Top 10 Favorite Musicals for Schools

Hello Teachers & Directors!

One of the emails I get frequently from teachers is: “What are your favorite shows to do?” Now, I have different answers to this question depending on the situation, so since many of us are busy picking shows for our upcoming season, here are my ten favorite musicals for schools.

My Ten Favorite Musicals for Schools

These musicals embody the beauty of a well-written story, complemented by fun and timeless songs. And there is no greater feeling than putting up a stage production and having an entire crowd singing along.

NOTE: These are NOT in any particular order. I listed them alphabetically for convenience.

Disney’s Beauty & the Beast

Rights: Musical Theatre International

Beauty and the Beast is a very fun and yet challenging show to do. Most students know the music, which really helps draw in students to audition. While there is a definite need for singers in this show, many of the roles are perfect for those character actor types you may have. These characters allow your students to sink into exploring these iconic characters, and it is almost impossible to go “too big” with them. While this is a very technical show that can challenge some schools’ resources, there are many great rental places to find the costumes, props, and set pieces needed for this show.

To create an amazing stage, you can start in the village where Belle has grown up with her siblings and father.

Our Castle Overlooking Village backdrop is a great choice for this because it features the small, quiet village that lies at the feet of a mighty mountain, and the castle on top towering over the scenery. The village consists of houses with typical medieval architecture, with a stone road and a stone bridge running over a little stream. The castle in the back had large, white stone walls with a long road that stretched down the mountain. In the background, you can see fluffy white clouds offset by the blue sky.

As soon as the story kicks off, add some mystery with a dark forest, where Belle’s father first gets lost.

You can do that with our Mystical Forest backdrop that is filled with dark trees and mossy, green grass on the forest floor. Yellow orbs that resemble fireflies are visible floating throughout the air. If used with a black light, these dots will glow and come to life along with the forest floor.

You can also add dungeons to set Belle’s sacrifice for her father, or libraries, and parlors to portray her life in the palace.

For dungeons, you can use the Dark Castle Interior backdrop that depicts stone walls with multiple pillars connected by ceiling arches. The ceiling itself is dark red, which enhances the mysterious royal scenery. In the background, through the arches, is a yellow and red-stained-glass medieval window.

For libraries, use our Library backdrop, which depicts the old, elegant library with an expansive collection of books. The first level is full of shelved books. An elegant, red carpeted stairway in the middle leads to a window with a view of the outside trees and beautiful blue sky.

And for parlors, you can use Blue Night Ornate Palace that depicts a luxurious room with cream-colored marble pillars and gold accents at the top. The palace features three large, rounded windows with royal blue drapes and golden tassels hanging from the top and tied up in the middle. Outside, you can see a dark, night sky.

But most importantly, create an unforgettable experience with a faithful adaptation of Belle and the Beast’s ballroom dance.

Do that by using the Blue Majestic Ballroom drop, which depicts a charming blue staircase in the middle of the ballroom. The staircase leads to two sides of the gallery, supported by elegant pillars. In the background, you see tall, paneled windows with large door in the center. The ceiling is a gold dome with a beautiful chandelier hanging from the center. The finishing details, such as the blue banner on the gallery railing, or the gold candleholders on the pillars, make the scenery softer and even more inviting.

Check out the rest of our collection of backdrops for Beauty and the Beast.

Hello Dolly!

Rights: Concord Theatricals (Tams Witmark Collection)

You’ve got that one girl – that belter – who you really want to showcase this year, but you’re not sure what show will showcase her well? Look no further than Hello Dolly! Dolly Levi is a beautiful role for that girl who really knows how to command the stage. In addition to Dolly, you have great roles for the young men in your cast – Cornelius and Barnaby are fantastic roles for those high-energy/comedic boys you have. This show features a large ensemble, easy to find/make costumes for most schools, and features iconic songs that your audience will come in already ready to sing along to. A true audience favorite.

Recreate the jolly adventures of matchmaker Dolly Levi in New York City.

Bring to life emblematic moments at Irene and Minnie’s hat shop, the 14th Street Parade, and the Harmonia Gardens, along with the Vandergelder’s Hay and Feed store, where the story’s climax takes place.

For the hat shop, use the New York Storefront that depicts a typical New York borough street with row houses. The stores can be found on the terraced houses on the right side of the drop, with one of them being a shop with an awning, fruit crates, and baskets.

For the parade, use the Daytime New York Street that takes you to downtown New York City with all the grey and brick-colored tall buildings. The background is a beautiful blue sky with white, fluffy clouds.

You can also use the Regal Purple Palace Interior, which features a grand ballroom of a colorful palace, decorated in purple and pink tones. The large windows surrounding the room are framed by red and purple velvet drapes. There is also a grand chandelier in the middle of the great room.

Wood Panel Interior is another classic choice for Hello Dolly, because it depicts a dark brown, wood-paneled wall with a square pattern and a lined trim across the top.

Let your imagination run free, as no show with Dolly in it can ever be dull.

Check out the rest of our selection of rentable theatrical backdrops for Hello Dolly!.

Into the Woods

Rights: Music Theatre International

Ready for a challenge? Into the Woods is a beautifully written show that allows your cast to go to very fun and interesting places with their character work. This show does not feature a chorus, which means that every single role in this 20+ character cast is a fully fleshed-out character, giving your cast a chance to really hone their acting work. This production can be done very effectively with a simple unit set of trees, allowing for a very easy show in terms of scenic requirements. This is a perfect show for schools with talented musicians – both vocal and instrumental – and truly allows a music department to shine.

Even though wood scenery should be enough to cover up most of the play, you can also add the cottage where the Baker and the Baker’s wife live, a castle for Cinderella and her prince, and a room interior for Red Riding Hood and her Grandmother.

Woody scenery can be enhanced with our Lush Forest backdrop, which features a thriving green forest that sprawls across the ground. Leafy ferns, poison ivy, and shrubs seem to weave a luxurious tapestry beneath your feet. This drop is meticulously fashioned to whisk you away to a realm of imagination. The intricate nuances of the foliage, from the delicate fern fronds to the intertwined tree branches, weave an immersive tapestry unlike any other. The piece features a dry creek bed, moss-covered rock, and large trees that disappear into the gray haze of fog.

For the cottage scenery, you can use our Forest Cottage backdrop that depicts a wooden cottage standing in the middle of a forest clearing. The hut, which has a single chimney on its roof, is illustrated in cross-section, thereby revealing its indoor furnishings. All around the cottage are old-growth trees with gnarly-looking trunks and thick foliage.

If you are looking for a castle backdrop, then our Stylized Castle is a great choice because it depicts yellow walls and pointed purple turrets. The castle stands in the middle of a large forest clearing under a blue sky. Behind the castle is a wall of pines, while in the foreground, the view of the palace is flanked by trees and flowering shrubs on either side.

And finally, if you need backdrops that reflect the simple interior, our Cottage Interior backdrop is a good pick. It depicts the interior of a vintage cottage. It features a wooden beam ceiling along with two large windows that frame a cozy fireplace in the center. Other details include a wooden cupboard to the left of the room, and small white plates hanging on the walls.

We have a great collection of theatrical backdrops you can rent for Into the Woods.

Les Misérables – School Edition

Rights: Music Theatre International

Another challenge, but a beautiful showcase for a very strong group of performers. If you have a group of students whom you really want to showcase, Les Misérables is a great show for you. Les Misérables features characters across the different voice types and archetypes, making it great for schools with a broad range of singers. This beautiful story features iconic songs that many students (and audiences) already know. While this show can be considered a sweeping epic with lots of technical components, like the barricade, it can be done very effectively using digital backdrops in a format very similar to the recent Broadway Revival and the current National Tour.

Make your audience relive this touching story starting at the Digne, where Valjean begins his story after being inspired by the Bishop of Digne, the beautiful Paris streets filled with the grit of the brave revolutionists, Le Saine, where Javert reflect during his last moments, and the room where the Friends of the ABC had many meetings.

Last but not least, you can’t make a Les Misérables adaptation without a Marius and Cosette gorgeous love story and romantic night getaways, and the unforgettable ending sequence.

Use our Abbey for starting scenes at Digne. The back wall is lined with stone bricks, and includes stained glass windows designed with red panels. A soft light shines through the windows and onto the tile floor of the main hall. The foreground is an open hall, with tiles and a few steps with arches off the left side, creating a small hallway.

For Paris streets, you can use our Nighttime European Street. This stage backdrop features two buildings, one on each side of the street. In the center, there is a pathway looking out onto more grey tall buildings. In the background there are silhouettes of buildings resting against a blue-grey sky with dark clouds. The road is illuminated with the glow of yellow street lamps.

For inside scenes, you can use our Room Interior theatrical backdrop that depicts the inside of a humble home. A perfect element for stage productions in which a portrayal of a shack or a rustic residence is desired, the backdrop features a home with walls that are dirty and run down. There is a single wooden door on the left side of the house, and a window with a wooden frame and green drapery on the right.

For romantic night getaways, you can use our Nighttime Paris backdrop, which displays the romance of France while showing a bird’s-eye-view of Paris at night. The scene features the upper half of the Eiffel Tower in the foreground with the moon rising from behind a patch of clouds in the background. Between these two points is the sprawling city proper. The city’s parks, windows, glistening roofs, and empty streets can be seen in the panel.

And for the ending sequence, our Notre Dame backdrop is a great choice, because it depicts the beautiful and ornate church built in the traditional Gothic style with village homes and buildings in the background. There are leafy green trees surrounding the cathedral, which contrast with the church’s quiet, cold exterior.

Check out our collection of theatrical backdrops for Les Misérables.

Music Man

Rights: Music Theatre International

He’s a What? A MUSIC MAN! That’s right. Harold Hill is the perfect role for the young man who knows how to truly captivate an audience. If you have that young man with incredible acting chops, you really want to showcase, Music Man is the perfect show.

This production features beautiful songs for Marian and for the Barbershop Quartet, making it great for the singers in your cast, as well as incredibly fun character roles like Mayor & Mrs. Shinn, which are a blast for your comedic actors to play. This show features a beautiful score for your instrumentalists to play and allows for younger cast members, which gets the younger ones hooked on being part of your musicals early and opens up your potential audience pool as well. Simple costumes that you probably have in storage or can find at a local thrift shop, and sets that can be very simple and suggestive, make this a great show for any first-time director to tackle.

Start your stage production with Harold on his arrival to River City, the high school gym where the townspeople celebrate Independence Day, the library where Marian works, the footbridge where Marin and Hill have a heart-to-heart, or the final town meeting as the story comes to a close.

For the scene when Harold arrives in River City, you can use our Quiet Small Town Street, which depicts 2-story brick structures housing a clothing boutique with an awning, a pool hall, and an ice cream shop. Between the ice cream shop and pool hall, you can see a wooden fence with a trash can and an apartment complex right behind it. Street lamps line up the street, and a fire hydrant can be seen in front of the pool hall.

For the Independence Day celebration, use our Patriotic Gymnasium, which portrays an airy gymnasium with 3 large, glass-paneled windows. There are basketball hoops on both ends of the area and a large American flag at the center. Additionally, festoons bearing patriotic colors are also found around the gym.

You can also use our Library backdrop, which features an expansive collection of books. The first level is full of several shelved books in their respective bookcases. An elegant, red carpeted stairway in the middle leads to a window with a view of the outside, with trees and a beautiful blue sky. Portraits can be seen hanging on the walls. Two lamps hang from the tall ceiling above.

For the scene when Marin and Hill have their conversation, use our Night Park backdrop. This backdrop portrays a portion of a park set at night. Lampposts and neatly trimmed hedges surround the park. In this scene, two walking paths can be seen on either side. The park has an abundance of tall, leafy trees. The deep, blue night sky is brilliantly lit with stars.

And for the final scenes, use our Wood Panel Interior. It depicts a dark brown, wood-paneled wall.  The wood paneled wall displays an inlaid wood square pattern and a lined trim across the top.

Check out our collection of theatrical backdrops available for rent for The Music Man.

Once Upon a Mattress

Rights: Concord Theatricals (Rogers & Hammerstein Collection)

Looking for a classic? For years, Once Upon a Mattress ranked the most popular show among high schools and community theatre groups – and for good reason. This show has great characters, fun dance numbers, and is actually pretty easy to produce. Most schools have access to Madrigal costumes, which are perfect for this, and the set can be a simple row of flats painted with bricks. For a simple addition, you can even add a beautiful backdrop or projection from Grosh to expand your set even further (check out these options here!) Definitely an audience favorite and very fun for you and your cast to do.

To set up this play, you will need a palace for the Royal Family, a medieval village, and every royal salon available to follow the misadventures of this quirky family. You can also add a garden or a forest to keep the stage refreshing for your audience while staying within the theme. 

For a medieval village, our Rural Village backdrop is a great choice because it depicts a daytime scene dominated by the village’s unpaved main street in the center. On either side of this street are small, humble houses that are slightly shabby in appearance. These rural homes are surrounded by trees, grass, flowering shrubs, and tumbledown fences.

If you are looking for a garden, then our Palatial Garden Fountain is one of the possible choices. At its center is a cream-colored marble wall with a niche, a beautiful three-tiered fountain flanked by an arrangement of pink flowers, and balustrade railings. Two large, leafy green trees frame the water fountain, while the background features the silhouettes of several trees, shrubs, and blooming flowers.

Estate Garden Fountain is another great choice. At the very center of this rental theatrical backdrop is the fountain, which is the focal point: the luxurious, four-tiered fountain brimming with clear, blue waters. The sky above is blue with a few white clouds. Surrounding the fountain is an open garden where one can see green, neatly-trimmed hedges in various shapes and beautiful, multi-colored flowers in the bushes.

If you are looking for a forest, then our Serene Greenwood Forest can be an ideal choice because it depicts a forest of green trees with shrubs at the base of the trees.  The trees are all planted in lush green foliage with large rocks sitting atop of the thick grass. 

We have a great collection of rentable theatrical backdrops for Once Upon a Mattress.

School of Rock

Rights: Concord Theatricals (Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection)

Probably the surprise of this list, but to be honest I LOVED doing this show with the high school cast I had. The hardest part of this show is dealing with the instruments but if you have instrumentalists who are interested in acting, this is a great way to show case them. You can also have the orchestra double all of the onstage instrumentalists.

Costuming is all modern-day clothes and a simple Amazon search can find you matching sweaters for the school uniforms. The set can be done using furniture you probably have in storage at your school – desks, tables, etc. A beautiful rock score and a great team building show for your cast, this is a blast to do.

Seussical

Rights: Musical Theatre International

Seussical is a great show to get your entire community behind your production. You can partner with your local library or elementary schools to have the characters come and read books during story time, you can have a “green eggs and ham” fundraiser meal before the show, you could even tie the show into part of the celebration of Dr. Seuss’s birthday that schools have each year – the possibilities are endless.

The show has great characters that are accessible to any group, many roles can be gender swapped for ease in casting, and the costumes and set are only limited by your imagination. A fun and entertaining show that is perfect for a group that is newer to doing shows – this is a great one to use to expose your students to the magic of theatre.

Check out Grosh’s collection of backdrops for rent for Seussical here.

Shrek

Rights:  Musical Theatre International

Similar to Seussical, Shrek features a bunch of characters that we know! A great ensemble of characters that really allows your cast to get creative in how they create these people. This show is great for use in class work – allowing for individual designs of make up or costumes, has various scenic locations for exploring different types of painting techniques, and allows for exploring traditional fairy tale characters and bringing them off the page to make them real.

Great star vehicles for Shrek and Fiona as well as great character roles in Lord Farquaad, Donkey, Pinocchio, and Dragon – this show is a hit with casts and audiences alike.

Grosh has a great collection of backdrops for rent for Shrek here.

Wizard of Oz

Rights: Concord Theatricals (Tams Witmark Collection)

Who doesn’t love Wizard of Oz? This audience favorite packs the house every time. It is so fun to see all the little girls in the audience dressing up like Dorothy and clicking their red slippers following along to Glinda’s directions. This show has a huge cast that can feature younger students in the roles of the Munchkins, the Poppies, and the Flying Monkeys which is a great way of opening up your potential audience.

The RSC version is the closest to the MGM movie which makes it very accessible for your cast since they have a reference point to look to for inspiration. Costumes can easily be made or found online, and the set can be done easily with some simple practical pieces – a fence, the scarecrow’s post, the house, etc. – and the beautifully created projections or backdrops from Grosh.

These are some of my favorite pieces in Grosh’s rentable backdrops collection and I have used them several times in productions of Oz. Check them out here.

I hope this list gives you some ideas to look at when choosing your show. By no means are these the only shows to consider. There are so many great shows for schools and this list is just the start. What show are you considering doing? Is it on this list? Let us know!

Best Wishes Onstage and Off!

⁃ Nate