Next Overdone Musical?

[timote316]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 10:17pm

Which of the currently running musicals do you think will be among the overdone musicals by community/high school/regional theaters, when their respective rights become available?

[Thenardier]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 10:19pm

Hairspray...

[Jwei123]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 10:20pm

I have a feeling it's going to be Brooklyn.

CAN'T wait for that

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[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 10:22pm

Spelling Bee -- very cheap and easy to produce and undemanding in terms of casting (don't need any dance or singing virtuousos), EVERYBODY will be doing it in a few years.

Updated On: 6/9/05 at 10:22 PM

[RyanWestbrook]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 10:22pm

It's so going to be rent and everyone knows it!

[Dirty Rotten Scoundrel]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 10:23pm

yeah id have to say spelling bee. lol.

[Pinguin]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 10:23pm

I agree with Margo...Spelling Bee will be easy for low budget theaters to do.

[RyanWestbrook]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 10:24pm

ok I take it back people are going to attempt to do rent!

[lamentingenvelope]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 10:24pm

Maybe Brooklyn and Bee for smaller high schools, but I'd say Hairspray is most likely to be the next Seussical (I don't know about other areas... but EVERY high school around here did Seussical this year.) Hairspray's fairly simple and there's room for a large chorus.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 10:25pm

Spamalot! It's already overdone on Broadway, shouldn't be much of a stretch to overdo it with a cheap theater.

[Dirty Rotten Scoundrel]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 10:29pm

my cousins school did seussical! it was really good though! lol, but another school did it after them in a town near by, it was weird. lol.

[Joshua488]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 10:30pm

Hairspray.

Didn't John Waters say something along the lines of, "Finally, a fat girl and a gay boy will be able to get the leads?"

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 10:32pm

I think Hairspray will be a little bit harder to produce seeing as though it requires specific races for the characters and a black and white ensemble. High schools might find a way to get around this (how many West Side stories have we seen with clearly non-hispanic kids playing the Sharks becuase they have dark hair) but this show requires both many races. So, my vote goes to The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Cheap and fun.

[BroadwayBound06]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 10:33pm

Since when did straight boys get the leads?

[lamentingenvelope]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 10:37pm

Like I said before, Hairspray will be easy for the large high schools, like mine (which has well over 1,000 students and likes to do shows with a large ensemble.)

Bee will be popular with smaller high schools, or schools that allow students to be cut. Never, ever attempt to add a chorus to a show like Bee... I was in a production of Into the Woods where they added a large chorus and it was disasterous.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 10:39pm

And I guess for Spelling Bee, the four spellers could be regular cast members, too and not chosen from the audience, increasing the full time cast to 13. Then again I can imagine it would be fun for high school productions to be able to call up the principal or certain favorite -- or hated -- teachers to be one of the first act spellers who get eliminated.

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 10:39pm

Wicked

[dietcherryemma]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 10:42pm

For highschools, definitely Spelling Bee or Little Women - more Little Women because the rights shouldn't be impossible to get now, and since, well maybe it was just in my small town, but many guys who are amazingly talented don't really do theatre in highschool because they'd be "made fun of" or whatnot, it highlights many females.

[lamentingenvelope]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 10:47pm

As for Wicked, I don't know... I can't think of any way to get past the flying in 'Defying Gravity'... and very few highschools can pull off flying (just a little bragging: mine did. ) But I suppose they could just have Elphaba stand on a box like they did in the Forbidden Broadway version and blow a fan in her face.

[JSousa]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 10:48pm

Little woman. Everyone knows the story, and it will draw people. Prepare yourselfs! Its going to pop up everywhere!

[alphieboy]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 10:50pm

Yes, I also agree with Bee.

[timote316]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 10:54pm

I forgot to answer my own question! lol

Definately Spelling Bee, for all reasons above.

As for Wicked and Spamalot, I think those would be too big for (most) high schools (well, most high schools. I've heard of some high schools around me having $20,000+ budgets for a musical!).

[DreamFlyer22]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 11:03pm

Actually, I was thinking about this the other day... in comparison to the mega musicals of the 80s that really CAN'T be done by everyone and their brother, the shows this season are at least promising in the "viable for small theater companies" department. Only "Wicked" is out of reach for obvious technical reasons...

I could see lots of community theater/high school groups tackling within the next 10 years or so:
- 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE (for reasons everyone's already listed.. it's the next "Charlie Brown", mark my words...)
- SPAMALOT (really isn't THAT technically demanding... they do "Into the Woods" ad nauseum, don't they?)
- DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS (maybe not high school for some of the lyrics, but def. community theater
- LITTLE WOMEN (first, people know the book... second, it's a big FEMALE cast, which is always a plus...)
- Most of the jukebox musicals, actually. Providing the rights are actually released. Any tom, dick or harry could adapt GOOD VIBRATIONS, ALL SHOOK UP and MAMMA MIA!

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 11:06pm

every high school will be doing wicked no matter what their budget is...

[DreamFlyer22]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 11:11pm

I'd say will WANT to. And every non-practically minded director will grab for the rights. But speaking of which, I betcha the rights will be pretty damn pricey for a while....