Theaterhub.org /

Research Project

References

Theaterhub Top Picks

For a bit of interesting, but not too profound research, here is a list of the musicals Theaterhub has listed in its calendars.
There have been 133 high school musicals, which is enough to demonstrate a pattern. (Theaterhub has not listed a sufficient number of high school plays or middle school productions to suggest anything interesting.) The productions and their frequency are listed below:

Spring 2004 - Spring 2006 

Beauty and the Beast         9   Little Shop Of Horrors        3
Anything Goes                7   South Pacific                 3
Hello Dolly                  7   The Wizard of Oz              3
Seussical, The Musical       6   Foot Loose                    2
Bye Bye Birdie               5   Into the Woods                2
Fiddler On The Roof          5   Joseph and the Amazing        2
				    TechnicolorTM Dreamcoat      
Les Miserables               5   Oklahoma!                     2
The Music Man                5   Peter Pan                     2
The Sound of Music           5   The Boy Friend                2
Annie                        4   The King And I                2
Guys and Dolls               4   The Pirates Of Penzance       2
Honk!                        4   The Secret Garden             2
Once Upon a Mattress         4   Others                       33
How To Succeed In Business   3    
Without Really Trying            Total                       133
For a point of comparison, the International Thespian Society's 2004-05 survey of most-produced titles in North American high schools can be found at Educational Theatre Association. "About seven hundred and fifty of the Thespian Society's 3,740 affiliated schools participated in the 2004-05 production survey. While not comprehensive, the survey is the best available index of the most popular plays and musicals in North American high schools."

ITS's 2004-05 Top Ten Musicals 

1. Seussical, The Musical
2. Grease
3. Once Upon a Mattress
4. Little Shop of Horrors
5 (tie). Disney's Beauty and the Beast
5 (tie). Into the Woods
5 (tie). Oklahoma!
8 (tie). Anything Goes
8 (tie). Bye Bye Birdie
8 (tie). The Music Man
In addition to musicals, the ITS survey, compiled by Jhon Marshall, lists its top ten full-length plays and top ten short plays. SLS 2/06 Who links to me?