K-12 Season Planning: Shows to Fit Your Needs

Planning your upcoming K-12 season? Concord Theatricals has the perfect show for you! Here are some suggestions to fit your needs, whether you’re looking for a large-cast show or a challenging new work. You tell us what you’ve got, and we’ll tell you which shows fit the bill.

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“I have a group of strong female actors.”

The Anastasia Trials in the Court of Women by Carolyn Gage
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 9f)
In this engrossing, provocative courtroom drama, the audience must serve as judge and jury in a case against the five women who betrayed the Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov, the last surviving daughter of the Tsar of Russia.

Decision Height by Meredith Dayna Levy
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 9f +Optional Ensemble)
Through triumph and tragedy, nine Women Air Force Service Pilots do their part to help defeat the Axis powers in the Second World War. A story about friendship and the role of women in wartime.

Heathers The Musical by Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy
(Full-Length Musical, Dark Comedy / 9f, 8m)
Based on the classic 1989 film, this hit off-Broadway musical features a strong female protagonist and several great female roles. Sardonic and edgy, it’s the darkly delicious story of the most powerful and ruthless clique at Westerberg High.

Horse Girls by Jenny Rachel Weiner
(Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy / 7f)
A dark comedy of middle school deception and lies, Horse Girls is a play about pre-teens: their obsessions, their insecurities, their desperate need to find a place in the world.

The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia Lorca, translated by Michael Dewell and Carmen Zapata
Also available in translation by James Graham Lujan and Richard O’Connell
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 10f)
The greatest of modern Spanish tragedies is realistic and lyrical. Bernarda, a stern, widowed matriarch obsessed with family honor, announces to her five daughters that they will enter a traditional eight-year period of cloistered mourning. The result is a tragic climax that is unrelenting in its severity and terror.

In Juliet’s Garden by Judith Elliot McDonald
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 7f)
In this ingenious comedy, Juliet Capulet invites four other heroines of Shakespeare’s classics (Katharina, Portia, Ophelia and Desdemona) to lunch in her favorite garden in Verona to discuss issues’ they all have with their plots.

Jerry’s Girls by Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman, Larry Alford and Wayne Cilento
(Full-Length Musical / 3f, Expandable Cast)
This Broadway hit – a sizzling revue of Jerry Herman songs – features all the best numbers for women from such immortal musicals as Mame, Hello Dolly! and La Cage aux Folles. With a flexible cast size, it’s an ideal showcase for an all-female cast.

Ruthless! by Joel Paley and Marvin Laird
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 7f)
Eight-year-old Tina Denmark will do anything to win the part in her school musical, including murdering the leading lady! This outrageous hit musical garnered rave reviews during its long off-Broadway run.

She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 6f, 3m)
A comedic romp into the world of fantasy role-playing games, She Kills Monsters is a high-octane dramatic comedy laden with homicidal fairies, nasty ogres, and ’90s pop culture.

The Tall Girls by Meg Miroshnik
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 5f, 1m)
Sometimes basketball is the only way out. Even for a girl. Even in the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Featuring a strong ensemble of female characters, The Tall Girls examines issues of class and gender in Depression-era America.

The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 10f)
From the safety of their suburban stretch circle, a girls’ indoor soccer team navigates big questions and wages tiny battles with the vigor of a pack of adolescent warriors. The Wolves is a portrait of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for nine American girls who just want to score some goals.

“I have one or two strong female leads.”

Emma by Michael Bloom
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 6f, 6m)
A highly theatrical adaptation of one of Jane Austen’s greatest novels. Pledging never to marry, the mischievous Emma Woodhouse is nevertheless the “matchmaker of Highbury,” comically meddling in everyone’s love lives.

Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 2f, 5m)
Sarah Ruhl reimagines the classic myth of Orpheus through the eyes of its heroine. Dying too young on her wedding day, Eurydice must journey to the underworld, where she reunites with her father and struggles to remember her lost love.

Fun Home by Lisa Kron, Jeanine Tesori, Alison Bechdel
(Full-Length Musical, Drama / 4f, 2m, 1 girl, 2 boys)
When her father dies unexpectedly, graphic novelist Alison dives deep into her past to tell the story of the volatile and brilliant man whose temperament and secrets defined her family and her life. A refreshingly honest musical about love, family, grief and acceptance.

Gypsy by Arthur Laurents, Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim and Gypsy Rose Lee
(Full-Length Musical, Dramatic Comedy / 6f, 2m +Ensemble)
The Mother of All Musicals! Set all across America in the 1920s and 30s, when vaudeville was dying and burlesque was born, the landmark show explores the world of two-bit show business through the eyes of a determined stage mother and her two daughters.

Imogen Says Nothing by Aditi Brennan Kapil
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 2f, 7m)
A revisionist comedy in verse and prose featuring Imogen, a character who only appears in the first folio of William Shakespeare’s Much Adoe About Nothing, speaks no lines, and is probably a typo. A feminist hijacking of Shakespeare that investigates the voices that have been absented from our canon.

La Gringa by Carmen Rivera-Tirado
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 3f, 3m)
Rivera-Tirado’s contemporary comedy concerns a young woman’s search for her identity. When Mari­a Elena Garcia goes to visit her family in Puerto Rico she realizes she’s considered a Puerto Rican on the mainland and an American in Puerto Rico. Available in English or Spanish.

The Light in the Piazza by Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel
(Full-Length Musical, Drama / 4f, 4m +Ensemble)
This Tony Award-winning musical about a mother and daughter touring Florence in the 1950s features a glorious score and two compelling roles for powerhouse actresses. Exploring themes of love, acceptance and compromise, the show sparkles with sophistication, intelligence and heart.

The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 7f, 9m)
Wilder’s uproarious farce about love and money stars the irrepressible busybody Dolly Gallagher Levi, who inspired the Broadway musical Hello, Dolly! Through Dolly’s subtle machinations, several unlikely couples come together to find happiness in 19th-century New York.

Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Broadway Version) by Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II and Douglas Carter Beane
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 5f, 4m)
Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella is the new Broadway adaptation of the classic musical. This contemporary take on the classic tale features Rodgers & Hammerstein’s most beloved songs, including “In My Own Little Corner,” “Impossible/It’s Possible” and “Ten Minutes Ago,” alongside an up-to-date, hilarious and romantic libretto by Tony Award nominee Douglas Carter Beane. Concord Theatricals is proud to license several versions of Cinderella. Learn about the other versions here.

Side Show by Henry Krieger and Bill Russell
(Full-Length Musical, Drama / 7f, 14m)
Based on the true story of conjoined twins Violet and Daisy Hilton, who became stars during the Depression, Side Show is a moving portrait of two women joined at the hip whose extraordinary bondage brings them fame but denies them love.

War Paint by Doug Wright, Michael Korie and Scott Frankel
(Full-Length Musical, Drama / 10f, 5m +Ensemble)
Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden defined beauty standards for the first half of the 20th century, and their 50-year tug-of-war gave birth to an industry. This savvy, contemporary musical showcases two strong women and features a large female-dominated ensemble.

“I have one or two strong male leads.”

Barnum by Cy Coleman, Michael Stewart, Mark Bramble
(Full-Length Musical, Dramatic Comedy / 3f, 2m +Ensemble)
P.T. Barnum, the Greatest Showman on Earth, combines razzle-dazzle with charm and brass to sell “humbug” to cheering crowds. A joyful and moving musical portrait of the 19th century’s greatest show-biz legend, Barnum is a colorful, dynamic spectacle with heart.

Big River by Roger Miller, William Hauptman and Mark Twain
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 3f, 5m)
With the support of over 100 consensus organizers (individuals and organizations serving the Black community), this revision of Broadway’s Tony-winning musical will lift your spirit. The small-cast, hour-long version of Mark Twain’s celebrated novel has removed offensive language and expanded the role of Jim, now the same age as Huck. Twain’s classic sweeps audiences down the mighty Mississippi as the irrepressible Huck Finn helps his friend Jim, an enslaved teen, escape to freedom.

City of Angels by Cy Coleman, Larry Gelbart, David Zippel
(Full-Length Musical, Dramatic Comedy / 8f, 8m)
A smart and stylish film noir musical, City of Angels captures the gritty sights and sounds of Hollywood’s classic detective movies, all set to a brilliant, bluesy jazz score. The Tony-winning Best Musical features two dynamic male leads and a great supporting cast.

The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 2f, 6m)
In 1880s London, John Merrick is a horribly deformed young man – a victim of rare skin and bone diseases. Under the care of celebrated physician Frederick Treves, Merrick slowly evolves from an object of pity to an urbane gentleman, desperate to be recognized as a man like any other.

Footloose by Tom Snow, Dean Pitchford, Walter Bobbie, Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins, Jim Steinman
(Full-Length Musical, Dramatic Comedy / 7f, 8m)
The explosive movie musical bursts onto the live stage! Featuring a dynamic male lead, Footloose celebrates the exhilaration of youth, the wisdom of listening to one another, and the power of forgiveness.

In the Heights by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 6f, 6m)
In the Heights tells the universal story of a vibrant community in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood – a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music.

Man of La Mancha by Dale Wasserman, Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion
(Full-Length Musical, Dramatic Comedy / 5f, 6m +Ensemble)
The heartbreaking and inspirational Tony Award-winning musical, based on Cervantes’ Don Quixote, celebrates one man’s refusal to give up his impossible dream.

Nine by Arthur Kopit, Maury Yeston
(Full-Length Musical, Drama / 22f, 1m, 4 boys, Flexible Casting)
The spectacular musical adaptation of Fellini’s 8½ features one man and the dozens of women in his life. The ensemble in this portrait of celebrated but impetuous film director Guido Contini can include performers of any gender or, as in the original Broadway cast, consist only of women.

Red Velvet by Lolita Chakrabarti
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 3f, 5m)
Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, 1833. Edmund Kean, the greatest actor of his generation, has collapsed on stage while playing Othello. A young Black American actor has been asked to take over the role. But as people riots in the streets over the abolition of slavery, how will the cast, critics and audience react to the revolution taking place in the theatre?

Summerland by Arlitia Margaret Jones
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 1f, 2m)
Summerland tells the mysterious tale of William H. Mumler, a spirit photographer with a talent for capturing haunting images of the dead from the world beyond the veil. Based on true events, Summerland is set in Mumler’s New York studio in 1869 at the height of the American Spiritualist movement.

“I have students who want to do socially conscious work.”

21 Chump Street by Lin-Manuel Miranda
(Short Musical, Dramatic Comedy / 1f, 5m)
A 14-minute musical based on a true story as reported in the series This American Life. 21 Chump Street is a cautionary tale of Justin, a high school honors student who falls for a cute transfer girl. Justin goes to great lengths to oblige Naomi’s request for marijuana in the hopes of winning her affection – only to find out that his crush is actually an undercover cop planted in the school to find drug dealers.

26 Pebbles by Eric Ulloa
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 4f, 2m)
On December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed 26 innocent souls before taking his own life. Playwright Eric Ulloa conducted interviews with members of the community in Newtown and crafted them into an exploration of gun violence and a small town shaken by a horrific event.

Blood at the Root by Dominique Morisseau
(Flexible/Expandable, 3m, 3f)
Based on a true story, this poetic and realistic drama tackles the issue of racial tension in a modern American high school. Scalable for a variety of production, reading, and casting circumstances. Ideal for high school, colleges, and youth organizations.

Facing Our Truth: Ten Minute Plays on Trayvon, Race and Privilege by A. Rey Pamatmat, Dan O’Brien, Dominique Morisseau, Mona Mansour, Winter Miller, Marcus Gardley, Tala Manassah, Quetzal Flores
(Collection, Drama / Flexible Cast)
In light of the George Zimmerman verdict, The New Black Fest commissioned six very diverse playwrights to write 10-minute plays on the topic of Trayvon Martin, race and/or privilege. Facing Our Truth’s purpose is to incite serious discussion in our collective communities around these urgent issues.

Hazelwood Jr. High by Rob Urbinati
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 6f)
At first, Hazelwood Jr. High is like any other middle school – cliques and crushes, dances and detention. But when a new girl unwittingly steps into a “love triangle,” a revenge plot is hatched, and events spin out of control, escalating into a shocking and unimaginable climax. Based on a true story.

A Polar Bear in New Jersey by Anna Moench
(Short Play, Comedy / 7f, 3m, 4 any gender)
A teenage polar bear sets out on her own… to New Jersey. A play that’s a little bit about global warming, but mostly about fitting in when you’re different.

“I have a competition coming up and need a good piece.”

Around 2 by James Anthony Tyler
(Short Play / 6f, 4m)
On the night of the 2016 presidential election, a high school government club gathers to watch the results come in. As the winner becomes clear, the students struggle to understand what is happening between them and across the country.

The Astonishing And Dangerous History of Mazefield the Frog by Jen Silverman
(Short Play, Comedy / 3f, 2m, 6 any gender)
Clare and Sara are sisters; Sara is cool, Clare is not. Sara’s boyfriend gave her a frog that she doesn’t want, so she passes it along to Clare. Clare reluctantly accepts – only to learn that the frog can talk, his name is Mazefield, and he wants to bring about the apocalypse.

The Dance Company by Jonathan Caren
(Short Play, Comedy / 7f, 4m)
Three former jocks infiltrate an all-girls high school dance company in this comedy from Keen Teens.

Flip Turn by Madeleine George
(Short Play, Comedy / 4f, 6m)
A fantastic blending of the under- and above-water worlds at a public pool, when an ordinary day calls for extraordinary feats of daring and trust.

Horse Girls by Jenny Rachel Weiner
(Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy / 7f)
A dark comedy of middle school deception and lies, Horse Girls is a play about pre-teens: their obsessions, their insecurities, their desperate need to find a place in the world. (Competition version available.)

How the Moon Would Talk by Nick Gandiello
(Short Play / 6f, 3m)
High school student Ally has just lost her sister to cancer, and her boyfriend, Dwayne, is trying to be as committed to her as possible. On a Harlem rooftop, a group of friends discuss what it means to grieve when no one else has the answers for you.

In Juliet’s Garden by Judith Elliot McDonald
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 7f)
In this ingenious comedy, Juliet Capulet invites four other heroines of Shakespeare’s classics (Katharina, Portia, Ophelia and Desdemona) to lunch in her favorite garden in Verona to discuss issues’ they all have with their plots. (Competition version available.)

Lost Girl by Kimberly Bellflower
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 6f, 6m, Flexible/Expandable Casting)
Lost Girl examines Wendy’s coming of age after the classic story of Peter Pan. Featuring flexible casting and a strong female protagonist, the play runs 90 minutes. A separate 40-minute competition version is available upon request.

The Lost Girl (Or First Chair) by Lauren Yee
(Short Play, Dramatic Comedy / 6f, 5m)
When a school’s first violinist disappears, parents and students humorously navigate the rocky waters of high school orchestra politics. This short play, running 30 minutes, is ideal for competitions.

“I have a large cast of talented students.”

35mm: A Musical Exhibition by Ryan Scott Oliver and Matthew Murphy
(Full-Length Musical / Flexible Casting)
In 35mm, each photo creates an unique song; a glimmer of a life unfolding, a glimpse of something happening. A stunning new multimedia musical, this intricately woven collection of stories told through song reimagines what the modern American musical can be.

Chicago: Teen Edition by Fred Ebb, Bob Fosse and John Kander
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 10f, 9m)
Kander & Ebb’s legendary and award-winning musical about fame, fortune and acquittal is now widely available to be performed by high schools around the world. Specifically designed to be content-appropriate and flexible, Chicago: Teen Edition has been adapted to remove overtly sexual references and adult language, and can be performed by larger and smaller casts.

Dreamland by Chris Miller and Nathan Tysen
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / Large, Flexible Cast)
Dreamland (or a musical riff on Shakespeare’s Midsummer set during the declassification of Area 51) is a hilarious hijinks-filled retelling of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy featuring honor students, aliens, and a show choir.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 2f, 16m)
One of the most enduring shows of all time, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is a reimagining of the Biblical story of Joseph, his 11 brothers, their father Jacob and the coat of many colors. Appropriate for all audiences and groups, Joseph is ideal for a large cast.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by John Heimbuch and Jon Ferguson
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 1f, 2m, 7 any gender)
A dynamic ensemble-based retelling of the famous Washington Irving short story. In the quaint village of Sleepy Hollow, the legend of a mighty headless Hessian haunts humble schoolteacher Ichabod Crane as he pursues the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel.

Marian, or the True Tale of Robin Hood by Adam Szymkowicz
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 4f, 4m, 6 any gender)
A gender-bending, patriarchy-smashing, hilarious new take on the classic tale. Robin Hood is, and has always been, Maid Marian in disguise, and leads a motley group of Merry Men (few of whom are actually men) against the greedy Prince John.

Monstersongs by Rob Rokicki
(Full-Length Musical, Drama / 5f, 5m, 4 any gender, expandable casting)
Something wicked this way rocks! Monstersongs puts audiences in a synthesized world of graphic novels, rock musicals, live performance and new technology. Following the journey of a child who opens a portal into the psyches of often misunderstood creatures, Monstersongs flips the switch on the monster narrative, inviting audiences to explore the humanity that binds us all.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Rupert Holmes
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 4f, 7m)
Based on Charles Dickens’ final unfinished novel, this hilarious whodunit invites the audience to solve its mystery by choosing the identity of the murderer. The tale is presented as a show-within-a-show, as a delightfully loony Victorian theatre company presents Dickens’ brooding mystery.

Nice Work If You Can Get It: Teen Edition by George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin and Joe DiPietro
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 5f, 5m)
Specially designed for high school performers and family audiences, this full-length screwball comedy is a surefire crowd-pleaser. Nice Work If You Can Get It pokes fun at the Prohibition era in a clash of elegant socialites and boorish bootleggers, all set to the glorious songs of George and Ira Gershwin.

Old Money by Wendy Wasserstein
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 4f, 3m)
A drawing room comedy spanning decades, Old Money introduces the exotic creatures that have inhabited an old Manhattan mansion, most recently during rich banker Jeffrey Bernsetin’s posh party, in which eccentric guests mingle in a contrast of old money and new.

Puffs by Matt Cox
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 5f, 5m, 1 any gender)
For seven years a certain boy wizard went to a certain Wizard School and conquered evil. This, however, is not his story. This is the story of the Puffs… who just happened to be there too. A tale for anyone who has never been destined to save the world.

Runaways by Elizabeth Swados
(Full-Length Musical, Drama / 9f, 11m)
Created from interviews with homeless children and those in orphanages, Runaways is a collection of songs, dances and spoken word pieces about personal struggle and the world at large as seen through the eyes of youth in New York City in the ’70s.

Shakespeare in Love by Lee Hall and Tom Stoppard
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 6f, 18m)
Young Will Shakespeare has writer’s block and the deadline for his new play is fast approaching. Against a bustling background of mistaken identity and backstage theatrics, Will’s love Viola cleverly schemes to succeed as an actor, inspiring Will to write his greatest masterpiece.

The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse
(Full-Length Musical, Dramatic Comedy / 7f, 4m, 5girl(s), 2boy(s))
The final collaboration between Rodgers & Hammerstein was destined to become the world’s most beloved musical. The inspirational story, based on the memoir of Maria Augusta Trapp, follows an ebullient postulate who serves as governess to the seven children of the imperious Captain von Trapp, bringing music and joy to the household. But as the forces of Nazism take hold of Austria, Maria and the entire von Trapp family must make a moral decision.

Spell #7 by Ntozake Shange
(Full-Length Play, Choreopoem / 5f, 4m)
This striking choreopoem by the author of For Colored Girls … is set in St. Louis in a bar frequented by Black artists and musicians. In another meditation on the irony of being Black in a white world, the artists bare their souls in soliloquies, many of them illustrated by atmospheric dances.

The SpongeBob Musical by Kyle Jarrow and Tina Landau
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 16 any gender)
The stakes are higher than ever in this dynamic stage musical, as SpongeBob and all of Bikini Bottom face the total annihilation of their undersea world. Just when all hope seems lost, a most unexpected hero rises up and takes center stage. The power of optimism really can save the world.

Twelfth Night by Kwame Kwei-Armah, Shaina Taub
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 4f, 7m)
Named one of the best theatrical productions of 2018, Twelfth Night is a rousing contemporary musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy about mistaken identity and self-discovery. Featuring an original jazz-funk score by Shaina Taub, with a flexible-sized cast and 90-minute running time, Twelfth Night is appropriate for all audiences and groups.

Ken Ludwig’s Twentieth Century by Ken Ludwig
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 4f, 12m)
In this hilarious adaptation of the classic play, egomaniacal and bankrupt Broadway director Oscar Jaffe boards the Twentieth Century Limited and encounters his former discovery and ex-chorus girl, Lily Garland, now a temperamental Hollywood star.

You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown by Charles M. Schulz, Clark Gesner, Michael Mayer and Andrew Lippa
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 2f, 4m, Expandable Cast)
Charlie Brown and the entire Peanuts gang explore life’s great questions as they play baseball, struggle with homework, sing songs, swoon over their crushes, and celebrate the joy of friendship.

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For more great plays and musicals, visit ConcordTheatricals.com! Plus, don’t forget to check out our guide to K12 licensing, show selection and more.