Ambitious musicals for a high school
Ambitious musicals for a high school
BNN
Broadway Star Joined: 12/12/05
#1Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/2/07 at 5:08pm
Our head honcho theatre director is looking for a musical that would be really ambitiious to do for next year. He knows we have the resources for it but is stuck on what to do and is accepting suggestions from people. I, however, cannot think of anything ambitious except for Evita so I am looking for some ideas.
PS Don't say Sweeney Todd, he hates it. 
Tick Tock
#2re: Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/2/07 at 5:22pm
Titanic
Les Mis
A Chorus Line
Candide
I'll think of more
#2re: Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/2/07 at 6:40pmPirates of Penzance
Fear no more the heat o' the sun,
Nor the furious winter's rages;
Thou thy worldly task hast done,
Home art gone and ta'en thy wages:
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.
~Cymbeline
#3re: Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/2/07 at 6:55pm
What does he mean by ambitious?
If he means racy/edgy than something like Chicago or Hedwig and the Angry Inch maybe. But if he's talking more about the degree of difficulty, than I'd say a Sondheim show (like BOTH acts of Into the Woods).
Sorry, that's probably not much help.
~And let us try, before we die, to make some sense of life~
purpleprince101
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/19/06
#4re: Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/2/07 at 8:43pmnaked boys singing...even though none will do it
bwaylvsong
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/28/05
#5re: Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/3/07 at 12:57pm
No, he means something that's "hard".
Les Mis
Ragtime
West Side Story
Candide
ACL
Titanic
South Pacific
Carousel
Into the Woods
Cabaret
Kiss Me, Kate
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#6re: Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/3/07 at 3:07pm
The dance musicals like ACL and 42nd Street and Sondheim shows come to mind.
BNN, your signature cracks me up.
#7re: Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/5/07 at 6:23pmDO NOT do Evita unless you know your school has the talent to pull it off. I saw a community theatre do it a few months ago and it was AWFUL.
#8re: Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/5/07 at 6:28pmagreed... I think Evita is harder to do than Les Mis in some regards because the burden is placed on such a few amount of people, as opposed to les mis which has a large cast to spread the singing around.
WaitingForKathy
Stand-by Joined: 11/26/06
#10re: Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/6/07 at 10:24am
A high school near me does very ambitious shows (and I must say very well). Here's what they've done in recent years.
Evita
Big: The Musical
Les Mis
Into The Woods
Ragtime
The Scarlett Pimpernel
Miss Saigon
"If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don't want to do it." -Stephen Colbert
Matters
Stand-by Joined: 10/7/05
#11re: Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/6/07 at 5:00pmMerrily We Roll Along (Sondheim). My old highschool did it this past year and it was undoubtably an ambitious show on a number of levels and it was fantastic.
Canadians are not afraid of the dark! Ok...we don't love it, but who does?
BrunetteBombshell
Broadway Star Joined: 1/28/06
#12re: Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/6/07 at 5:07pmWhen I read the title of this thread, I immediately thought of Les Mis and A Chorus Line.
elvenprincess971
Broadway Star Joined: 9/12/04
#13re: Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/7/07 at 4:49amFor the love of theatre please do NOT reccomend "Hedwig and the Angry Inch". If a high school ever tried to do that show (and that is no offense to your drama program or anything, just as a general thing)... I just don't think it's a high school show at all.
Love,
Miss Britt
#14re: Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/7/07 at 11:24amDon't worry, neither did I. I was just trying to get a sense of what they meant by "Ambitious".
~And let us try, before we die, to make some sense of life~
BarberOfTheBarricade
Swing Joined: 1/11/07
#15re: Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/11/07 at 6:08pmWell, Les Mis and Evita are always good. Add to that Miss Saigon, Candide, Pirates Of Penzance, and if you don't really have a lot of girls, and tons of guys, which is probably not the case, Man Of La Mancha. Tommy would even work, that's edgy, and would be tougher for traditionally trained Musical Performers to pull off, sort of, plus it's a ridiculosuly fun show.
#16re: Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/11/07 at 10:23pmmiss saigon has just become a school edition... look into that. its wonderful. :)
some things are meant to be...
#17re: Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/12/07 at 9:15am
Violet my highschool is doing it right now...
it is amazing,but an extremely difficult show
intended for college or professional theatre
get the cd off of amazon.com
i promise it will become your favorite new musical!
"Any performer dreams to see her name in lights, but the best performer dreams to make someone else feel the way she did when she first saw a performer..."
Future Elphaba
Swing Joined: 6/1/05
#18re: Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/12/07 at 2:44pm
Thoroughly Modern Mille. My hs was gonna do it but it had too much dancing.
The Secret Garden - I just did this. The music is VERY complicated but beautiful and the sets have to be good. Ours wasn't.
trickedout22
Chorus Member Joined: 1/20/07
costumes1
Swing Joined: 1/18/07
#20re: Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/29/07 at 11:39amThe Mystery of Edwin Drood...weird vocals but when it comes together with the orch its great!
dramaqueen2
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/23/05
#21re: Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/29/07 at 5:55pm
yah, i'd say anything by sondheim. pretty ambitious. which is really cool, i respect good attempts as sondheim, as well as anyone else would i think.
good luck!
hear my song; it was made for the time when you don't know where to go, listen to the song that i sing, you'll be fine..
The Wardrobe
Stand-by Joined: 6/26/06
#22re: Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/29/07 at 10:21pmAll things Gilbert & Sullivan. Most things by Rogers & Hammerstein, and one of my personal favorites: Ragtime! Which I'm going to see for my birthday. (16 baby!) Beauty and the Beast as well, but be sure to have the techies to back the show!!! (WOWZA!)
Ah, cherie, won't it all be top-drawer
I'll wear lipstick and rouge
And I won't be so huge
Why, I'll easily fit through that door
I'll exude savior-faire
I'll wear gowns! I'll have hair!
It's my prayer to be human again
Julian2
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/10/06
#23re: Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/29/07 at 10:28pmI would say Jane Eyre. Not only is it difficult as a show, but its also rarely done, so that gives doing it a bit of an edge. I saw my High School do a minimalist version a few years ago ( no fly in house) and it was wonderful. Its a great show if you have the enough good singers and a good directer.
I have several names, one is Julian2. I am also The Opps Girl. But cross me, and I become Bitch Dooku!
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#24re: Ambitious musicals for a high school
Posted: 1/29/07 at 10:42pm
Chicago was craziness from day 1. It's realllly hard to pull off.
Into the Woods is such a complicated musical with so many parts going on at once. It's personally one of my favorites and I would love to be in it someday.
My Favorite Year is ambitious in a way. It could easily be very long and boring or hilarious and adorable. It's all about the delivery.
Others would be: Jane Eyre, A Chorus Line, Evita, Aida, The Last 5 Years, Les Mis, Pirates of Penzance, Ragtime, anything Sondheim
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