This article originally appeared in the October 2016 issue of Dramatics magazine.
The Addams Family is on a roll, topping the list as most-produced high school musical for the second consecutive year in the annual survey conducted by Dramatics magazine and the International Thespian Society. This year, approximately 5,200 member schools received an invitation to participate in the online survey, with about 1,200 responding.
It’s also no surprise that Almost, Maine held the top spot for the second year for full-length play against its familiar rival, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The top spot for short play went to The Show Must Go On by Laurence Klaven, which presents a normal suburban family who act like characters from a sitcom until someone arrives who’s not in their “script.”
Results
Top 10 Full-Length Musicals
1. The Addams Family – by Marshall Brickman, Rick Elice, and Andrew Lippa
2. Disney & Cameron Macintosh’s Mary Poppins – by the Sherman Brothers, George Stiles, Anthony Drewe, and Julian Fellowes
3. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee – by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin
4. Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella – by Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Douglas Carter Beane
5. Legally Blonde: The Musical – by Nell Benjamin, Laurence O’Keefe, and Heather Hach
6. (tie) Grease! – by Jim Jacobs, Warren Casey, and John Farrar
6. (tie) Into the Woods – by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine
6. (tie) Disney’s The Little Mermaid – by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Glenn Slater, and Doug Wright
9. Little Shop of Horrors – by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman
10. (tie) Disney’s Beauty and the Beast – by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Tim Rice, and Linda Woolverton
10. (tie) Disney’s High School Musical – by David Simpatico and various composers
Top 10 Full-Length Plays
1. Almost, Maine – by John Cariani
2. A Midsummer Night’s Dream – by William Shakespeare (public domain)
3. Servant of Two Masters – by Carlo Goldoni
4. Twelfth Night – by William Shakespeare
5. You Can’t Beat the House – by Pat Cook
6. The Odd Couple – by Neil Simon
7. Arsenic and Old Lace – by Joseph Kesselring
8. The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon – by Don Zolidis
9. (tie) The Crucible – by Arthur Miller
9. (tie) Rabbit Hole – by David Lindsay-Abaire
Top 10 Short Plays
1. The Show Must Go On – by Laurence Klavan
2. Our Place – by Terry Gabbard
3. Check Please – by Jonathan Rand
4. Oh, What A Tangled Web – by John R. Carroll
5. The Audition – by Don Zolidis
6. (tie) Sorry, Wrong Number – by Lucille Fletcher
6. (tie) The Thomas Paine Panther – by T.J. Walsh
8. The Role of Della – by John Wooten
9. The 9 Worst Breakups of All Time – by Ian McWethy
10. (tie) Booby Trap – by Ed Monk
10. (tie) Superheroes – by Ian McWethy
