Besides Annie... are there any musicals [for youth] that feature lots of girls?  I have so many talented young actresses ages 10-18 that need juicy roles!

Hello again Joy,
one year we had truckloads of talented 15 to 18 year old high school girls, so our director found an "ensemble musical" that gave many of them their own solo. It's called "Smile!", and it's a parody of 1980's beauty pageants. Here is photo of the two dozen "contestants". Plus there is the demanding lead female role of the pageant director. The show also has 4 male leads, including the dictatorial choreographer, plus 2 bratty boys who break into the girls dormatory bathroom.

"Smile!" is simple to stage and keeps the girls busy scene after scene. Although as a designer, I must admit that staging some scenes can be a little tough. Because the stage version suffers in translation from the original motion picture...(in some of the same logistical ways that "Bugsy Malone, Jr." and "Disney's High School Musical" suffer in their translations from screen to stage). But that's another story.

If you have a dozen girls of equal talent, "Smile!" is a good way to showcase them rather evenly. Plus, this show has numerous contemporary parallels to the bitter competition and show biz glitz found on "American Idol", which the girls can relate to.

Good luck, Dana

Not sure if it is a musical, but " The Sert Life of Girls" is pretty good!