More than Musicals: Musical Theatre Education Packets

Student Shows

Once Upon a Mixed Up Fairy Tale (May 11 & 12)

A Cinderella who’s afraid of mice, a Big Bad Wolf who sneezes down houses only because he has allergies, and and a Little Red Riding Hood who longs for a wardrobe change. This winking mishmash of familiar songs (from “Enchanted” and “Into the Woods”) and crazy situations will delight the youngest and maybe even make the rest of us think about why our favorite storybook characters stay so relevant, even in our modern lives.

Oklahoma! (May 11 & 12)

Who’s socialized? These kids are! Come see talented homeschooled teens sing, dance, and act their hearts out. Familiar songs include “People Will Say We’re In Love,” “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning,” and “The Surrey With the Fringe On Top.” The show celebrates pioneer values, the community rituals of courtship, and — as any musical should — young love that can’t help but burst into song.

Alice in Wonderland (June 1 & 2)

As the world around her grows “curiouser and curiouser,” the brave young Alice somehow manages to keep her wits, her manners, and her head — no thanks to the Queen of Hearts. This musical adaptation combines the best-known characters and situations from “Alice in Wonderland” and “Alice Through the Looking Glass.”

Kids will love watching how Alice cheerfully pursues adventure after adventure, while parents will take heart as Alice holds her own in a complex and confusing world.

Inspired by this production, we are working on online “Alice in Wonderland Lesson Plans,” with loads of suggestions in literature, history, math, science, and faith, to connect your theatrical outing to teachable moments at the kitchen table. (Watch this space for the link.)

Anything Goes (May 31; June 1 & 2)

Come celebrate those olden days, when “a glimpse of stocking / Was looked on as something shocking,” when socialites in love and fugitives in disguise would never talk for long without bursting into song, and when any crowd scene could — at the drop of a tophat — turn into a topsy-turvy, show-stopping production number.

The plot of “Anything Goes,” as written by P.G. Wodehouse, involves mismatched lovers, a revivalist meeting on a transatlantic liner, a fugitive from the law disguised as a preacher, and… er… sailors who sing about love… and something about a big-time New York business deal?

Okay, to be honest, the story is a string of excuses for staging one great Cole Porter number after another, including “You’re The Top,” “It’s De-Lovely,” “I Get a Kick Out of You,” and “Friendship” (“If you’re ever in a jam, here I am”). When it comes to making stage magic, anything goes!