Shows That’ll Put a Smile on Your Face

Some days just feel wearisome and leave us dragging our feet, but we may just have a remedy for that!

Browse our list of light, bright and full-of-life plays, all of which are guaranteed to bring back a spring to your step.

42nd Street by Harry Warren, Al Dubin, Michael Stewart, Mark Bramble and Bradford Ropes
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 7f, 6m)
At the height of the Great Depression, aspiring chorus girl Peggy Sawyer comes to the big city from Allentown PA, and soon lands her first big job in the ensemble of a glitzy new Broadway show. But just before opening night, the leading lady breaks her ankle. Will Peggy be able to step in and become a star? (US/UK)

Amélie by Craig Lucas, Nathan Tysen, Daniel Messe, Jean Pierre Jeunet and Guillaume Laurant
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 5f, 7m, 1 girl)
Amélie is an extraordinary young woman who lives quietly in the world, but loudly in her mind. She covertly improvises small but surprising acts of kindness that bring joy and mayhem. But when a chance at love comes her way, Amélie realises that to find happiness she’ll have to risk everything and say what’s in her heart. Be inspired by this imaginative dreamer who finds her voice, discovers the power of connection and sees possibility around every corner. (US/UK)

Bella: An American Tall Tale by Kirsten Childs
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 5f, 7m)
When Bella boards a train west to reunite with her Buffalo soldier sweetheart, she encounters the most colourful and lively characters ever to roam the Western plains. Bullets and fists will fly, heads and hearts will break, but—blessed with a big heart, and a voluptuous figure—Bella will breeze on through it all. (US/UK)

Brighton Beach Memoirs by Neil Simon
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 4f, 3m)
Part one of Neil Simon’s autobiographical trilogy: a portrait of the writer as a young teen in 1937 living with his family in a crowded, lower middle-class Brooklyn walk-up. Eugene Jerome, standing in for the author, is the narrator and central character. Dreaming of baseball and girls, Eugene must cope with the mundane existence of his family life in Brooklyn. (US/UK)

Bye Bye Birdie by Lee Adams, Charles Strouse and Michael Stewart
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 6f, 5m)
A loving send-up of the 1950s, small-town America, teenagers, and rock & roll. Teen heartthrob Conrad Birdie has been drafted, so he chooses All-American girl Kim MacAfee for a very public farewell kiss. Featuring a tuneful high-energy score, plenty of great parts for teens, and a hilarious script.
(US/UK)

Fly by Night by Kim Rosenstock, Michael Mitnick and Will Connolly
(Full-Length Musical, Dark Comedy / 2f, 5m)
A star-crossed prophecy. A lot of music. Just not a lot of light. In this darkly comic rock-fable, a melancholy sandwich maker’s humdrum life is intersected by two entrancing sisters. A sweeping ode to young love set against the backdrop of the Northeast blackout of 1965. (US/UK)

For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday by Sarah Ruhl
(Full Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 3f, 3m)
When Ann thinks of her father, she immediately remembers playing Peter Pan in her hometown theatre in Iowa, particularly when he used to bring her flowers after her performance. His death sparks a conversational wake, giving a loving look at a family’s view of death, life, and the allure of never growing up. (US/UK)

Hammered: A Thor & Loki Play (Marvel Spotlight) by Christian Borle
(Short Play, Comedy / 6f, 9m, 5 any gender)
As Thor struggles with the stress of final exams, his brother Loki finds himself under a different sort of pressure. Neither are beneath pranks in the endless competition for their parents’ favor. But underneath all the thunder and mischief, these two Princes of Asgard discover a bond that will last millennia. (US)

Holiday Inn by Irving Berlin, Gordon Greenberg and Chad Hodge
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 3f, 3m, 1 boy)
Jim leaves the bright lights of show business behind to settle down on his farmhouse in Connecticut and soon meets Linda, a spirited school teacher with talent to spare. Together they turn the farmhouse into a fabulous inn with dazzling performances to celebrate each holiday. But when Jim’s best friend Ted tries to lure Linda to Hollywood to be his new dance partner, will Jim be able to salvage his latest chance at love? (US/UK)

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 2f, 16m)
“Sha la la Joseph, you’re doing fine! You and your dreamcoat ahead of your time!”
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 father Jacob, eleven brothers and the coat of many colours. (US)

Native Gardens by Karen Zacarías
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 2f, 2m)
Pablo, a high-powered lawyer, and doctoral candidate Tania, his very pregnant wife, are realising the American dream when they purchase a house next door to community stalwarts Virginia and Frank. But a disagreement over a longstanding fence line soon spirals into an all-out war of taste, class, privilege and entitlement. (US/UK)

Noises Off by Michael Frayn
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 4f, 6m)
Presenting a manic menagerie of itine
rant actors rehearsing a flop called Nothing’s On. Doors slamming, on- and offstage intrigue, and an errant herring all figure in the plot of this hilarious and classically comic play.
(US/UK)

Nunsense by Dan Goggin
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 5f)
The show is a fundraiser put on by the Little Sisters of Hoboken to raise money to bury sisters accidentally poisoned by the convent cook, Sister Julia (Child of God). Updated with new jokes, additional lyrics, two new arrangements, and a brand new song, this is the perfect musical to perform for guaranteed laughs and joy. (US/UK)

Play on! by Rick Abbot
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 7f, 3m)
A hilarious story of a theatre group trying desperately to put on a play in spite of maddening interference from a haughty author who keeps revising the script. Act I is a rehearsal of the dreadful show, Act II is the near disastrous dress rehearsal, and the final act is the actual performance, in which anything that can go wrong, does. When the author decides to give a speech on the state of the modern theatre during the curtain calls, the audience is treated to a madcap climax to a thoroughly hilarious romp. Even the sound effects reap their share of laughter. (US/UK)

Rumours by Neil Simon
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 5f, 4m)
Ken and Chris have found their host Charley, a prominent government official, in his bedroom, with a bullet wound in his ear lobe! Len and Claire arrive, themselves injured in a car crash, and are soon joined by four others, each with their own problems. When a second shot goes off, the police arrive and Ken has to pretend he is Charley, concocting a fantastic explanation… (US/UK)

Snoopy!!! by Charles M. Schulz, Warren Lockhart, Arthur Whitelaw, Michael L. Grace, Larry Grossman and Hal Hackady
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 3f, 3m, 1 any gender)
Based on the beloved Peanuts comic strip by Charles Schulz, Snoopy!!! sparkles with wit and warmth as it depicts life as seen through the eyes of Schulz’s unforgettable characters. (US/UK)

State Fair by Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Tom Briggs, Louis Mattioli and Phil Strong
(Full Length Musical, Comedy / 7f, 9m, 1 girl)
Set against the colourful backdrop of an American heartland tradition, State Fair travels with the Frake family as they leave behind the routine of the farm for three days of adventure at the annual Iowa State Fair. Mom and Pop have their hearts set on blue ribbons while their daughter and son find romance and heartbreak on the midway. (US/UK)

The Wizard of Oz (R.S.C. 1987) by L. Frank Baum, Harold Arlen, E. Y. Harburg, Herbert Stothart, Peter Howard, Larry Wilcox and John Kane
(Full-Length Musical, Dramatic Comedy / 3f, 5m, 16 any gender)
Follow the yellow brick road in this delightful stage adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s beloved tale, featuring the iconic musical score from the MGM film. The timeless tale, in which young Dorothy Gale travels from Kansas over the rainbow to the magical Land of Oz, continues to thrill audiences worldwide.
(US/UK)

Vampire Lesbians of Sodom by Charles Busch
(Short Play, Comedy / 2f, 6m)
The saga of two fatally seductive vampiresses whose paths first collide in ancient Sodom. Their bitter rivalry as bloodsuckers, but more importantly as actresses, endures for two thousand years, with stops in 1920s silent-movie Hollywood and contemporary Las Vegas. (US)

White Christmas by Irving Berlin, Norman Krasna, Norman Panama, Melvin Frank, David Ives and Paul Blake
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 5f, 6m, 1 girl)
Veterans Bob Wallace and Phil Davis have a successful song-and-dance act after World War II. With romance in mind, the two follow a duo of beautiful singing sisters en route to their Christmas show at a Vermont lodge, which just happens to be owned by Bob and Phil’s former army commander.
(US/UK)

Yo, Vikings! by Sam Willmott and Marcus Stevens
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 6f, 7m, 1 boy)
Adapted from Judith Byron Schachner’s acclaimed book of the same name, Yo, Vikings! is the mini-saga of 10-year-old Emma Katz, the fiercest Viking in Swarthmore, PA, and her quest for real adventure. This play combines sweeping melodies, thrilling Viking chants, and funky rock ‘n roll with a beautiful, heart-warming story to engage and excite every member of the family. (US/UK)

You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Original) by Charles M. Schulz and Clark Gesner
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 2f, 4m)
With charm, wit, and heart, this play explores life through the eyes of Charlie Brown and his friends in the Peanuts gang. The revue of songs and vignettes, based on the beloved Charles Schulz comic strip, is the ideal first show for those who would like to do a musical. (US/UK)

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To find other shows to brighten your day, head to our website!

In North America, visit concordtheatri
cals.com. In the UK and Europe, visit concordtheatricals.co.uk.

Photo: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Tristram Kenton)