theatre who normally might not be interested!
Nicole Craswell I was actually looking at the cast and there's like, 5 members. The only time an actor plays one character is Percy and Annabeth. But all the other roles you could give to one person instead of having one actor play multiple roles.
Exactly, the roles are designed so that it can be done by a really small cast if need be. But If you don't double up the roles you have 3 leads and another 10-15 supporting roles. Then there's enough space for an ensemble in a lot of the songs. There's plenty of space for people to play campers, tourists, classmates, miscellaneous dead people int he underworld scenes... The original cast is tiny but there's definitely room to adapt it for a larger cast!
I feel like I heard somewhere that Lin was saying how it's great for Latino students to play the roles in the musical, but the musical also helps teach white students about diversity and culture. No offense to anyone just saying. I might be wrong.
12345 Nitsaaegcj Why? the high school I ended up going to did an amazing WEST SIDE STORY, and they weren't a 'mixed' school. Nobody complained. When I was in high school, our senior musical was 'Aida.' Again, nobody complained. Open-mindedness cuts both ways.
100% agree. Mama Mia is overdone for both high school and adults. I RARELY see any high school or community theatres do Once Upon a Mattress. Lastly, if you take out the ABBA music, the storyline for Mama Mia isn't that great in my opinion. Once Upon a Mattress has a way better storyline plus the music is fantastic.
Instead of Annie, do Anne of Green Gables!! The musical is actually really cute and the two are quite similar? They're both historical fiction about orphan girls who initially aren't loved by their eventual adoptive parents because they're girls, but go on to win the hearts of everyone around them through various, kinda unrelated but convenient events. Plus their names are similar! Anne and Annie! Just missing an i! Anne is a little bit darker (spoiler alert, there is a death in Anne), but not by much. I did it in grade 7 (I was Marilla) and it was very fun
But I am putting on an Artfully Abriged Annie at summer camp, because there are really little kids that probably couldn't handle a death science sadly.
Rose Blossom it is fantastic!! I still remember some of the songs. We Clearly Requested a Boy (I think that's what it's called) is probably my favourite
Felix Catta I mean Annie is still really good. I really love it and it's perfect for little kids. I did an abridged version when I was 8, and I played Ms Hannigan and I had an awesome time!
Don't do annie... Do Oliver! Both of them are shows about orphans finding a new home, both include a kidnapping, and Oliver has better music, (in my opinion) murder, and annie is way too overdone.
What do you have against legally blonde? It's a brilliant musical adapting a story that doesn't really lend it self to musicals but I works so well with the music
Markimoop did you miss the first minute or so? he says pretty obviously that this video is for folks who want alt choices-he has nothing against the ‘instead of’ shows, but a lot of them are very over-done by high schools.
I instantly wrote off legally blind when I heard it was going to be a musical.... Until I saw it. I think it's a great musical. There is only one stanza that's touchy for a school and that would be about being in the hot tub and making love to you. But other than that I think it's a great musical.
I agree with him because in some areas where theater isn’t as supported as it should be, Elle woods might be too hard of a character to do because of all the choreography that it has and all her belts.
Some additional easy alternatives to shows I'm sick of seeing: Godspell: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat My Fair Lady: Secret Garden South Pacific: Kiss Me Kate
godspell (the revival version) is an incredible show, joseph has only one strong female lead and so many boy leads which most high schools lack anyways. godspell has many strong leads for both genders and the revival is much more structured and the vocals are kickass
the secret to doing Joseph with an accurate-gender cast is to have a really well liked guy in the cast, who probably does sports and can convinces other guys that "it'll be fun". we actually ended up with a male chorus section when I did it. but yeah, we had to split the narrator into four parts, which sucked but hey, at least I got my dream role out of it
Kamila Adamczyk yeah, but they more PG than the ones in Gypsy, depending on how you play it. Adelaide wears little, but generally stays clothed to some degree.
Guy (sorry I don't know his name): **mentions Be More Chill and Little Shop of Horrors** Me: **SITS BOLT UPRIGHT** SEE I TOLD YOU THAT WILL ROLAND WOULD BE A PERFECT SEYMOUR!!!
@@pingnixon-hermansen5046 I don't know, but it probably helped that it was the Two River Theater version, before they even announced the Off-Broadway run.
I was just in a production of James and the Giant Peach. OH MY GOD. ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS I HAVE EVER BEEN A PART OF. Definitly a good show to consider.
YESSS! About a year ago I did James and the Giant Peach at my local theatre and it was Amazing! We did it with a tiny cast tho (like 15 people) and I played sponge, and I got to eat onstage, there were so many inside jokes our cast had during the show 😂
Okay, I do agree with Seussical and James and the Giant Peach. A lot of people dismiss James because they think it's a children's show, when the music is sO GOOD. Like, the people who wrote the music for La La Land and Dear Evan Hansen DID THAT! I just feel like Seussical is done to death at this point.
instead of doing beauty and the beast do hunchback, both are storys about inner beauty with complex male leads, unrequited love, fantastic villains, awesome female leads and bomb ass music, the only inconvenience are the religious themes of hucnhback which may be frowned uppon by parents or the school board but if you can do hunchback instead do hunchback instead
12345 Nltsaaegcj this is a fantastic idea! Unfortunately Hunchback is under limited release and you need special permission to obtain the rights. I know they've been testing the waters with this show and I can't wait to see what the final script is when it's available to the public.
my high school actually did hunchback last year! we were one of the very first schools to do it. it's a great show, even though the musical is definitely darker than the disney movie version
My school honestly mainly does shows that involve lots of tap dancing since we have a terrific choreographer and lots of good dancers. Next year we are doing Singin' in the Rain!
Seussical doesn't present a challenge, but I wanted to do it in high school because I'm a perfect Horton. I can sing Valjean but I have a voice more suitable for jazz
i've done seussical. while it can be simplified greatly, it also has some pretty complicated music, with its wild keys, time signatures, harmonies. it's syncopated and has insane intervals. not to mention that it's one show that is best done very dance-heavy, which can be a challenge for high schoolers who haven't done dance-heavy shows in the past. so yes, while there is a junior version that's very simple, the full musical can present its own challenges
There's a couple of problems with your lists. 1. Brand recognition. While I am all for doing lesser known works, mass audiences gravitate to the recognizable brand and "safe bet". 2. Each company's individual Iimitations. For example, Spelling Bee was a hot show for high schoolers about 6-7 years ago because of the single setting of the show. And you suggested Avenue Q as an alternative. A multi-scene musical. Overall, I like your suggestions, but I would go one step further and add the technical needs (particularly sets and costumes) in the mix or merely make multiple suggestions.
Paden Frank for spelling bee what about a chorus line.Both have little glimpses into people's lives,lots of individual characters AND dirt cheap set/costumes
Let lil live You also have to consider that Spelling Bee requires top notch character actors, while Chorus Line requires top notch dancers. Both fantastic shows, but very, very different in terms of style and cast abilities.
High school is one of the few places you don't need to worry about making a profit, so why not introduce audiences to some of the newer works out there. Most shows will have built-in audiences, friends and family members so if small audiences should not be a worry. Sets should not be a concern if you have a good production and a creative imagination you can do a show in a black box theatre with very limited sets and still have a good show. Talent and story is more important than the sets and costumes. Sure sets and costumes are fun for the students, but the point is to learn not just look "Cool".
thornwyck1 Making profit is absolutely necessary. Many kids in my area cannot afford to pay high activity cost in order to perform in their musicals and therefore shows have to make money. I know that there have been schools who do not have a musical theater program simply because they cannot afford it. My school has been close to shutting down theirs as well.
I think Les Mis and Sweeney Todd switch out pretty well. Both have two male parts at the forefront, complex leading women, a pretty soprano and a spritely tenor in love, and some seriously great ensemble parts. They both deal with redemption and identity, and both get a little bloody... Loved this video!
one really under appreciated show for high schools is the mystery of edwin drood ! its kind of an upbeat classical brass styled comedy musical with some difficult songs, but a really fun story and a creative ending in terms of audience participation
Another good replacement for HSM is Heathers 101! If your school is more lenient, them i'm sure you can add back in the "Kidnap a Heather" and a few curse words. Or, if your administration literally doesn't pay attention to your theatre troupe at all, then add Blue back in, and let Veronica say "fuck"
I love this because our admin literally gives no fucks about our drama department. Last year we did the respectful prostitute and this year we did a taste of honey (both plays with strong sexual themes)
omg i wish. sadly i think there is no way my high school would do Heathers 101. Buuuuut, my youth theater is doing it in the fall and i am soon excited!!!
12345 Nltsaaegcj Not yet.. the rights to the show are currently really hard to get because its so popular right now. its popular in the musical fans right now but not in high school shows because licensing for the show literally came out at the end of the school year. Theres only one school in like 3 districts where I live in that is able to do the show right now.
Legally Blonde is great, and I'm not sure why you reacted as you did to it. And you want them to replace it with Xanadu? Seriously? I would've at least chosen something like Bring It On. I wish some of these shows were produced more often here in the UK. The number of times I've seen a place put on Les Mis, Cats or Joseph just makes me wanna groan. Little Mermaid or Little Shop would both be a welcome change as I love them and they don't seem to come up all that often. I wonder how long it'll be before Spongebob appears on this list?
Legally Blonde is a great feminist story with a large female cast, two things that are great for high school shows, since usually theres a significant lacking of guys in the theatre department :/
Personally, I would quote the issue with legally blonde as not wrong in its content, but in extreme musical difficulty. Strange key signatures, complicated harmonies, etc. I've actually heard several theatrical music directors describing it as one of the harder musicals out there, especially for a classic comedy.
OfficiallyErling I completely agree! When ever I talk about musicals my friends are like, “ oh yeah le mis is good” like no Susan I don’t want talk about your basic bitch musicals 😂 honestly the only group that do interesting musicals is my group, we are a youth theatre and we are doing little shop of horrors right now
Ryan Is Okay because it was literally written for a cast of many ethnicities but not whit and there are so many other shows you could do. Believe me, it is one of my favorite shows but I will never be able to do it and I respect that because I understand that there aren’t many shows like it.
Yeah, my junior high didn’t go by that. Even my parents thought it was an odd choice, considering 98% of my school district is white xD The only black kid in the cast of the show was our Agwe. It was pretty good, though, despite it not being ethnically-accurate. All of the leads were really good singers.
Instead of the School cut version of ITW that completely removes the second act, do the full production of ITW. It'll most definitely require parental consent, but it holds far better morals and storytelling elements that are perfect for young adults to witness and play out. Though leaving the little ones home, at least for act 2, might be best.
I was Rapunzel in the full version in high school in the 90s. We even stuck the Rapunzel/Witch duet back in. No extra permissions were required, for cast or attendees, though there MAY have been a content warning.
Sadly, my theatre ended up doing the jr version during my freshman year. I was the wolf. It still ended up being really good and it was a lot of fun. The directors kept some of the dark themes in the show because our cast was all middle schoolers and high schoolers
OMG I did once on this island and the little mermaid was mentioned in the description. Also we did the junior version so we had a mixed cast. It was the best!!!!!
Addy Danbury i saw a cast do it at a musical contest (it was strange concept but awesome i promise) and it was performed awkwardly but had absolutely fantastic themes
I want to do Heathers at our high school but we are a super conservative school. Oh and guess what we are doing an illegal version of high school musical 😂
No, because those are TERRIBLE shows for high schools. Hamilton is way too hard and requires very very strong singers, intense dancers, and PoC, and DEH has 8 roles and no ensemble.
But still, high schools won't do it do to the fact that it will make them look terrible considering the unlikeliness of having the quality needed@@EllyFLuft
Shows like Hairspray are Ragtime are fantastic shows, but they also can be unideal for a high school environment as they promote the idea of a racial binary. It doesn't give a lot of options for actors who are Asian or Hispanic.
atngo15 That is true, but when my High School did Hairspray, we only had like 2 or 3 people that were neither black or white (out of like 70 people total). They ended up being placed in with the North Avenue ensemble I believe.
atngo15 that's my issue with seeing community theaters in my white suburban neighborhood do shows like miss saigon and west side story... great musicals but yikes the spray tans
The reality of these is that they require too many males for the vast majority of high school theatre companies. We have enough guys who won't ruin a show with their singing to have a couple of males lead, but not enough to have strong male secondary characters (or even male character roles) or males in ensemble. Also pretty much everyone in the theatre department of our very diverse school is white, which means that all of our female leads are beautiful blondes, and as one of the few non-white students, I am often relegated to roles my "look" is more appropriate for. High school theatre is tough because you are casting from a small group, so you gotta work with what you have. My director wants to put on Grease despite our lack of talented boys.
Until I saw this video, and read the comments, I never realized how lucky my school is. I go to a performing arts high school that has a campus which is intertwined and built around one of the U.S.'s most famous theatres, so we have about an even amount of males and females, which opens up so many theatre opportunities.
Isha Raj-Silverman this is the almost the exact situation of my school right now. the director wanted to do a a show with a bug name, so we’re doing grease. we don’t have the males to pull it off at all and i’m nervous to see how it turns out. we also have the same problem with a diverse school but not a diverse theatre department
My school is mostly white and we have no non white people involved in drama. So yeah, that's a bit of an issue. I mean, they did High School Musical last year which has quite a few black characters (and Gabriella) plus more guys than they have just fine, so....
bamboo72498 OMG. Don't get me started on the heelies for The Little Mermaid 😂 My senior year we did The Little Mermaid cause the rights were released and she spent way too much money for everyone to have heelies even if they didn't need it. A.K.A. Me 😛
okay but like it is so much better than doing lion king like that. Besides the junior version of once on this island just changes it so its about social class only and not race. Its unoticable if you have't seen the original
Literally my first musical ever was my high school's mostly white production of Once on This Island with a White Ti Moune. Correction: She and several white cast members went tanning. We also made it about class instead of race and....yeah, my siblings still mock me for it.
My school almost did Drowsy Chaperone, everyone was hype about it and it's what made me wanna start being a cast member rather than in stage crew. Then, a parent complained about the risqué material in it, causing us to change to.... Into the Woods Jr. As the spring show, aka the last show for many people... was Into the Woods Jr.
Christi Nerdle Yep :/ most people prob would've been cool with the full version, just a bit disappointed, but the fact it was the Junior version was just. Extremely disappointing. The next year we had a new director and our shows were Shrek Jr. and Footloose
Hi there! Was wondering if you'd ever consider doing an updated version of this video idea! I remember watching this video back when I was a senior in high school and now that I'm running my own high school theatre company, I'm always on the hunt for new and exciting shows to put on with the kiddos! :)
This made me realize how strange the choices my drama club makes are, most of our musicals are jukebox written by our director, and the only real musical we’ve ever done was Hair
Its honestly not. Its something I like to call teh addams family fevour where while you are in the show you accidently belive that it is a good show. Its not. I literally played the lead and had a great time but looking back the script and story is just bad and the jokes are either stupid or overly offesnive.
We had some major issues with editing errors in the orchestra book...some people had mismatched meters, key changes, etc. It took quite a while to find them all...
Our season at my community theatre next year is literally 'Guys and Dolls', 'The Little Mermaid', and 'R+H Cinderella'.. however, we have a reason!!😂 we need to have super recognizable shows in my tiny town where almost nobody knows much about theatre👌🏻👌🏻 We did 'The Wizard of Oz' and 'Annie' so far in our season and we open 'Les Miserables' in 3 weeks💜💜 (I'm Fantine.. AAAAHHHH)
My school is doing a newer version of My Fair Lady (we’re first in the nation to perform it yay!) and it’s sooooooo good! I’m literally writing this after getting home from opening night and trust me, it’s FABULOUS ✨
A great idea is 25th annual Putnam county spelling bee. basically every role is big and there’s audience participation to make up for a small cast. Im in a production of it right now as Leaf and it is SO FUN!
i don't think it's awful. it's not the most complex musically, but there's a lot of valuable themes in it. i actually liked the idea of it being broadcasted on mtv.
But all of its themes are done better by other musicals, and its music is intolerable if you don't like pop music... and by pop music I mean the sound of cats being shoved into blenders.
Mr. Brightside personally, I really love LB I think the musical doesn't really work for teen voices (somewhat ironically), but it has good morals and the Broadway production had a lot of amazing people
I directed and choreographed "Legally Blonde" I wasn't wild about it but it was offered to me and I didn't want to turn down the opportunity. I applied myself, did my homework and the show was a success. As a director it's a challenging show to piece together in many ways. Ultimately it was a wonderful experience for the cast and audience. Our Elle was talented, charismatic, endearing. The women rule this show and the men take a back seat. The score can be brash and mechanical at times but it has a few gems. I reiterate I walked in something of a naysayer but the show won me over.
The affinities between THE MUSIC MAN and ANYONE CAN WHISTLE are so great that they could both be done in repertory on the same sets to devastating effect. And surprise, surprise -- both shows were co-produced by Kermit Bloomgarden. 110 IN THE SHADE, which has a remarkably similar plot to both of them, could also be added to the rotation.
Penny J I saw that a local teen-young adult theater was going to do it, and then it disappeared from the schedule with no further information. I suspect they couldn't find enough actors in our small city to cast it.
My high school did it this year! We live in the northwest where most everyone's pretty liberal. We convinced the school board to let us do it by adding in an educational talk-back after some of the performances, and including posters with referalls to crisis services in the lobby. It turned out really well!
This is another show that has very strict age limitations. I've heard that in the earlier versions of the contract for the show your Wendla had to be 18 years or older. I don't know if they've changed that rule or anything but I still know that you need parental consent if you have an actor in the show under the age of 16.
My school did this last time and apparently everyone was very cool with it and lots of people saw it. They had to say that children under 12 years should better see it with their parents but there was no age restriction for neither visitors nor actors.
Little Women is a phenomenal musical! The lead of Jo is a very demanding role and needs a strong singer and actor. My daughter just slayed it. The score is beautiful and so are the songs. Get your tissues ready!
We just did this but /ZOMBIE PROM/ it’s funny it’s 50s has two great male and female leads it’s a great replacement if you don’t want to do grease but your leading guy goes green. Also a great ensemble and 6 great supporting characters it also takes place in a highschool
Omg I love titanic I just saw it at my local theatre and I cried because I knew some people on the ship and it felt like they were really going to die lol 😂
When I saw the first one, which was instead of Thoroughly Modern Millie to do The Drowsy Chaperone, I literally flailed my arms and screamed. No one knows about this show and it is my all time favorite musical. Also, as someone who loves the musical Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, I very much agree with this. As a former Ms. Jones of How to Succeed, I love both of these shows. Also, as someone who is a fan of Anything Goes (it was my first show and made me fall in love with the theater), your comparison of it to Hello Dolly makes me want to see the show even more.
I loved this video!! My high school theatre director would ALWAYS pick shows based on how many jocks he could fit into the cast. No, really. "Damn Yankees" starred the entire high school baseball team; "Good News" starred the entire football team. "The Pajama Game" just had whatever people could carry a tune from "Damn Yankees" pushed into lead roles instead of a boy who actually COULD sing/act and who theatre was the only thing they did.... I'm not bitter. But seriously, really well-done video! There were a couple of shows that I never heard of, and shows where I literally yelled, "OH MY GOD THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE!"
Every musical I've been in (The Addams Family and Bye Bye Birdie), am going to be in (Footloose), and even the one I'm in right now (Guys and Dolls) are on the "whoops it's pretty popular" side.
I did the Drowsy Chaperone, I was Mrs.Tottendale. The Drowsy Chaperone is such a good musical and it touches my heart in so many ways. It’s great, funny and musical all at the same time!
Instead of R + H Cinderella, do Oklahoma or Carousel! Instead of Les Mis, do Jekyll and Hyde! Instead of Guys and Dolls, do 42nd Street! Instead of Grease, do Urinetown, or All Shook Up, or Bye Bye Birdie or literally anything else Instead of The Addams Family, do Carrie: the Musical! Instead of Thoroughly Modern Millie, do The Mystery of Edwin Drood! Instead of Legally Blonde, do 9 to 5! I love doing stuff like this in my head lol
i feel like Carrie would be a better replacement for HSM cuz it's in a high school and yeah it's a bit darker but the casts are almost alike and Carrie has more of a message to not bully and stuff like that. my school did that show this year and it was so well received by everyone. also teenagers wouldn't really want to see HSM and the Genre for Carrie is horror so it attracts more teenagers and as they enjoy the show they're also getting a message.
Well, I think that if a high school is wanting to put on HSM in the first place, this would most likely not be a high school that would put on a musical like Carrie due to mature content. HSM is the standard pure and clean Disney musical so if this is what a theatre department is looking for I would suggest doing the Little Mermaid instead or maybe Fame (more mature but still) because of the similar setting. For most high schools, content is one of the biggest factors in the decision because it has to appease a school board in order to get funding. Carrie would probably be too mature for a school that was looking to do HSM.
My former high school has done grease and pippin twice each since 2002 (and seussical and Cinderella once each). Just sent this video to the director, assistant director, music director, and choreographer/costume designer.
The biggest problem especially for my high school is that we can't afford not to do popular shows, because if we do not extremely well known musicals we wouldn't making enough money to keep the program going.
E X A C T L Y🙌🏻🙌🏻
My high school had the opposite problem. We couldn't afford the licensing for popular shows and often didn't have enough people (250 students in the entire school, most having no earthly interest in extracurriculars). We were also a Lutheran school, so we had to censor even instances of 'hell' and narrowing the shows we could do further (def not that cool hs drama program that lets kids do next to normal). We usually did obscure shows or Gilbert and Sullivan bc it was what we could do.
I actually have bc my high school did it a couple of years before I went there. Saw it in the yearbook and everything.
actually same. my music teacher always talks about if he slips up even once, the musical won't happen anymore
Huh, I always thought high school shows had an automatic audience of parents.
instead of fiddler on the roof... actually no, just do fiddler on the roof, honestly. it's the perfect high school show because it has a huge ensemble, a ton of great characters, and pretty easy-to-sing but beautiful and fun music. plus it's universally relatable and relevant while also being a classic
my school is doing that, they are currently casting an audition to the orchestra for who should be the fiddler. They're going to harness the fiddler and have them fly around the stage. there also might be other orchestra students hiding in the crowd who will pop up and play music
Instead of Fiddler on the Roof, consider Rags. It's kind of a spiritual successor to Fiddler, dealing with immigrants fleeing pogroms and such in America.
a good alternative cast-wise would be little women, it has about the same number of male and female leads and a similar theme
Oh hey I just finished my schools production of fiddler last night
@@yoko3182 FIDDLER and RAGS actually shared the same book-writer, Joseph Stein.
THIS IS THE MOST HELPFUL VIDEO FOR FINDING AUDITION SONGS SIMILAR TO THE PRODUCTION YOU'RE AUDITIONING FOR! THANK YOUUU
magneato HEY GIRL HEYYYYYYY
I got it Musical Theatre Mash! instead of "Beauty and the Beast", don't do "Big"...DO "Hunchback of Notre Dame" both Beauty and Hunchback are based off of Classic Disney films, they are both Alan Menkin musicals, they both have a Deformed character as the main lead, they have a killer ensemble cast (Especially for Hunchback), they both have the gothic setting, both shows share the "don't judge a book by it's cover" theme, and both have Beautiful BEAUTIFUL music!
Hunchback is MAGICAL. I hope that my highschool will do this show while I’m in still in highschool.
Jonathan Wallis im doing the Hutchback for school rn!
youre a genius.
@Emma Planas My school is actually considering Jekyll and Hyde. Either that or Hello Dolly or Chicago
@@kyliehoward7834 You're so lucky!! I've been trying to convince my teacher to do it, but he's worried that the set would cost way too much 😣
Just in general, Tuck Everlasting isn't a widely known musical because it came out right after Hamilton, but it is a compelling story and can have a great ensemble if done right
Yay Tuck stans!
ahh i’ve done this show i love it!
I didn't even know tuck has a musical. I loved both the book and movie
my school did urinetown last year, it was a great show for a high school, but the director got kicked out the program because the name was inappropriate. The year before we did grease, if that tells you anything.
*sigh*
What's ironic is that "Grease" is the more inappropriate show!
the head of the musical at my camp was gonna do Urinetown and we all got our parts and we were super excited. but then the heads of camp said we couldn't do it cause of the name. So we casted, learned, choreographed, and performed Bye Bye Birdie in less than 2 weeks.
Chocolate Souljah no shit Sherlock
"How about bad subject matter? Or a bad title even? That'll kill a show pretty good."
The first few words of Be More Chill:
"I've been waiting for my porno to load."
If any of y'all wondered
Daniel Tramontana I'm just thrilled he mentioned Be More Chill!!! I end up listening to More than Survive most mornings.
I actually squealed when he said Be More Chill, i wasn't expecting it and it's my FAVORITE show ever!!! (well i mean tied with rent and dear evan hansen of course...)
Daniel Tramontana technically, the first 8 words to BMC is "c'mon" repeated 8 times.
same!
My school is doing be more chill this fall. Super excited but I’m genuinely surprised they’re letting us do it.
How to realistically pick a musical for a school production:
a) There have to be at least 10 semi-important roles, so noone gets buthurt
b) 3/4s of these roles have to be female or at least could be played by a teenage girl dressing up as a male without disturbing suspension of disbelief too much, because let's be honest you're lucky to even have 3 boys in your troupe
c) it has to be unpopular enough to be dirt cheap, because in this day and age you have to be thankful for the school board allowing funding for non-sport extracurriculars at all and mummy and daddy will spend their money on tickets anyway, whether they ever heard of the play or not
d) it has to adress a social issue in order to be pedagogical, but the adressed issue can't be too controversial. A struggle of a bygone era, like the civil rights movement is a good topic, that way mummy and daddy can give themselves a pat on the back about how far society's come without having to think about the problems it currently has
e) It has to be funny
this is soo true the m/f ratio is the hardest part for my school. wish we had more guys so we could do more stuff
All of that is so true... Does a show that fits all that criteria even exist? I can't seem to think of anything right now.
Seth Zarandona our options for next year are cinderella or sound of music- each one has only 2-3 "important" guy parts
My school actually got to do Les Mis a couple of years ago, and we could only get, like, five guys to be on it. Needless to say, almost all of our students were girls and we also had a female Thenardier and a female Marius (myself, actually). Les Mis is great, but they really should have picked a musical with more girls.
Where is the fucking lie? Oh my goodness.
Unpopular Opinion: I don't mind Shrek the Musical or Legally Blonde
My high school did both of those shows back to back. Sold out every night.
Marley Hinrichs I was in both. They are so much fun.
I don’t care for shrek, but I like legally blonde
Marley Hinrichs Shrek is one of my favorite musicals and Legally Blonde is such a good musical!
I’m partial to shred because it was my first musical, but honestly it’s a really fun show for kids. And legally blonde is amazing
The 2018 list came out, and new to the list is Annie. Perhaps Matilda would be a good substitute.
That's got me thinking... The characters are pretty one-to-one. You got the young girl in the title role; the big, beefy man; the sweet, motherly figure; the unscrupulous con artists; the comedic worker at a government building; and two ensembles of kids and adults. "Naughty" and "Tomorrow" are kissing cousins, as are "Revolting Children" and "New Deal for Christmas". There's a theme of escaping bonds, literal and figurative. The songs in Matilda are a bit more complex, and I think there's a bit more dancing involved.
Yes!
we did Matilda for the student run show at my high school and it was extremely successful, everyone loved it and it sold out, and because of the specific characters it was cast very well
For a more obscure replacement to Annie, Anne of Green Gables the musical is wonderful and it’s an incredibly similar story, right down to the names of the protagonists
Matilda or Carrie
Tommy can you please make this a series? Honestly I think giving alternatives for people might make it easier for people to spark their own interests in researching lesser done shows.
if be more chill played at my high school it'd be zoomin into that show b4 you could say c'mon
*_s a m e_*
I'm still in middle school, but I still really want them to do it. I would love to play SQUIP, because I love the mood swings and, well, the PITIFUL CHILDREN
I think you mean
c-c-c-c'mon
Mood
qty - pox
I’m doing it at my school
Brookland Middle
No decided date yet
I was thinking Zombie Prom instead of grease because it also is 1950s and good girl falls in love with bad boy but it adds, well, a zombie. And it pays homage to grease and kinda makes fun of it
I did Zombie Prom some years back with my local theater group at the time. It's soo much fun.
I said the same thing about. When we did it and people asked us what it was about, everyone in the cast would answer "Grease but Danny is a Zombie"
Margo McCready The problem is that while the stories are equally mindless, but the music in Grease is SO MUCH BETTER than the music in Zombie Prom. And I know this because I did both shows at my high school. Zombie Prom is a joke. Most shows take themselves at least a little bit seriously (Grease's "There are Worse Things I Could Do" is a great example of this), but Zombie Prom is just a joke all the way through. The dialogue tries to be funny and fails, and its music and especially lyrics are really cliche and stupid.
While I agree that at the core of the work, Grease certainly tries harder in it's writing..... but I think that only makes Zombie Prom all that much more FUN. It's so carefree and silly. It works especially at a school like the one I went to. A overrun by sports tiny arts budget school that had maybe 3 kids that carried HARDCORE about the deeper meaning of the songs and then about 30 kids that just wanted to have fun and didn't care about being serious. Sometimes it's okay to be dumb if you are having fun. And I would rather a dumb show with fun campy material then overdone and overrated shows like Grease.
Margo McCready Zombie Prom has a really weak script in my opinion while vocals are good the story is a little too cheesy even though it is meant to be.
While I love the idea behind this and several of your comparisons (Guys and Dolls/How to Succeed, Addams Family/Young Frankenstein, etc, absolutely) but there are more things to consider than just the overall themes of the show. Music Man will get butts in the seat, Anyone Can Whistle will not. Several high school theaters can only do big name shows in order to sell tickets and keep the program running. Dance requirements are also a huge factor for a lot of high schools. My high school did Oklahoma, Hairspray, and Guys and Dolls consecutively because they had so many dancers. When they were short of dancers they switched to shows like Children of Eden, Parade, and Urinetown.
damn, I would kill for my school to do urinetown. such a great show.
PARADE?!?! YOUR SCHOOL GOT TO DO PARADE?!?! God I love that show
Children of Eden is SO underrated
If they're not big on dancing you might want to do City on Angels.
I love your list and agree with most of them, but Anyone Can Whistle is a terrible show. The audience will not know what’s going on in your cast will be miserable.
If you want to do something in the same era as How to Succeed but with more female roles, try 9 to 5!
I'm really hoping The Lighting Thief gets optioned for school use at some point. It's a great show that has a lot of really great roles of all sizes. Roles can be doubled up or not as needed based on cast size (the original did double up a lot). There's space for an ensemble even though the original had a tiny cast. The music is fun and has some interesting parts but isn't too technically challenging for kids. And on top of that it's based on an extremely popular middle grade book series so it might be good for a middle school to do to help introduce kids to theatre who normally might not be interested!
Nicole Craswell yesssss
Nicole Craswell I was actually looking at the cast and there's like, 5 members. The only time an actor plays one character is Percy and Annabeth. But all the other roles you could give to one person instead of having one actor play multiple roles.
Exactly, the roles are designed so that it can be done by a really small cast if need be. But If you don't double up the roles you have 3 leads and another 10-15 supporting roles. Then there's enough space for an ensemble in a lot of the songs. There's plenty of space for people to play campers, tourists, classmates, miscellaneous dead people int he underworld scenes... The original cast is tiny but there's definitely room to adapt it for a larger cast!
Nicole Craswell I’ve just been in a play with originally only needing around fourteen actors but we split roles to get a thirty seven person cast
Nicole Craswell yeah! That's a awesome idea!
In The Heights instead of West Side Story
Erick Lopez the tricky thing with this one is that if you don't have a mostly latino or mixed race cast you shouldn't do either of them
I feel like I heard somewhere that Lin was saying how it's great for Latino students to play the roles in the musical, but the musical also helps teach white students about diversity and culture. No offense to anyone just saying. I might be wrong.
12345 Nitsaaegcj Why? the high school I ended up going to did an amazing WEST SIDE STORY, and they weren't a 'mixed' school. Nobody complained. When I was in high school, our senior musical was 'Aida.' Again, nobody complained. Open-mindedness cuts both ways.
Agree
West Side Story instead of In the Heights (Its better)
mamma mia is more overdone than once upon a mattress
Cami Robinson my spring musical for my school that closes today is once upon a mattress
Cami Robinson right! this year I’ve a already done mamma Mia twice, going in a third time
Lmao I did Once Upon A Mattress this year 😂
@@rebeccamactaggart3875 Twice?
100% agree. Mama Mia is overdone for both high school and adults. I RARELY see any high school or community theatres do Once Upon a Mattress. Lastly, if you take out the ABBA music, the storyline for Mama Mia isn't that great in my opinion. Once Upon a Mattress has a way better storyline plus the music is fantastic.
😂😂 I died when he was like "don't let the first couple lyrics on be more chill throw you off" any bmc nerds out there?? 😂😂
Be More Chill stan reporting for duty
Laura Buell Honestly though
C-c-c-come on c-c-c-come on go go
go GO
We are all Christine’s if we’re watching this video!
We did Shrek the Musical and our male lead couldn’t sing. Big Bright Beautiful World was painful.
The_QuirkyCartoonist oof neither could our Shrek and I think I got you beat was actual trash 😂
The_QuirkyCartoonist did you do the full version or junior. Seeing as shrek has many solos in the full version which would be RUFF
Our school did it
NONE OF THE CAST COULD SING
wait, did you go to my school?
Instead of Annie, do Anne of Green Gables!! The musical is actually really cute and the two are quite similar? They're both historical fiction about orphan girls who initially aren't loved by their eventual adoptive parents because they're girls, but go on to win the hearts of everyone around them through various, kinda unrelated but convenient events. Plus their names are similar! Anne and Annie! Just missing an i! Anne is a little bit darker (spoiler alert, there is a death in Anne), but not by much. I did it in grade 7 (I was Marilla) and it was very fun
I had no idea there was an Anne musical, that's fantastic! I need to go find the soundtrack now, lol
Thanks for this information, I must go listen now!!
But I am putting on an Artfully Abriged Annie at summer camp, because there are really little kids that probably couldn't handle a death science sadly.
Rose Blossom it is fantastic!! I still remember some of the songs. We Clearly Requested a Boy (I think that's what it's called) is probably my favourite
Felix Catta I mean Annie is still really good. I really love it and it's perfect for little kids. I did an abridged version when I was 8, and I played Ms Hannigan and I had an awesome time!
The perfect high school musical: Urinetown
i agree
My friend would love you
Why is Chicago SUCH a popular highschool musical? Literally 3 schools around me (including my school, I did stage crew) did it for the spring musical
Don't do annie... Do Oliver! Both of them are shows about orphans finding a new home, both include a kidnapping, and Oliver has better music, (in my opinion) murder, and annie is way too overdone.
Lily Braun-Arnold Oliver is a better show
Haha my school did Oliver the same year that our cross-town rivals did Annie. (Ours was better)
Bold of you to assume theatre departments have viable male opinions
Yeah. That makes sense, but my school just cast girls as boys.
I would suggest Oliver as an alternative to Newsies.
What do you have against legally blonde? It's a brilliant musical adapting a story that doesn't really lend it self to musicals but I works so well with the music
Markimoop did you miss the first minute or so? he says pretty obviously that this video is for folks who want alt choices-he has nothing against the ‘instead of’ shows, but a lot of them are very over-done by high schools.
Look up illegally blond
@@stormcloudsabound But he also made it pretty clear that he just didn't like legally blonde
I instantly wrote off legally blind when I heard it was going to be a musical.... Until I saw it. I think it's a great musical. There is only one stanza that's touchy for a school and that would be about being in the hot tub and making love to you. But other than that I think it's a great musical.
I agree with him because in some areas where theater isn’t as supported as it should be, Elle woods might be too hard of a character to do because of all the choreography that it has and all her belts.
Some additional easy alternatives to shows I'm sick of seeing:
Godspell: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
My Fair Lady: Secret Garden
South Pacific: Kiss Me Kate
I did Joseph 2 years ago at my school, and I had a great time.
godspell (the revival version) is an incredible show, joseph has only one strong female lead and so many boy leads which most high schools lack anyways. godspell has many strong leads for both genders and the revival is much more structured and the vocals are kickass
Easy way to fix Joseph for high school. Genderblind casting for the brothers. I am a female and played "Naphtali" and it was awesome.
the secret to doing Joseph with an accurate-gender cast is to have a really well liked guy in the cast, who probably does sports and can convinces other guys that "it'll be fun". we actually ended up with a male chorus section when I did it. but yeah, we had to split the narrator into four parts, which sucked but hey, at least I got my dream role out of it
I LOVE Dreamcoat and Kiss Me Kate. Great recommendations!
the issue with doing Gypsy in highschool is how squeamish that particular school is about teens playing strippers, even PG ones.
This issue I have with it is that I don't believe a high school, teenage girl can play Mama Rose.
misskyliesue you would need someone with a solid voice for that, true.
I saw "Gypsy" at Berkeley High in California in the year 2000. It worked well. Berkeley High doesn't shy away from difficult, challenging shows.
Guys and dolls also has strippers (technically got box girls) I did it in my high school, there was no problem
Kamila Adamczyk yeah, but they more PG than the ones in Gypsy, depending on how you play it. Adelaide wears little, but generally stays clothed to some degree.
Another alternative to Little Shop: Sweeney Todd
Charles Amand again, one is way less appropriate than the other (even if Little Shop curses more)
Well, Sweeney Todd has rape and more direct depictions of murder. Please perform carefully.
I can't remember...does the school version cut out "wait"? Because that is by FAR the most inappropriate song in the show.
Éponine Johanna Tuck Er, not sure if you're serious or not, but how is Wait the most inappropriate song in Sweeney Todd?
My school did Sweeney Todd and it was AMAZING.
Guy (sorry I don't know his name): **mentions Be More Chill and Little Shop of Horrors**
Me: **SITS BOLT UPRIGHT** SEE I TOLD YOU THAT WILL ROLAND WOULD BE A PERFECT SEYMOUR!!!
I like little shop of horrors, never seen be more chill
His name is Tommy
My college did Little Shop one year and BMC the next year.
Miranda Bee how did you college have the money for the rights?! 😳
@@pingnixon-hermansen5046 I don't know, but it probably helped that it was the Two River Theater version, before they even announced the Off-Broadway run.
I was just in a production of James and the Giant Peach. OH MY GOD. ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS I HAVE EVER BEEN A PART OF. Definitly a good show to consider.
YESSS! About a year ago I did James and the Giant Peach at my local theatre and it was Amazing! We did it with a tiny cast tho (like 15 people) and I played sponge, and I got to eat onstage, there were so many inside jokes our cast had during the show 😂
@@franfrankie7I was spiker ;) so fun
"You're replacing one 'classic' children's movie with an actual classic children's movie"
DON'T YOU DISRESPECT MY PRESIDENT LIKE THAT
Okay, I do agree with Seussical and James and the Giant Peach. A lot of people dismiss James because they think it's a children's show, when the music is sO GOOD. Like, the people who wrote the music for La La Land and Dear Evan Hansen DID THAT! I just feel like Seussical is done to death at this point.
Fun fact: I actually played Aunt Spiker two months ago! Okay, shutting up now. :)
YAAAASSSS QUEEN
Face it: he lost the election.
@@oliverbrownlow5615 voter fraud, i won't accept it 😡😡😡
instead of doing beauty and the beast do hunchback, both are storys about inner beauty with complex male leads, unrequited love, fantastic villains, awesome female leads and bomb ass music, the only inconvenience are the religious themes of hucnhback which may be frowned uppon by parents or the school board but if you can do hunchback instead do hunchback instead
12345 Nltsaaegcj this is a fantastic idea! Unfortunately Hunchback is under limited release and you need special permission to obtain the rights. I know they've been testing the waters with this show and I can't wait to see what the final script is when it's available to the public.
my high school actually did hunchback last year! we were one of the very first schools to do it. it's a great show, even though the musical is definitely darker than the disney movie version
My school honestly mainly does shows that involve lots of tap dancing since we have a terrific choreographer and lots of good dancers. Next year we are doing Singin' in the Rain!
Instead of *literally any historical show* DO FRICKING MAN OF LA MANCHA
RavenclawIngenious You’re dreaming an impossible dream, man.
Kelly Alves I’ll march into school with a heavenly cause. This is my quest. To spread this show.
@@kellyalves756 hey we did it! And it was a m a z I n g
Maddie Magnant ❤️❤️❤️
Maddie Magnant Same. My best friend played a horse.
If you don't have the appropriate cast for ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, JUST DON'T DO IT. :)
I was actually in a high school production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Would recommend.
davidshead that would be so fun!! Love the soundtrack from the revival
Here's a thought, don't do seussical unless you have no faith in your cast
ACCURATE
Tommy Pegan we're doing Seussical next year. it's my senior year too. Not totally stoked
Seussical doesn't present a challenge, but I wanted to do it in high school because I'm a perfect Horton. I can sing Valjean but I have a voice more suitable for jazz
Suessical is a good musical! It's a bit zany and wild but it depends on the direction you should put it in if you do it right it will be a great show!
i've done seussical. while it can be simplified greatly, it also has some pretty complicated music, with its wild keys, time signatures, harmonies. it's syncopated and has insane intervals. not to mention that it's one show that is best done very dance-heavy, which can be a challenge for high schoolers who haven't done dance-heavy shows in the past. so yes, while there is a junior version that's very simple, the full musical can present its own challenges
There's a couple of problems with your lists.
1. Brand recognition. While I am all for doing lesser known works, mass audiences gravitate to the recognizable brand and "safe bet".
2. Each company's individual Iimitations. For example, Spelling Bee was a hot show for high schoolers about 6-7 years ago because of the single setting of the show. And you suggested Avenue Q as an alternative. A multi-scene musical.
Overall, I like your suggestions, but I would go one step further and add the technical needs (particularly sets and costumes) in the mix or merely make multiple suggestions.
Paden Frank for spelling bee what about a chorus line.Both have little glimpses into people's lives,lots of individual characters AND dirt cheap set/costumes
Let lil live You also have to consider that Spelling Bee requires top notch character actors, while Chorus Line requires top notch dancers. Both fantastic shows, but very, very different in terms of style and cast abilities.
Also I don't know any school that would do Avenue Q. Also, puppets.
High school is one of the few places you don't need to worry about making a profit, so why not introduce audiences to some of the newer works out there. Most shows will have built-in audiences, friends and family members so if small audiences should not be a worry.
Sets should not be a concern if you have a good production and a creative imagination you can do a show in a black box theatre with very limited sets and still have a good show. Talent and story is more important than the sets and costumes. Sure sets and costumes are fun for the students, but the point is to learn not just look "Cool".
thornwyck1 Making profit is absolutely necessary. Many kids in my area cannot afford to pay high activity cost in order to perform in their musicals and therefore shows have to make money. I know that there have been schools who do not have a musical theater program simply because they cannot afford it. My school has been close to shutting down theirs as well.
25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE IS A BEAUTIFUL MUSICAL! MY SCHOOL IS DOING IT RIGHT NOW AND ITS REALLY GOOD!!! I RECOMMEND IT!💯
In love with this show! -past Chip Tolentino
🥺 we were supposed to do it but covid happened .. we might still be able to do it tho, i’m logainne :)
Closing night for that show for me was yesterday, I played Vice Principal Panch and had a lot of fun
HI VERY LATE BUT AGREED WE ARE DOING IT RIGHT NOW I AM LEAF IT IS VERY GOOD AND SO FUN!!
@@brookiicookies2655 BESTIE ME TOO
no joke my school was going to do seussical and then they changed their mind and did james and the giant peach. and it was wonderful
Omg I love peach! I was earthworm! Wbu?
Did they have boys play the aunts?
we did both James and the giant peach and suessical!
i would be very, very uncomfortable seeing gypsy at a high school.
elaine stritch i'm obsessed w ur prof pic
elaine stritch omg it's funny you should say that a highschool near me did that 😂
+Natalia S thank you!!
+mostlyvoid4 oh god, how was it?
elaine stritch I wish I could tell you but 😂😂 I did not go
Legally blonde is fine.. I did it last year and I don't know of any issues, and it's actually a pretty good show.
Ksd,omr Yibru easy to get a headache when performing it 😂
Brooklyn Lee how? I did it a couple years ago and I didn't get a head ache
I think Les Mis and Sweeney Todd switch out pretty well. Both have two male parts at the forefront, complex leading women, a pretty soprano and a spritely tenor in love, and some seriously great ensemble parts. They both deal with redemption and identity, and both get a little bloody...
Loved this video!
one really under appreciated show for high schools is the mystery of edwin drood ! its kind of an upbeat classical brass styled comedy musical with some difficult songs, but a really fun story and a creative ending in terms of audience participation
We just did Newsies, our last show was today, and I was playing Jack Kelly. God I’m really sad it’s over. Best experience I’ve had
One of the best musicals ever!
Another good replacement for HSM is Heathers 101! If your school is more lenient, them i'm sure you can add back in the "Kidnap a Heather" and a few curse words. Or, if your administration literally doesn't pay attention to your theatre troupe at all, then add Blue back in, and let Veronica say "fuck"
I love this because our admin literally gives no fucks about our drama department. Last year we did the respectful prostitute and this year we did a taste of honey (both plays with strong sexual themes)
omg i wish. sadly i think there is no way my high school would do Heathers 101. Buuuuut, my youth theater is doing it in the fall and i am soon excited!!!
I feel we need a replacement for heathers because it's litterally performed everywhere!! but its still a better replacement for high school musical
12345 Nltsaaegcj Not yet.. the rights to the show are currently really hard to get because its so popular right now. its popular in the musical fans right now but not in high school shows because licensing for the show literally came out at the end of the school year. Theres only one school in like 3 districts where I live in that is able to do the show right now.
a person no there's a Highschool version it sucks
Legally Blonde is great, and I'm not sure why you reacted as you did to it. And you want them to replace it with Xanadu? Seriously? I would've at least chosen something like Bring It On.
I wish some of these shows were produced more often here in the UK. The number of times I've seen a place put on Les Mis, Cats or Joseph just makes me wanna groan. Little Mermaid or Little Shop would both be a welcome change as I love them and they don't seem to come up all that often.
I wonder how long it'll be before Spongebob appears on this list?
Legally Blonde is a great feminist story with a large female cast, two things that are great for high school shows, since usually theres a significant lacking of guys in the theatre department :/
OfficiallyErling the company i'm in has done both legally blonde and bring it on and i agree they are both amazing shows
I was pleasantly surprised by how good the music and lyrics were in Legally Blonde and it's a really fun show.
Personally, I would quote the issue with legally blonde as not wrong in its content, but in extreme musical difficulty. Strange key signatures, complicated harmonies, etc. I've actually heard several theatrical music directors describing it as one of the harder musicals out there, especially for a classic comedy.
OfficiallyErling I completely agree! When ever I talk about musicals my friends are like, “ oh yeah le mis is good” like no Susan I don’t want talk about your basic bitch musicals 😂 honestly the only group that do interesting musicals is my group, we are a youth theatre and we are doing little shop of horrors right now
PLEASE don't do Once On This Island without an all-Black cast. Christ.
Cealc Hyth Why?
Ryan Is Okay because it was literally written for a cast of many ethnicities but not whit and there are so many other shows you could do. Believe me, it is one of my favorite shows but I will never be able to do it and I respect that because I understand that there aren’t many shows like it.
Yeah, my junior high didn’t go by that. Even my parents thought it was an odd choice, considering 98% of my school district is white xD The only black kid in the cast of the show was our Agwe. It was pretty good, though, despite it not being ethnically-accurate. All of the leads were really good singers.
AT LEAST DO A MIXED CAST WITH BLACK/MIXED RACE PEOPLE AS THE LEADS PLEASE
too late, my school's doing it and we're an all white school
no one wants to do it but our teacher still chose it anyway
We did Mamma Mia and it was probably the most fun I’ve had during a show, I highly recommend doing this show!
Instead of the School cut version of ITW that completely removes the second act, do the full production of ITW. It'll most definitely require parental consent, but it holds far better morals and storytelling elements that are perfect for young adults to witness and play out. Though leaving the little ones home, at least for act 2, might be best.
My high school did the full version 20 years ago. It was awesome.
I was Rapunzel in the full version in high school in the 90s. We even stuck the Rapunzel/Witch duet back in. No extra permissions were required, for cast or attendees, though there MAY have been a content warning.
Sadly, my theatre ended up doing the jr version during my freshman year. I was the wolf. It still ended up being really good and it was a lot of fun. The directors kept some of the dark themes in the show because our cast was all middle schoolers and high schoolers
OMG I did once on this island and the little mermaid was mentioned in the description. Also we did the junior version so we had a mixed cast. It was the best!!!!!
Addy Danbury i saw a cast do it at a musical contest (it was strange concept but awesome i promise) and it was performed awkwardly but had absolutely fantastic themes
Instead of High School Musical, do the Heathers
Casey S pretty much the same thing right?
OOF
Emma G Heathers and High School Musical are the two extremes of what people think high school is like
WAY too mature
I want to do Heathers at our high school but we are a super conservative school. Oh and guess what we are doing an illegal version of high school musical 😂
Instead of Beauty and the Beast, do Into the Woods. Same costumes, better story
Zach T you better have good vocals for that, you can fake it more with BatB
Van Film I guess. I mean there are a larger number of difficult roles
Zach T Into the Woods is already super popular for High Schools to produce though.
You can't compare them 🙄
Into the woods is kind of boring music wise
FRICKIN I LOVE THE DROWSY CHAPERONE SO MUCH
My old high school put on the drowsy chaperone. It was a super fun show.
I'm pretty sure that once the rights are released for Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen those'll be on that list.
No, because those are TERRIBLE shows for high schools. Hamilton is way too hard and requires very very strong singers, intense dancers, and PoC, and DEH has 8 roles and no ensemble.
@@ryanjankelowitz9710 However, they are extremely popular and for ailing theatre programs they will bring in a lot of money.
But still, high schools won't do it do to the fact that it will make them look terrible considering the unlikeliness of having the quality needed@@EllyFLuft
If any school in my hometown try’s to do those I will be so annoyed they are terrible Highschool choices
A good one my middle school did was newsies.
Shows like Hairspray are Ragtime are fantastic shows, but they also can be unideal for a high school environment as they promote the idea of a racial binary. It doesn't give a lot of options for actors who are Asian or Hispanic.
atngo15 That is true, but when my High School did Hairspray, we only had like 2 or 3 people that were neither black or white (out of like 70 people total). They ended up being placed in with the North Avenue ensemble I believe.
atngo15 that's my issue with seeing community theaters in my white suburban neighborhood do shows like miss saigon and west side story... great musicals but yikes the spray tans
Olivia Morrow yikes one of the community theatres i'm connected to did hairspray last year and they banned anyone from getting spray tans
Ragtime had an immigrant ensemble, too. My school did it and that's where more ethnicities fit in
My school has done both
The reality of these is that they require too many males for the vast majority of high school theatre companies. We have enough guys who won't ruin a show with their singing to have a couple of males lead, but not enough to have strong male secondary characters (or even male character roles) or males in ensemble. Also pretty much everyone in the theatre department of our very diverse school is white, which means that all of our female leads are beautiful blondes, and as one of the few non-white students, I am often relegated to roles my "look" is more appropriate for. High school theatre is tough because you are casting from a small group, so you gotta work with what you have. My director wants to put on Grease despite our lack of talented boys.
Until I saw this video, and read the comments, I never realized how lucky my school is. I go to a performing arts high school that has a campus which is intertwined and built around one of the U.S.'s most famous theatres, so we have about an even amount of males and females, which opens up so many theatre opportunities.
Isha Raj-Silverman this is the almost the exact situation of my school right now. the director wanted to do a a show with a bug name, so we’re doing grease. we don’t have the males to pull it off at all and i’m nervous to see how it turns out. we also have the same problem with a diverse school but not a diverse theatre department
My school is mostly white and we have no non white people involved in drama. So yeah, that's a bit of an issue. I mean, they did High School Musical last year which has quite a few black characters (and Gabriella) plus more guys than they have just fine, so....
I died at the Heelies line 😂😂😂 that I for the show recs!
bamboo72498 OMG. Don't get me started on the heelies for The Little Mermaid 😂
My senior year we did The Little Mermaid cause the rights were released and she spent way too much money for everyone to have heelies even if they didn't need it. A.K.A. Me 😛
Amelia Skye I rolled my ankle during poor unfortunate souls because of my heelies!
My school did it too and we had to buy so many heelies
BUT DO NOT DO ONCE ON THIS ISLAND WITH A WHITE GIRL AS TI MUNE
I agree too much with this statement
okay but like it is so much better than doing lion king like that. Besides the junior version of once on this island just changes it so its about social class only and not race. Its unoticable if you have't seen the original
oh my goodness we did once on this island jr. I'm 8th grade. there are about 4 people of color in my grade? thankfully i was andrea
Literally my first musical ever was my high school's mostly white production of Once on This Island with a White Ti Moune. Correction: She and several white cast members went tanning. We also made it about class instead of race and....yeah, my siblings still mock me for it.
RAGTIME IS SO UNDERRATED THANK YOU
My school almost did Drowsy Chaperone, everyone was hype about it and it's what made me wanna start being a cast member rather than in stage crew. Then, a parent complained about the risqué material in it, causing us to change to.... Into the Woods Jr. As the spring show, aka the last show for many people... was Into the Woods Jr.
Christi Nerdle Yep :/ most people prob would've been cool with the full version, just a bit disappointed, but the fact it was the Junior version was just. Extremely disappointing. The next year we had a new director and our shows were Shrek Jr. and Footloose
why would the do Into The Woods JR for a HIGH SCHOOL?!? Most High Schools do the actual version. wtf
unless your a middle school. then i get it
ITW jr defeats the whole point of Into The Woods.
We just did the Drowsy Chaperone as our spring musical and it was such an amazing show. A great choice really 10/10
My high school performed The Drowsy Chaperone and it was an amazing experience. I bought the OBC album I loved it so much
Mine did too! It's such a fun show.
Hi there! Was wondering if you'd ever consider doing an updated version of this video idea! I remember watching this video back when I was a senior in high school and now that I'm running my own high school theatre company, I'm always on the hunt for new and exciting shows to put on with the kiddos! :)
This made me realize how strange the choices my drama club makes are, most of our musicals are jukebox written by our director, and the only real musical we’ve ever done was Hair
if you can do Next To Normal DEFINITELY do it, but if you want to find an alternative listen to Fun Home. both are super amazing shows
please i would die if my school did n2n
wait, i don't think they released the rights to be more chill yet- did they?
also, my high school did sister act- and it was AMAZING.
Not yet, but I've heard that they will.
They're working on it. Joe's trying to get the publishers to put it out faster since he's getting so many requests.
Licensing now available!
WELP ITS LEGAL NOW
My high school has done pippin, ooti, and James and the giant peach and we're doing drowsy chaperone next year. Love my school
My high school just finished our run of The Addams Family(i was in the pit). Its honestly such a good show.
Its honestly not. Its something I like to call teh addams family fevour where while you are in the show you accidently belive that it is a good show. Its not. I literally played the lead and had a great time but looking back the script and story is just bad and the jokes are either stupid or overly offesnive.
We had some major issues with editing errors in the orchestra book...some people had mismatched meters, key changes, etc. It took quite a while to find them all...
Instead of Newsies do Urinetown! Very similar themes check it out!
Omg I love both shows so much!!!!@
Katelyn Viszoki same here! I’m in a production of Urinetown rn it’s so fun!!!
Ew... Urinetown is awful. Just do Newsies
@@ccnitro557 OMG no. I absolutely love both
Chrisinite noooo Urinetown is hilarious and the music is great!
I will fight anyone who doesn't want to do Shrek The Musical.
i was in shrek jr. and it's definitely my favorite show i was ever in to date
But it's so..... DUMB.
Yoko318 it might be a little dumb but the music is so good
Goretty Martinez My school is doing it this year 🙌 I’m gonna audition when the time comes
I used to not like but that that I’ve done it I love it. Its my favorite show I’ve done
Omg Be More Chill is on this list!!!!!! I would absolutely kill to have my high school do that show it's one of my favs
I saw it on broadway. It was trash. Im happy its gone
Our season at my community theatre next year is literally 'Guys and Dolls', 'The Little Mermaid', and 'R+H Cinderella'.. however, we have a reason!!😂 we need to have super recognizable shows in my tiny town where almost nobody knows much about theatre👌🏻👌🏻 We did 'The Wizard of Oz' and 'Annie' so far in our season and we open 'Les Miserables' in 3 weeks💜💜 (I'm Fantine.. AAAAHHHH)
Abigail Rose Brock Congrats!!! Hope your role as Fantine goes well! :)
Maripan thank you!! It really is!!❤️❤️
Break a leg
My school is doing a newer version of My Fair Lady (we’re first in the nation to perform it yay!) and it’s sooooooo good! I’m literally writing this after getting home from opening night and trust me, it’s FABULOUS ✨
A great idea is 25th annual Putnam county spelling bee. basically every role is big and there’s audience participation to make up for a small cast. Im in a production of it right now as Leaf and it is SO FUN!
WHAT DO YOU HAVE AGAINST LEGALLY BLONDE
It's awful. That's why.
i don't think it's awful. it's not the most complex musically, but there's a lot of valuable themes in it. i actually liked the idea of it being broadcasted on mtv.
But all of its themes are done better by other musicals, and its music is intolerable if you don't like pop music... and by pop music I mean the sound of cats being shoved into blenders.
Mr. Brightside personally, I really love LB
I think the musical doesn't really work for teen voices (somewhat ironically), but it has good morals and the Broadway production had a lot of amazing people
I directed and choreographed "Legally Blonde" I wasn't wild about it but it was offered to me and I didn't want to turn down the opportunity. I applied myself, did my homework and the show was a success. As a director it's a challenging show to piece together in many ways. Ultimately it was a wonderful experience for the cast and audience. Our Elle was talented, charismatic, endearing. The women rule this show and the men take a back seat. The score can be brash and mechanical at times but it has a few gems. I reiterate I walked in something of a naysayer but the show won me over.
The affinities between THE MUSIC MAN and ANYONE CAN WHISTLE are so great that they could both be done in repertory on the same sets to devastating effect. And surprise, surprise -- both shows were co-produced by Kermit Bloomgarden. 110 IN THE SHADE, which has a remarkably similar plot to both of them, could also be added to the rotation.
When you watch this in 2019 and Be More Chill is now on Broadway and has been Tony nominated for "Best Original Score"
I saw it on broadway. It was bad. Im gladd it is gone. It didn't deserve broadway
WOW! I was in Peter and Starcatcher last year. I'm glad someone shouted it out :)
I was too and it was an incredibly fun show to be in!
I was just in it and it was such a great experience!
Me too! It's an amazing show
My high school did Catch Me If You Can and it was AWESOME!!!! I was in the ensemble and had the most fun I've ever had in a show
PinkPenguin22 catch me if you can is the funniest musical I’ve ever seen and it doesn’t get talked about that much
How come no one does Spring Awakening ??
Jkjk 😂😂😂 but I mean, it does take place in like a high school/ middle school
Penny J I saw that a local teen-young adult theater was going to do it, and then it disappeared from the schedule with no further information. I suspect they couldn't find enough actors in our small city to cast it.
My high school did it this year! We live in the northwest where most everyone's pretty liberal. We convinced the school board to let us do it by adding in an educational talk-back after some of the performances, and including posters with referalls to crisis services in the lobby. It turned out really well!
This is another show that has very strict age limitations. I've heard that in the earlier versions of the contract for the show your Wendla had to be 18 years or older. I don't know if they've changed that rule or anything but I still know that you need parental consent if you have an actor in the show under the age of 16.
I mean, Heathers is based in high school tooooooo😬😂
My school did this last time and apparently everyone was very cool with it and lots of people saw it. They had to say that children under 12 years should better see it with their parents but there was no age restriction for neither visitors nor actors.
>legally blonde
>bad
What
Little Women is a phenomenal musical! The lead of Jo is a very demanding role and needs a strong singer and actor. My daughter just slayed it. The score is beautiful and so are the songs. Get your tissues ready!
We just did this but /ZOMBIE PROM/ it’s funny it’s 50s has two great male and female leads it’s a great replacement if you don’t want to do grease but your leading guy goes green. Also a great ensemble and 6 great supporting characters it also takes place in a highschool
My school just did Peter and the Starcatcher this year!! I was Teacher/ensemble :)
6:55 Be More Chill actually has made it to Broadway now!
And I saw it on broadway. It was trash. I didn't deserve broadway and now it is luckly gone
Instead of Les Miserables, try Titanic! Literally it's just Les Mis on a boat ⛵
...how?
Rith Trelin Death
My school’s doing Titanic and we open in a week!! I’m part of the tech but I’m still excited!!
Omg I love titanic I just saw it at my local theatre and I cried because I knew some people on the ship and it felt like they were really going to die lol 😂
Jacob Lubic ...But I love Les Mis...
Last year my school did Throughly Modern Millie and this year we're doing Drowsy
When I saw the first one, which was instead of Thoroughly Modern Millie to do The Drowsy Chaperone, I literally flailed my arms and screamed. No one knows about this show and it is my all time favorite musical. Also, as someone who loves the musical Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, I very much agree with this. As a former Ms. Jones of How to Succeed, I love both of these shows. Also, as someone who is a fan of Anything Goes (it was my first show and made me fall in love with the theater), your comparison of it to Hello Dolly makes me want to see the show even more.
I loved this video!! My high school theatre director would ALWAYS pick shows based on how many jocks he could fit into the cast. No, really. "Damn Yankees" starred the entire high school baseball team; "Good News" starred the entire football team. "The Pajama Game" just had whatever people could carry a tune from "Damn Yankees" pushed into lead roles instead of a boy who actually COULD sing/act and who theatre was the only thing they did.... I'm not bitter.
But seriously, really well-done video! There were a couple of shows that I never heard of, and shows where
I literally yelled, "OH MY GOD THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE!"
You're a man sitting in a chair talking about musicals. Does that make you the Man in Chair?
That gag at the start was funny and all, but we /actually did/ High School Musical. it was a shambles.
Alx Windsar Mind did last year too it was better than the movie.
same
Every musical I've been in (The Addams Family and Bye Bye Birdie), am going to be in (Footloose), and even the one I'm in right now (Guys and Dolls) are on the "whoops it's pretty popular" side.
I could see all your comparisons, even those I never heard of. Good job! Off to discover more material
I did the Drowsy Chaperone, I was Mrs.Tottendale. The Drowsy Chaperone is such a good musical and it touches my heart in so many ways. It’s great, funny and musical all at the same time!
It's also dark ...
Anyone Can Whistle in place of The Music Man is genius.
Instead of R + H Cinderella, do Oklahoma or Carousel!
Instead of Les Mis, do Jekyll and Hyde!
Instead of Guys and Dolls, do 42nd Street!
Instead of Grease, do Urinetown, or All Shook Up, or Bye Bye Birdie or literally anything else
Instead of The Addams Family, do Carrie: the Musical!
Instead of Thoroughly Modern Millie, do The Mystery of Edwin Drood!
Instead of Legally Blonde, do 9 to 5!
I love doing stuff like this in my head lol
i feel like Carrie would be a better replacement for HSM cuz it's in a high school and yeah it's a bit darker but the casts are almost alike and Carrie has more of a message to not bully and stuff like that. my school did that show this year and it was so well received by everyone. also teenagers wouldn't really want to see HSM and the Genre for Carrie is horror so it attracts more teenagers and as they enjoy the show they're also getting a message.
Well, I think that if a high school is wanting to put on HSM in the first place, this would most likely not be a high school that would put on a musical like Carrie due to mature content. HSM is the standard pure and clean Disney musical so if this is what a theatre department is looking for I would suggest doing the Little Mermaid instead or maybe Fame (more mature but still) because of the similar setting. For most high schools, content is one of the biggest factors in the decision because it has to appease a school board in order to get funding. Carrie would probably be too mature for a school that was looking to do HSM.
*JEKYLL AND HYDE*
Lexi Raphael Addams family is one of my favorite musicals so, there's that, but I agree
I just wished my school does support our theater club
My former high school has done grease and pippin twice each since 2002 (and seussical and Cinderella once each). Just sent this video to the director, assistant director, music director, and choreographer/costume designer.
we’re doing mama mia for our acting program at our high school next year and i’m really exited