An article in today’s Playbill News listed the Top 10 Plays and Musicals Done By High-Schools. As you might expect, I have some observations on the lists… the first of which is: Can someone get Mr. Olea at Van Nuys to do some of these!
The Plays
- Almost, Maine
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- You Can’t Take It With You
- Noises Off
- Twelve Angry Men
- Alice in Wonderland (various adaptations)
- The Crucible
- Our Town
- Neil Simon’s Fools
- A Christmas Carol (various adaptations)
Of these, Van Nuys has done… none. Mr. Olea likes to go for unknown shows where he can play with accents. I’ll note that my high school, Pali HS, did The Crucible back when I was in HS.
The Musicals
- Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
- Seussical
- Grease
- Into the Woods
- Footloose
- The Wizard of Oz (multiple adaptations)
- You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown
- The Music Man
- Once upon a Mattress
- Thoroughly Modern Millie
Van Nuys has done Grease, and Nobel has done both Grease and Wizard of Oz. There are some musicals I’m surprised aren’t on this list, such as Bye Bye Birdie, Hairspray, Little Shop, or 13. Then there are the musicals that Van Nuys has done that are surprises, such as last year’s Damn Yankees or the upcoming (wait for it) Evita.
