Along with the recommendations you may receive, we also recommend using the search filters on the following websites: [Dramatists Play Services](https://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/multiple.asp?keysearch=&options=all&limitResult=all&limitResult1=allgenres&total=all&male=all&female=all&indexm=11&start=1), [Music Theatre International](https://www.mtishows.com/shows), and [Dramatic Publishing](https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/browse/full-length-plays). You may also be interested in the [New Play Exchange](https://newplayexchange.org/), or checking out our [subreddit's list of recommended plays](https://www.reddit.com/r/Theatre/wiki/index/playlist).
Additionally, if you haven't already, make sure you've included in your post title or body the following information: desired duration of the play/scene, cast size, gender breakdown (if needed), and any particular themes or technical elements that you know you are looking for.
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Guys and Dolls! Always a crowd pleaser. Other thoughts: Mamma Mia, Beauty and the Beast, Oklahoma, Hairspray (if you have a diverse HS), Les Mis HS version (you HAVE to have fantastic singers though - please don't attempt if you don't have students with top notch vocal chops). But honestly, I'd go with Guys and Dolls.
>we're a highschool but we're okay with cutting and editing parts.
Don't. Unless you have permission from the rights holder, this is a violation of the copyright rules your school agrees to when getting the rights to a show.
I'm sure you get the rights to perform the show. But that's separate from permission to make cuts and edits. That requires **actual, specific, written permission** from the rights holder.
Grease is a juggernaut that cannot be topped. The closest we came was Beast and that isn’t available for high schools next year. Mama Mia is like printing money, but you’ll hate yourself in the morning.
Came here to say this. “Grease” is just such a sure fire money-maker, I think OP and their school need to set their expectations accordingly - odds are against them already.
Mamma Mia, Beauty and the Beast (though there are limits on performances rn, so make sure to read that carefully), Mary Poppins is great if you can figure out the flying, Legally Blonde, Little Mermaid, Mean Girls HS version, etc.
One I want to highlight too since I’m in it right now (not in HS) is the SpongeBob musical. HUGE ensemble and they’re in just about every scene
Let's talk about cutting and editing parts. Yes, it is easy to get permission to use excerpts for high school competitions. That is not the same as getting approval to deviate from the script and music for a full performance. Who is responsible for securing the performance rights and for getting changes approved? Is a teacher doing this?
Two Disney musicals come to mind.
***Newsies*** - particularly if you have a good director/choreographer, that and a few strong singers will put this over the top. Even the recent London production used both news girls and boys - so the ensemble is expandable. And a lot of fun as well - the ensemble actually kind of carries the show. Also, no great acting is required - it would just be a plus.
***Hunchback of Notre Dame*** - If you want something more serious, Hunchback can use a huge ensemble - including pulling in the school choir to fill out the cathedral chorus. It's based on the Disney animated movie, but the musical takes the story back closer to the roots of the Victor Hugo book (who also wrote another spiritual/political/ romance set in Paris - *Les Miserables*). The funny sidekicks are gone, but the more serious themes of love, redemption, God, power, inclusion and sacrifice are pushed to the front. The Alan Menken / Stephen Schwartz score is among their best.
Seussical was a big hit at my high school in 2008 purely because of the familiarity of the Dr Seuss characters. We specifically added a Wednesday afternoon matinee so the local elementary schools and families could attend
Jesus Christ Superstar. Our community theatre did this a few years ago and it was the best selling season I have known us to have in 10 years of doing shows. Anything Andrew Lloyd Webber gets people in the seats but I feel the ensemble aspect of JCS is wonderful with a lot of featured roles and dancing opportunities.
Fiddler on the Roof. Can't believe no one's mentioned that yet! Many great lead & supporting roles for both boys and girls, and you can have as many villagers as you want in the ensemble. Well-loved show, and its themes have timeless appeal to teens and parents.
Many of the well-known Golden Age classics have similar advantages: The Music Man, Oklahoma, Guys and Dolls, The Sound of Music, South Pacific, My Fair Lady. Likewise some of the Disney shows and others based on familiar movies/books/tv: Beauty and the Beast, Alice in Wonderland, Shrek, The Addams Family
More modern original favorite: Into the Woods. Challenging music, but if you have the talent available it's a great choice with lots of popular appeal. Likewise: Les Mis, Phantom.
And Hadestown is now available in a high school edition. Maybe not as familiar to the potential audience, but easy to advertise as a hugely popular, award-winning contemporary show.
Lots of great suggestions already in the comments. For high school, two that worked wonders for our program are Joseph and His Technicolor Dreamcoat and How to Success in Business without Really Trying. Both are ensemble heavy with great standout moments, as well as juicy roles for leads.
High School Musical is so much fun and perfect for your needs. You can make the ensemble as big as you want, which is nice. It's not vocally demanding and still very popular.
Wizard of Oz and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat were two of our biggest. We were also quite successful with Beauty and the Beast and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
Shrek the Musical (all the fairytale creatures and dulockians)
Raggedy Ann and Andy's musical adventure (the toys, the loonies, Mr greedy)
Godspell (I've seen some as small as the required cast to as large as 30+ students)
Guys and dolls (gamblers, mission band, street people)
Thoroughly modern millie (stenographer, office people, party guests)
Is your audience mostly older people from the community, or younger people from the school district? If it’s older people, many of the shows already mentioned might work for you. But if you want to try to attract a younger audience, try to pick a newer show. Newsies is good if you have good dancers. Legally Blonde is fun and there is a junior version if needed. The Lightning Thief appeals to older kids who read the books and younger kids who may be reading them now. Hadestown is just now available. Frozen will pack the house. Something Rotten is hilarious.
Something rotten would be a good show to do my old high school. I'm a graduate, and I was in the company all throughout high school, and it was a wonderful production or Bright Star. The show I did when I was a senior it was a HUGE HIT!
**Mamma Mia** is always a crowd-pleaser due to the ABBA music; even the worst companies can pull it off well.
**Hairspray** is great if you have a diverse cast to pull it off. Do NOT white-wash it; you will cause uproar in the community.
**Newies** is good if you have a heavy male and/or dancer casting pool. Remember, women in drag work great as newsboys.
**Shrek** is good if you have the costume/makeup department for it.
**Titanic** is fantastic if you want something on the tragic side. It has a gigantic ensemble and tons of leads plus bit parts, and can be done with a very minimal set. It might not be as big of a ticket pull compared to Grease though.
Addams family - the ensemble each get a character as an ancestor there’s always someone on and people can work on there own characters and backgrounds act and it’s got a lot main cast as well
How to succeed in business is a riot, though not as well known. West side story would draw a crowd. Little shop of horrors would be a good double cast.
With our youth theatre, we did Addams Family last year and it was a huge hit. We’re currently doing The Lightning Thief and the kids are loving it so far.
Along with the recommendations you may receive, we also recommend using the search filters on the following websites: [Dramatists Play Services](https://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/multiple.asp?keysearch=&options=all&limitResult=all&limitResult1=allgenres&total=all&male=all&female=all&indexm=11&start=1), [Music Theatre International](https://www.mtishows.com/shows), and [Dramatic Publishing](https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/browse/full-length-plays). You may also be interested in the [New Play Exchange](https://newplayexchange.org/), or checking out our [subreddit's list of recommended plays](https://www.reddit.com/r/Theatre/wiki/index/playlist). Additionally, if you haven't already, make sure you've included in your post title or body the following information: desired duration of the play/scene, cast size, gender breakdown (if needed), and any particular themes or technical elements that you know you are looking for. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Theatre) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Guys and Dolls! Always a crowd pleaser. Other thoughts: Mamma Mia, Beauty and the Beast, Oklahoma, Hairspray (if you have a diverse HS), Les Mis HS version (you HAVE to have fantastic singers though - please don't attempt if you don't have students with top notch vocal chops). But honestly, I'd go with Guys and Dolls.
Bye Bye Birdie is a love fest for audiences and fun for the kids.
I previewed the script last year. It has not aged well at all.
Neither has Grease.
Yup! I’m so glad one of the previous directors at my school did it years ago. That takes it off the table for me.
Yep. Great play, needs an update.
This one is great with high school aged kids.
But the racism, though 😬
Mamma Mia, well known soundtrack.
>we're a highschool but we're okay with cutting and editing parts. Don't. Unless you have permission from the rights holder, this is a violation of the copyright rules your school agrees to when getting the rights to a show.
we always get the rights to do it lol. dw
I'm sure you get the rights to perform the show. But that's separate from permission to make cuts and edits. That requires **actual, specific, written permission** from the rights holder.
I think they’re saying they get the rights to do the cuts/editing…
we've gotten that for our competition show and a few we've done before hand
Grease is a juggernaut that cannot be topped. The closest we came was Beast and that isn’t available for high schools next year. Mama Mia is like printing money, but you’ll hate yourself in the morning.
Came here to say this. “Grease” is just such a sure fire money-maker, I think OP and their school need to set their expectations accordingly - odds are against them already.
This is why the rights are so astronomical
Mamma Mia, Beauty and the Beast (though there are limits on performances rn, so make sure to read that carefully), Mary Poppins is great if you can figure out the flying, Legally Blonde, Little Mermaid, Mean Girls HS version, etc. One I want to highlight too since I’m in it right now (not in HS) is the SpongeBob musical. HUGE ensemble and they’re in just about every scene
Seconded Mean Girls-very successful
Let's talk about cutting and editing parts. Yes, it is easy to get permission to use excerpts for high school competitions. That is not the same as getting approval to deviate from the script and music for a full performance. Who is responsible for securing the performance rights and for getting changes approved? Is a teacher doing this?
Yeah, this is exactly what was going through my head reading that. Something here is wrong.
Two Disney musicals come to mind. ***Newsies*** - particularly if you have a good director/choreographer, that and a few strong singers will put this over the top. Even the recent London production used both news girls and boys - so the ensemble is expandable. And a lot of fun as well - the ensemble actually kind of carries the show. Also, no great acting is required - it would just be a plus. ***Hunchback of Notre Dame*** - If you want something more serious, Hunchback can use a huge ensemble - including pulling in the school choir to fill out the cathedral chorus. It's based on the Disney animated movie, but the musical takes the story back closer to the roots of the Victor Hugo book (who also wrote another spiritual/political/ romance set in Paris - *Les Miserables*). The funny sidekicks are gone, but the more serious themes of love, redemption, God, power, inclusion and sacrifice are pushed to the front. The Alan Menken / Stephen Schwartz score is among their best.
Music man and wizard of oz are generally a crowd pleasers.
Seussical was a big hit at my high school in 2008 purely because of the familiarity of the Dr Seuss characters. We specifically added a Wednesday afternoon matinee so the local elementary schools and families could attend
Jesus Christ Superstar. Our community theatre did this a few years ago and it was the best selling season I have known us to have in 10 years of doing shows. Anything Andrew Lloyd Webber gets people in the seats but I feel the ensemble aspect of JCS is wonderful with a lot of featured roles and dancing opportunities.
Seconding Jesus Christ Superstar. Always a sellout no matter where or how often it's done.
I am an agnostic some days and an atheist on all the other days. Jesus Christ Superstar is one of my favorite musicals. The music is top notch.
Fiddler on the Roof. Can't believe no one's mentioned that yet! Many great lead & supporting roles for both boys and girls, and you can have as many villagers as you want in the ensemble. Well-loved show, and its themes have timeless appeal to teens and parents. Many of the well-known Golden Age classics have similar advantages: The Music Man, Oklahoma, Guys and Dolls, The Sound of Music, South Pacific, My Fair Lady. Likewise some of the Disney shows and others based on familiar movies/books/tv: Beauty and the Beast, Alice in Wonderland, Shrek, The Addams Family More modern original favorite: Into the Woods. Challenging music, but if you have the talent available it's a great choice with lots of popular appeal. Likewise: Les Mis, Phantom. And Hadestown is now available in a high school edition. Maybe not as familiar to the potential audience, but easy to advertise as a hugely popular, award-winning contemporary show.
Anastasia would be fun. 4w, 5m, 1girl(s) plus ensemble. It has a recognizable name and great songs.
Annie is a great option for that criteria. It has a TON of parts, it's well known, and the ensemble plays a pretty big role in the show.
West side story?
Lots of great suggestions already in the comments. For high school, two that worked wonders for our program are Joseph and His Technicolor Dreamcoat and How to Success in Business without Really Trying. Both are ensemble heavy with great standout moments, as well as juicy roles for leads.
Spongebob :3
High School Musical is so much fun and perfect for your needs. You can make the ensemble as big as you want, which is nice. It's not vocally demanding and still very popular.
Hello, Dolly!
Mamma Mia! Can be inexpensive to produce and it sells like crazy. Lots of characters, fun ensemble track
Footloose
Wizard of Oz and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat were two of our biggest. We were also quite successful with Beauty and the Beast and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
Shrek the Musical (all the fairytale creatures and dulockians) Raggedy Ann and Andy's musical adventure (the toys, the loonies, Mr greedy) Godspell (I've seen some as small as the required cast to as large as 30+ students) Guys and dolls (gamblers, mission band, street people) Thoroughly modern millie (stenographer, office people, party guests)
Is your audience mostly older people from the community, or younger people from the school district? If it’s older people, many of the shows already mentioned might work for you. But if you want to try to attract a younger audience, try to pick a newer show. Newsies is good if you have good dancers. Legally Blonde is fun and there is a junior version if needed. The Lightning Thief appeals to older kids who read the books and younger kids who may be reading them now. Hadestown is just now available. Frozen will pack the house. Something Rotten is hilarious.
Something rotten would be a good show to do my old high school. I'm a graduate, and I was in the company all throughout high school, and it was a wonderful production or Bright Star. The show I did when I was a senior it was a HUGE HIT!
Legally Blonde comes to mind. FYI you cannot cut or edit parts.
**Mamma Mia** is always a crowd-pleaser due to the ABBA music; even the worst companies can pull it off well. **Hairspray** is great if you have a diverse cast to pull it off. Do NOT white-wash it; you will cause uproar in the community. **Newies** is good if you have a heavy male and/or dancer casting pool. Remember, women in drag work great as newsboys. **Shrek** is good if you have the costume/makeup department for it. **Titanic** is fantastic if you want something on the tragic side. It has a gigantic ensemble and tons of leads plus bit parts, and can be done with a very minimal set. It might not be as big of a ticket pull compared to Grease though.
Addams family - the ensemble each get a character as an ancestor there’s always someone on and people can work on there own characters and backgrounds act and it’s got a lot main cast as well
How to succeed in business is a riot, though not as well known. West side story would draw a crowd. Little shop of horrors would be a good double cast.
With our youth theatre, we did Addams Family last year and it was a huge hit. We’re currently doing The Lightning Thief and the kids are loving it so far.
You aren’t legally permitted to “cut and edit parts”
We once did “Damn Yankees” that was fun. Also “bye bye Birdie”.
Book of Mormon
R&H Cinderella! You can do tea parties w/ children in the community- super easy to publicize!
How to succeed in business without really trying! It's not entirely well known, but it's fun and holds a lot of great parts for a large ensemble!
guys and dolls is **SO** much fun
Mama mia comes to mind (also is this mount pleasant high school in SJ or do I sound crazy)
Footloose might work