Help Figuring Out a Musical?

[skylar1295]

Posted: 6/25/17 at 2:14pm

My high school has a musical every year and though the name of it is not released until the first day of school, we were given some hints as to what it is.

Here's what I know for sure:

• Was on Broadway in the 1940s/1950s (probably 50s)
• Full orchestra with strings, winds, brass
• Not a constant stream of music but rather song, dialogue, song, dialogue, etc.
• Possibility for a lot of scene changes
• Has a movie version
• Older people will have heard of it but high schoolers probably not
• He mentioned a lot about color and a lot of colorful scenery
• It is not South Pacific

Here's what I expect it to be based on what talent we have next year:

• Strong female leads (anywhere from one to five, we have many talented girls)
• Not too many male leads
• Not too much dancing (nowhere near West Side Story levels, but some. Ballet is possible but I don't think many musicals have ballet dancers anyway)

That is about all I know. Does anyone have any idea what it could be? Have suggestions would be great :).

My school is very invested in the musical so there are not any restrictions on cost or extravagance; this year we did Phantom of the Opera (actual Broadway version) and it went very well so we can handle just about anything.

Thanks so much! I'll be sure to update this thread in September with what it turned out to be.

 

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 6/25/17 at 2:16pm

Could be pretty much anything... but if I HAD to guess... I'd guess Lil' Abner

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 6/25/17 at 2:27pm

Li'l Avnet feels like a good guess. What about Finian's Rainbow?

[greenifyme2]

Posted: 6/25/17 at 2:30pm

Wow, where is your high school?

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 6/25/17 at 3:00pm

Was on Broadway in the 1940's/1950's, has a movie version, and is colorful describes most of the movie musicals of the 50's and 60's. And colorful can be interpreted differently. 

Not too much dancing is a decent hint since a lot of the movie versions at least are very dance-heavy with stars like Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. Of course, you could always stage it differently to simplify anything from R&H to Brigadoon. As long as it's not An American in Paris, I don't think it would be too disappointing to not be as dance-heavy as the movie. 

Possibly Guys and Dolls but I don't know if you have enough guys outside of the leads. I doubt it's The King and I because few schools in the US can cast that correctly. Possibly Annie Get Your Gun, Kiss Me Kate, Bells are Ringing, Cinderella, The Music Man, or Gypsy. Everything else in my mind requires too many guys (How to Succeed, Once Upon a Mattress, Bye Bye Birdie, My Fair Lady).

[Tag]

Posted: 6/25/17 at 3:11pm

Just do a search of your high school or city on the right's holder's websites (ie. MTI, RNH, etc.).  If your school has officially got the rights, you should be able to find it.

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Posted: 6/25/17 at 3:22pm

Might Oklahoma be another possibility? Haven't really done the full analysis but it does meet some of the criteria. 

[leighmiserables]

Posted: 6/25/17 at 3:59pm

Tag said: "Just do a search of your high school or city on the right's holder's websites (ie. MTI, RNH, etc.).  If your school has officially got the rights, you should be able to find it.

 

"

Where on the websites do you go to do that? Don't you need to know what show it is in order to see where it's being put on? 

EDIT: Did some mild sleuthing. Figured it out. 

Updated On: 6/25/17 at 03:59 PM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/25/17 at 4:07pm

Isn't Abner male heavy?  

 

Those are some pretty generic hints..it could be anything.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/25/17 at 8:05pm

EDIT: Did some mild sleuthing. Figured it out. 

And?  Which show is it?  Many of us here need closure.  You can't just leave us hanging after you got your answer.   

[Tag]

Posted: 6/25/17 at 8:13pm

^The person who posted that isn't the original poster of this thread.  I think they just figured out how to search the websites.

[Cesare2]

Posted: 6/25/17 at 9:00pm

"The Boy Friend"

[CallMeAl2]

Posted: 6/25/17 at 9:42pm

The "color" clue would seem to suggest Finian's Rainbow if it is very literal. However Finian has more guy leads than girls. The Boy Friend is a good guess if you want a lot of parts for girls. Actually the whole cast is 50/50 but the girls chorus gets to do more.

A couple of other options would be The Pajama Game and Bells Are Ringing.