Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Shift from plays to musicals

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JGrigsby
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Topic: Shift from plays to musicals
Posted: 8/14/13 at 11:46pm

Hello this year, all.

First off, I want to thank everyone for their great advice and information contained within this forum. I have learned so much from you all.

As I enter my third year as drama director at Hebron High School, I can say the technical aspects of our program have improved so much, as well as dedication from students. I’ve made some people mad along the way, but I’ve had to show tough love to create a new atmosphere within my group.

I just got back from a meeting with my Drama Club officers, and they have asked to once again do a musical. I would like to do this with them – it’s been more than 20 years since my school has done a musical.

I do not have a choral director who is willing to help me.

I do not have a choreographer within the school (it’s a school of about 350 kids).

I realize I would need to hire others to help out, maybe volunteer.

My question to you all is what is a good, fairly easy musical to produce for our first musical in years? The one the kids want to do the most is “Footloose.” Is it possible to do this show with an audio track? Or, is this too difficult to do for a first musical and there are better shows to do out of the gate?

Thank you in advance.

Best,
Jared

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Rorgg
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Posted: 8/15/13 at 11:06am

[oops DP]

Edited by Rorgg - 8/15/13 at 11:20am

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Rorgg
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Posted: 8/15/13 at 11:07am

Footloose without a choreographer sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. What size cast are you shooting for here?

And is this Hebron IL?

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JGrigsby
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Posted: 8/15/13 at 1:39pm

I'm Hebron, Indiana. It's part of northwest Indiana - about an hour and 15 minutes from Chicago. It's 30 minutes south of Valparaiso, Indiana.

I have pretty good numbers for play auditions. I'd say a cast of 15 - 20 is what I'd have.

I'd have to hire a choreographer for sure. Someone suggested I ask some of the dance team girls to help, but I don't know if they'd be skilled enough to choreograph musical numbers. I'm open to try anything. I know if I ever want to do musicals out here, I have to start somewhere.

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Rorgg
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Posted: 8/16/13 at 11:29am

Ahh, ok, there's a Hebron IL about an hour NW of Chicago that I'm not too far from.

Trying to think of medium-size cast musicals for high schools that don't have particularly tricky dance or music... one that comes to mind is "How to Succeed..." but that assumes at least an equal share of boys, which is a bold presumption. There's the new Shrek musical that just got released earlier this year. Haven't seen it, but David Lindsay-Abaire wrote the book, so at the very least it's got that going for it. Big caution on that is you need to go into it knowing you have at least one person who can handle the lead.

More ambitious, but good for a big splash might be the school edition of Les Mis. Cuts out very little from the full stage shows, has a few excellent male parts, and every freaking 14 year old girl on the planet thinks she's Fantine.

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edh915
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Posted: 8/16/13 at 11:30am

I don't want to rain on your parade, but Rorqq is right - Footloose without a choreographer sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

On the other hand, you might have one of those "Music Man Moments" - the appreciative audience of friends and family applaud the "effort" more than the "actuality" and cheer their ill-tuned, mis-matched band, e.g., "That Tuba's my Barney!"

In other words, your audience might be willing to overlook some level of roughness in the show if they can see the effort and enthusiasm that's gone into it. - And you've got to be pretty certain your kids are going to stick it out. I'm not completely sure they know precisely how much work goes into a production like the one you're contemplating.

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JGrigsby
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Posted: 8/18/13 at 12:04am

You're exactly correct, edh915 - these kids do not know the effort that goes into a musical. They see them and think they're easy to do. I've been in four shows and directed the acting portion of three others. I love the "Music Man" analogy.

I want to get musicals started at my school, but I'm floundering on where to start.

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edh915
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Posted: 8/19/13 at 12:01am

I'd start small. Make it almost like an exclusive "club" that only the best will be able to get into. Do a small show. The Fantasticks or Dames at Sea, possibly Godspell if you can get 8 or so together - although that's sort of a hot property right now, or even You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown.

Anyway, check out the different play catalogs (or web sites) and look for musicals with no more than 6 characters. You're going to want to be able to trust your cast to stick it out. Hopefully, the show will be a success, then next year a few more may be interested, and the year after that, even more. Then you can do Footloose. - You're going to have to approach this whole thing incrementally if you want any chance of success.

BTW - I saw a show at Memorial Opera House in Valparaiso this weekend (just a few miles north of you), and noticed in the program that one of the cast members is a teacher in Hebron. She's an excellent actress herself, and might be able to give you some insights as well. (I don't know her, so I don't know if she's as "nice in person" as she is "talented on stage", but if you can make use of her expertise, it might behoove you to do so.)

Something else just occurred to me. Maybe you can do a class trip to Valpo to see one of the Opera House's upcoming musicals (they're doing Lucky Stiff next, then Little Women at Christmas time) - then you can arrange to have a discussion period afterward with your kids. Maybe just seeing a production will bring home to them the necessity of dedication and hard work. In fact, if you speak to the Artistic Director, Scott, you might be able to have a few words with the cast and maybe even tour the backstage area. They're always looking toward community outreach.

Please keep us posted here on this site. I'll be interested to know how you fare.

Edited by edh915 - 8/19/13 at 12:07am

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JGrigsby
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Posted: 8/19/13 at 10:48pm

We might have been at The Importance of Being Earnest the same night. I was there this past Friday to see Barb as Lady Bracknell. Barb directed plays down at Hebron a few times.

I actually live in Valpo. I take my kids to see shows at Chicago Street Theater and Valparaiso University. We saw The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee last spring - they loved it and came away saying we needed to do a musical. They want to do one, so it's probably time to just jump in and go. I've built the Drama Department up from a directionless group to one with meaning and purpose. It might be time for the next step.

Thanks for the support and ideas. I'll give it a serious go this year - I hope I can get a musical off and running!

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edh915
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Posted: 8/20/13 at 2:49pm

I was at King Lear in Gary on Friday, and The Importance of Being Earnest on Saturday. Did you see Dracula last year at Chicago Street Theatre? I was in that production.

Edited by edh915 - 8/20/13 at 2:52pm

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Play Suggestions
Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board :Producing Theater :Play Suggestions

Author	Message
JGrigsby Lead Joined: 6/20/12 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 38	Topic: Shift from plays to musicals Posted: 8/14/13 at 11:46pm
	Hello this year, all. First off, I want to thank everyone for their great advice and information contained within this forum. I have learned so much from you all. As I enter my third year as drama director at Hebron High School, I can say the technical aspects of our program have improved so much, as well as dedication from students. I’ve made some people mad along the way, but I’ve had to show tough love to create a new atmosphere within my group. I just got back from a meeting with my Drama Club officers, and they have asked to once again do a musical. I would like to do this with them – it’s been more than 20 years since my school has done a musical. I do not have a choral director who is willing to help me. I do not have a choreographer within the school (it’s a school of about 350 kids). I realize I would need to hire others to help out, maybe volunteer. My question to you all is what is a good, fairly easy musical to produce for our first musical in years? The one the kids want to do the most is “Footloose.” Is it possible to do this show with an audio track? Or, is this too difficult to do for a first musical and there are better shows to do out of the gate? Thank you in advance. Best, Jared

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Rorgg Celebrity Joined: 2/10/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 151	Posted: 8/15/13 at 11:06am
	[oops DP] Edited by Rorgg - 8/15/13 at 11:20am
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Rorgg Celebrity Joined: 2/10/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 151	Posted: 8/15/13 at 11:07am
	Footloose without a choreographer sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. What size cast are you shooting for here? And is this Hebron IL?
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JGrigsby Lead Joined: 6/20/12 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 38	Posted: 8/15/13 at 1:39pm
	I'm Hebron, Indiana. It's part of northwest Indiana - about an hour and 15 minutes from Chicago. It's 30 minutes south of Valparaiso, Indiana. I have pretty good numbers for play auditions. I'd say a cast of 15 - 20 is what I'd have. I'd have to hire a choreographer for sure. Someone suggested I ask some of the dance team girls to help, but I don't know if they'd be skilled enough to choreograph musical numbers. I'm open to try anything. I know if I ever want to do musicals out here, I have to start somewhere.
	IP Logged

Rorgg Celebrity Joined: 2/10/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 151	Posted: 8/16/13 at 11:29am
	Ahh, ok, there's a Hebron IL about an hour NW of Chicago that I'm not too far from. Trying to think of medium-size cast musicals for high schools that don't have particularly tricky dance or music... one that comes to mind is "How to Succeed..." but that assumes at least an equal share of boys, which is a bold presumption. There's the new Shrek musical that just got released earlier this year. Haven't seen it, but David Lindsay-Abaire wrote the book, so at the very least it's got that going for it. Big caution on that is you need to go into it knowing you have at least one person who can handle the lead. More ambitious, but good for a big splash might be the school edition of Les Mis. Cuts out very little from the full stage shows, has a few excellent male parts, and every freaking 14 year old girl on the planet thinks she's Fantine.
	IP Logged

edh915 Celebrity Joined: 11/19/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 325	Posted: 8/16/13 at 11:30am
	I don't want to rain on your parade, but Rorqq is right - Footloose without a choreographer sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. On the other hand, you might have one of those "Music Man Moments" - the appreciative audience of friends and family applaud the "effort" more than the "actuality" and cheer their ill-tuned, mis-matched band, e.g., "That Tuba's my Barney!" In other words, your audience might be willing to overlook some level of roughness in the show if they can see the effort and enthusiasm that's gone into it. - And you've got to be pretty certain your kids are going to stick it out. I'm not completely sure they know precisely how much work goes into a production like the one you're contemplating.
	IP Logged

JGrigsby Lead Joined: 6/20/12 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 38	Posted: 8/18/13 at 12:04am
	You're exactly correct, edh915 - these kids do not know the effort that goes into a musical. They see them and think they're easy to do. I've been in four shows and directed the acting portion of three others. I love the "Music Man" analogy. I want to get musicals started at my school, but I'm floundering on where to start.
	IP Logged

edh915 Celebrity Joined: 11/19/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 325	Posted: 8/19/13 at 12:01am
	I'd start small. Make it almost like an exclusive "club" that only the best will be able to get into. Do a small show. The Fantasticks or Dames at Sea, possibly Godspell if you can get 8 or so together - although that's sort of a hot property right now, or even You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown. Anyway, check out the different play catalogs (or web sites) and look for musicals with no more than 6 characters. You're going to want to be able to trust your cast to stick it out. Hopefully, the show will be a success, then next year a few more may be interested, and the year after that, even more. Then you can do Footloose. - You're going to have to approach this whole thing incrementally if you want any chance of success. BTW - I saw a show at Memorial Opera House in Valparaiso this weekend (just a few miles north of you), and noticed in the program that one of the cast members is a teacher in Hebron. She's an excellent actress herself, and might be able to give you some insights as well. (I don't know her, so I don't know if she's as "nice in person" as she is "talented on stage", but if you can make use of her expertise, it might behoove you to do so.) Something else just occurred to me. Maybe you can do a class trip to Valpo to see one of the Opera House's upcoming musicals (they're doing Lucky Stiff next, then Little Women at Christmas time) - then you can arrange to have a discussion period afterward with your kids. Maybe just seeing a production will bring home to them the necessity of dedication and hard work. In fact, if you speak to the Artistic Director, Scott, you might be able to have a few words with the cast and maybe even tour the backstage area. They're always looking toward community outreach. Please keep us posted here on this site. I'll be interested to know how you fare. Edited by edh915 - 8/19/13 at 12:07am
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JGrigsby Lead Joined: 6/20/12 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 38	Posted: 8/19/13 at 10:48pm
	We might have been at The Importance of Being Earnest the same night. I was there this past Friday to see Barb as Lady Bracknell. Barb directed plays down at Hebron a few times. I actually live in Valpo. I take my kids to see shows at Chicago Street Theater and Valparaiso University. We saw The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee last spring - they loved it and came away saying we needed to do a musical. They want to do one, so it's probably time to just jump in and go. I've built the Drama Department up from a directionless group to one with meaning and purpose. It might be time for the next step. Thanks for the support and ideas. I'll give it a serious go this year - I hope I can get a musical off and running!
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edh915 Celebrity Joined: 11/19/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 325	Posted: 8/20/13 at 2:49pm
	I was at King Lear in Gary on Friday, and The Importance of Being Earnest on Saturday. Did you see Dracula last year at Chicago Street Theatre? I was in that production. Edited by edh915 - 8/20/13 at 2:52pm
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