What was the best high school production you ever watched?

amother

Fri, Jun 02 2023, 12:59 am

amother Strawberry wrote:

A small miracle! The best

That sounds familiar! Was it about a family of orphaned children adopted by their aunt?

The Machon plays were beautiful but I’m struggling to remember why. They were very professional. Engaging stories even if I can’t remember them lol.

amother

Brunette

Fri, Jun 02 2023, 1:18 am

amother Antiquewhite wrote:

Machon plays. They were so professional and well done. Others felt like much lower quality compared to it.

Well the finished product may have been "professional" but us girls were not treated right. In HS I didn't realize. Now looking back all these years later, I realize how we were taken advantage of and mistreated.

amother

Daffodil

Fri, Jun 02 2023, 3:47 am

amother Brunette wrote:

Can you please elaborate

amother

Burgundy

Fri, Jun 02 2023, 9:10 am

amother Brunette wrote:

Funny how back in the day we were fine with it but these days we're so enlightened that we get offended retroactively. Then we wonder why today's kids have no resilience...

bigsis144

Fri, Jun 02 2023, 9:12 am

HANNAH SACHS BAIS YAAKOV in Chicago does kosher non-Jewish plays and goes all out with choreography and costumes.

They’ve done Peter Pan (with “flying” on ropes and a sword fight choreographer), the Lion King (with the same styles of elaborate masks and puppets as the Broadway show), Beauty and the Beast…

Working on their shows was living the dream for my musical-theater-loving heart. I had seen a video of one of their shows in seminary and was blown away by the professionalism and talent, but never knew I would end up in Chicago. I literally approached them when I arrived and begged to work for them. “You don’t know me yet, but you WILL. That is both a threat and a promise 😁” And they were my tribe and my family until I moved away 😭

amother

Fri, Jun 02 2023, 9:54 am

bigsis144 wrote:

Wow, that sounds incredible! Would you say the special effects were what made the production great? Because I’m assuming it wasn’t the gripping storyline (I mean, we love Peter Pan but everyone knows what happens!)

amother

Hibiscus

Fri, Jun 02 2023, 10:04 am

bigsis144 wrote:

Is there any way for me to see their plays now? Like do they sell copies of it?

amother

Brunette

Fri, Jun 02 2023, 10:42 am

amother Burgundy wrote:

Funny how back in the day we were fine with it but these days we're so enlightened that we get offended retroactively. Then we wonder why today's kids have no resilience...

No. It was because we all so desperately wanted to be cool and to be cool meant getting the best parts in the play. The problem was the school viewed us as free labor to bring in a tremendous amount of money for the school. A production should be about the kids not about the $$$$.

Yes, if your definition of resilience means being humiliated and screamed at in front of everyone, if you mean being kicked out of the play because "you weren't funny enough", if you mean being promised a part another year and then never getting a part ever again, yes, I wholeheartedly wish to spare my children such lessons in resilience.

bigsis144

Fri, Jun 02 2023, 11:43 am

amother OP wrote:

I don’t think special effects could cover for a bad performance! My girls are so so talented and hardworking! Even rehearsal blows me away!

But it certainly takes things to another level and made me and the girls especially proud of what we put out there for audience. For those of us with Broadway dreams, this is the closest we can realistically get.
(When I hear people ask why frum organizations do non frum shows and say that frum people could write music “just as good” as Broadway… it just feels like they’re sheltered or in denial. People like Alan Menken or Howard Ashman do things with musical scores that are multilayered and are so deeply embedded in the storytelling that you can’t just replace that level of skill with talented amateurs.)

We’ve also done lower-spectacle shows like Newsies - we don’t have the energy or budget for massive stuff every year. 😆

bigsis144

Fri, Jun 02 2023, 12:00 pm

amother OP wrote:

And btw, I don’t think that knowing what happens next in ANY WAY diminishes the power of good theater or a good story.

It’s not about being surprised by the plot, though that’s also fun.

I am the kind of nerd who will literally prepare to see a live broadway show by listening to the recording of the cast album, because live theater will be different every time, and being familiar with the lyrics and grand outline lets you appreciate all the little details!

Seeing a familiar role or song interpreted by a new performer can be fascinating, and even more so the more you can pick up on the differences. Within the confines of the exact same words, one person played it as hopelessly distraught, while another played it quietly seething with rage. Sometimes there is more than one right way and that’s so so cool.

Sometimes a background character will catch your attention and you will appreciate how much work they put into their part, even if they aren’t center stage.

I LOVE THEATER