Top 5 Musicals You'd Never Want To See In A High School?- Page 5

[HeartandMusic]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 7:34pm

Next year my high school is doing "High School Musical". Seriously. Ugh. I'm really, really, really glad that I graduated this year. That is definitely a show that an actual high school should not do. It'd just be weird.

[The Wardrobe]

Posted: 6/30/06 at 11:20am

Amen! I can't say bad stuff because my school is doing Beauty and the Beast! (YES SCORE!) And we're one of the best in the district. So go us. Sadly we lost several extremely talented seniors last year, and the only one I could see playing the Beast, but you know we'll find someone new, I mean we discovered him in the middle of his junior year and he became an instant hit, including scoreing two leads in our two main shows. Not to mention the one acts (student directed one act shows). He got Brady in Inherit the Wind, and Sky in Guys & Dolls, so needless to say, he would have been qualified, cause he's that versatile. Does anyone else have an actor like that? Cause if so, then that opens new options for your musicals and shows.

[Broadwaygirl22]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 12:02pm

The Lion King
Rent
Wicked
Sweeney Todd

[SarahBeth]

Posted: 7/5/06 at 3:36pm

Into the Woods. I love this musical to death but my high school did it this year and I was sickened by it. I was ashamed at how we performed it.

Sweeney Todd just because it is one of Sondheim's most difficult pieces. Only take it on if you have confidence in the quality you can produce.

High School Musical. I heard about rights becoming available for this and I did a double take.

RENT. We talked about this and how much material our high school would have to cut out. Angel would be turned into a girl. Contact would be removed entirely. Joann would become just plain Joe. Half the songs would be removed or altered. The whole AIDS plotline would be gone...at least at my high school where the administration is incredibly strict about the material that is shown. Also its a heavily religious town. Glad I graduated this year.

Wicked. Love it. Don't want to see it destroyed by a high school. Also wondering how a high school could pull off some its aspects. Like the bubble.

[wishinguweresomehow]

Posted: 7/8/06 at 1:36am

1. Wicked
2. Rent(my cousin saw it done as one of the "test" runs or whatever for MTI it just took the heart out of the show by substituting "proper" material for a high school)
3.Phantom
4. Avenue Q
5.Miss Saigon

[almostxfamous]

Posted: 7/8/06 at 3:57pm

The Light in the Piazza
Wicked
Avenue Q
Sweeney Todd
Company

[azelma]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 12:52am

Miss Saigon-I just don't see how a high school could pull this off, particularly the role of Kim. There's also the issue that the plot would probably be unmercifully hacked apart by some "concerned parent".
Les Miserables-I've heard there have been good high school productions of this, but I think it's a show I love too much to see performed by high school students. Nothing against them (I am one), but that's just how I feel on the matter.
Rent-Similar to my second concern about Miss Saigon. It just wouldn't work.

And I think high schools are best keeping away from Sondheim, particularly Assassins and Sweeney Todd.

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 1:04am

Sweeney Todd
The lion King (Can't you jes picture all of the bad singers walking around with card board cut out on there heads? lol)
The Producers

[BruceWayne5148]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 11:59am

I'm kind of sick of seeing Les Miserables being murdered by high schools.

[FlappinTappin22]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 1:31pm

Jersey Boys.

does anyone else think this would just come out terrible?

[SarahBeth]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 1:37pm

I know at my high school I would never go see it if they eventually did do Jersey Boys. There are no guys there. For Into the Woods we brought in a teacher who did community theatre to play Rapunzel's Prince because there was no one to play it. Next year will be the first time I will see it from an audience perspective and i'm fearful. But what do you expect from a school with no theatre program(just a fall play and spring musical)and everything is performed in a gym.

[lindsey618]

Posted: 7/25/06 at 8:42pm

My high school did Les Miserables 3 years ago when i was a junior. it was the most amazing show ever performed at the high school. Our Jean Valjean was brillant and even performed at the final show of Les Mis on Broadway which gave kids an opportunity to perform a few songs from the show! he played Jean Valjean and sang Bring Him Home!

it depends on how much talent u have in your high school to pull it off. it was a hard show, but everyone was extremly talented. usually at me high school, the director casted everyone who tried out. not with this show!

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/26/06 at 11:58am

Lestat(too boring and complex)
Wicked (much too extensive)
Tarzan (kind of hard to have 10 ppl flying for most high schools)
The Lion King (too hard to replicate all the amazing aniamls)

[lovelyspotlight]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 5:11pm

1. Wicked
2. RENT
3. Phantom of the Opera
4. Sweeney Todd
5. The Lion King

[[e-mail]]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 3:14am

- Sweeney Todd
- Cabaret (and I'm from a school that did it)
- Chicago (and we're thinking of doing that next, UGH)
- Sunset Boulevard (for obvious reasons, but more importantly I don't think you'd have the singers)
- Assassins

Apart from this, if the students have the ability I don't see what's wrong with doing most other shows.

[The Wardrobe]

Posted: 12/21/06 at 12:43pm

i went to the Colorado thespian conference this year and let me tell you, swing is the worst musical known to anyone, theatre or not. there are no characters, no plot, and no dialogue! GRR! it's a concert with swing dancing. It got ajudicated because of the small set, we did Beauty and the Beast and it is a way better show. so say no to swing.

as to Sweeny Todd, it depends on the school. my school could do it, and we want to do it. but some schools should never do it.

Les Mis can be done, if you have the pit to work with.

lion king is a huge no. the costumes would suck.

Beauty and the Beast if you can get good costumes, but our utensil costumes sucked. other than that they were really good.

Chicago and Rent are huge NO! edit for content and you lose the story.

Wicked and Phantom of the Opera (Phantom too, I suppose) are to loved professionaly, but if butchered by even the best of high schools, it would crash and burn.

so i guess that's 5, maybe more, but that's my opinion, and let me know if you've even heard of Swing *shudder*

[nate2]

Posted: 12/21/06 at 3:39pm

1. Wicked.....there's no way any school could pull it off. The leads have to be amazing, and the ENSEMBLE has to be amazing.

2. Hairspray

3. Phantom....people would butcher it for sure.

4. Tarzan

5. Spring Awakening

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 12/21/06 at 6:19pm

Actually, my school would do well with Phantom. We'll probably premier the student edition in 2600.

[Becoz_i_knew_you21]

Posted: 12/21/06 at 8:12pm

"1. Wicked.....there's no way any school could pull it off. The leads have to be amazing,"

Wicked's leads aren't that hard. Many high schoolers could to it for a couple of performances. It's just the sets and effects that would be COMPLETELY butchered. Wicked's special effects are a large part of the show.

Passion-I would like to know if even colleges have ever done this show. I'm guessing probably no.

Rent- It would lose everything if it was edited.

Phantom- Effects and vocals.

Sweeney Todd- Its just wrong.

And basically anything Sondheim.

Updated On: 12/21/06 at 08:12 PM

[Chrismas42]

Posted: 12/22/06 at 2:15am

Where have people been seeing these shows????
Of the 3 high schools in my hometown, I've never seen ANY of them do a great show. Even when they get together and do a unified show over the summer, of which they just did Les Mis.
Even when I was in high school... our shows were not great. Yes, I've seen plenty of good high school singers but singing isn't the only thing to a show.. unless you're doing most Andrew Loydd Webber.. LOL
As for my 5:
1. Follies-Um the characters are WAYYYYY to old for ANY high schooler to Grasp.
2. A Chorus Line- Specifically for the dance aspect. These performers MUST be triple threats. Even some broadway performers can't pull this off....
3. Last 5 years- Difficult characters. Anyone actually know a high schooler who understands relationships like these characters??? Didn't think so.
4. Anything that requires a boy to sing above a G or that requires a girl to belt above a B-flat. Some exceptions...

Basically.. there are a LOT of shows that are COMPLETELY appropriate for high schools, Bye Bye Birdie, Oklahoma, Anything Goes, Pajama Game, Prince and the Pauper, etc.

[Perfectly Marvelous]

Posted: 12/22/06 at 2:46am

Bye Bye Birdie is one of the worst musicals, in my opinion. It's almost on the same level as Hello, Dolly! I'd rather see a high school try and do something daring... or at the very least, something different.

And also, I do happen to know some high schoolers that could handle the relationship presented in the L5Y. Seriously, I do. I went to a small high school in Maine, but you'd be surprised at the amazing talent we had [and still have]. I'm not bragging either, I'm just saying that there are high schoolers out there who can handle difficult material and do it well.

[keely2]

Posted: 12/22/06 at 7:37am

"Anything by Sondheim."
Only partially agree. Sondheim's composed a lot of shows, and some might be more suitable for high schoolers than others.

"Anything by LaChiusa."
Again, only partially agree. First Lady Suite would be great, I think... if a high school could pull it off. I'd love to see a school like, say, LaGuardia do First Lady Suite.

[LiLMuNkEe22]

Posted: 12/22/06 at 6:47pm

i guess, technically, it depends on what high school is doing all of these. i know some high schools who have already pulled off many of these shows such as Sondheim (And have gotten national press), as well as some big hits like Les Mis (our school did the first school edition... and it went incredibly..)

unfortunately, it depends on if you have the money, the luck of talent, and the directors to pull of shows such as these... you know?

im lucky enough that there's a performing arts school in my city... so after being a part of that, the shows i could never see US doing would be something like:

parade (too serious of a matter for most underclassman to pull off... unless it was a mostly upperclassman cast. we did it in the community... not high school)
phantom (teen voices are not equipt to be singing that perfectly night after night.)
city of angels (we tried... but the content was too strong sexually to even tone down a LITTLE)
starlight express (for obvious reasons...)


im sure any of these could be "pulled off"... but who wants to do a show they JUST pull off?

[Becky2]

Posted: 12/22/06 at 7:35pm

1. Phantom of the Opera (ALW)
2. Wicked
3. Rent
4. Les Mis
5. Sweeney Todd

[Becoz_i_knew_you21]

Posted: 12/22/06 at 8:06pm

"3. Last 5 years- Difficult characters. Anyone actually know a high schooler who understands relationships like these characters??? Didn't think so. "

I think high-schoolers can. JRB'S songs are difficult though.