Top 10 Most-Produced High School Plays and Musicals of 2016–2017 Revealed | Playbill

Education News Top 10 Most-Produced High School Plays and Musicals of 2016–2017 Revealed Over 3,000 high schools participated in the 79th annual survey, conducted by the Educational Theatre Association.
2015, The Addams Family,Presented by Troupe 127, Spring Woods High School, Houston, Texas Susan Doremus

The Educational Theatre Association has revealed its annual list of the most produced full-length plays, full-length musicals, and short plays in U.S. high schools. This year, EdTA added a new component to the survey, compiling attendance data for the participating schools.

With an average of ten performances each last year, and a total average audience of 1,889, EdTA’s reports reveal a total potential audience of 49.4 million for high school theatres across the country. To offer comparison, Broadway touring companies reach 13.9 audience members annually.

John Cariani’s Almost, Maine and Andrew Lippa’s The Addams Family topped the lists for Most-Produced Play and Musical, respectively, for the third year in a row.

New to the full-length play list this year was Peter and the Starcatcher, while The Wizard of Oz bumped Disney’s Mary Poppins off the list. Collaborators Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman continue to be the most-represented writers on the musicals list, with three of their productions proving to be favorites among high schools. They include Beauty and the Beast (#2), The Little Mermaid (#6), and Little Shop of Horrors (#9).

FULL-LENGTH MUSICALS
1. The Addams Family (Andrew Lippa, Marshall Brickman, Rick Elice)
2. Beauty and the Beast (Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Tim Rice, Linda Woolverton)
3. Shrek (David Lindsay-Abaire, Jeanine Tesori)
4. Seussical (Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens)
5. Cinderella (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Douglas Carter Beane)
6. The Little Mermaid (Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Glenn Slater, Doug Wright)
7. The Wizard of Oz (various)
8. Into the Woods (Stephen Sondheim, James Lapine)
9. Little Shop of Horrors (Alan Menken, Howard Ashman)
10. Grease (Jim Jacobs, Warren Casey, John Farrar)

FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
1. Almost, Maine (John Cariani)
2. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (William Shakespeare)
3. The Crucible (Arthur Miller)
4. You Can’t Take It with You (George S. Kaufman, Moss Hart)
5. Alice in Wonderland (various)
6. Peter and the Starcatcher (Wayne Barker, Rick Elice)
7. 12 Angry Jurors (Reginald Rose)
8. A Christmas Carol (various)
9. Macbeth (William Shakespeare)
10. Our Town (Thornton Wilder)

SHORT PLAYS
1. Check Please (Jonathan Rand)
2. 10 Ways to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse (Don Zolidis)
3. All in the Timing (David Ives)
4. Alice in Wonderland (various)
5. 13 Ways to Screw Up Your College Interview (Ian McWethy)
6. This Is a Test (Stephen Gregg)
7. The Actor’s Nightmare (Christopher Durang)
8. The Audition (Don Zolidis)
9. Bad Auditions by Bad Actors (Ian McWethy)
10. Check Please: Take 2 (Jonathan Rand)

 
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