Twice a year, in fall and spring, Harrison High School’s drama department puts on two spectacular theater productions. The cast and crew work hard to make the show truly come alive, facing challenges and overcoming technical difficulties during every rehearsal. Their devotion has allowed them to produce some awe-inspiring shows including Legally Blonde, School of Rock, Mary Poppins, Little Shop of Horrors, The Addams Family, and Mamma Mia!
The drama crew always has fun with their production no matter what, but some shows are more special than others, and they can have a huge impact on both the performers and their audience. Ranked from low priority to absolute necessity, Harrison students present their very own wish list. Below you’ll see some of the most popular choices by Harrison students!
Original Musicals
The musicals on this list are great, but what if our drama department performed student written productions? Our school has many creative minds, and we take pride in our art-centered programs. If the directors of the Creative Arts Theater program were to work with students to put on their own plays and musicals, our drama department would have a stellar opportunity to show off our school’s diverse creative skill sets.
Bye Bye Birdie
When a famous rockstar is drafted into the US army, a struggling singer and songwriter must find his way in showbusiness. With catchy songs, impactful themes, and brilliant comedic performances, there’s plenty of reason to love this musical! The reason this show is so low on our list is because our drama department has already performed, back in 2017. However, perhaps it’s time for us to revisit an iconic and beloved classic!
SpongeBob: The Musical
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Not Harrison. Just no. It’s not a Bikini Bottom day here. However, Will Simpson holds a strong argument for this musical. According to this senior, “It is so underrated, everyone thinks that just because it’s based off of SpongeBob that it isn’t good.” Freshman Parker Evans adamantly disagrees with this opinion. He felt such strong distaste for this production that he even threatened he would leave the club if Harrison ever performed it. Evans stated, “If William Henry Harrison puts on a production of SpongeBob: The Musical, I will leave drama and they can find another student to do the sound board.” Maybe this show is fun for a general audience, but it’s not the kind of vibe Harrison needs.
West Side Story
A perfect mashup between Romeo and Juliet and The Outsiders, West Side Story provides a unique story with great themes and music. It shows a universally recognized conflict between love and the forces acting against it in a hateful world. It was originally released on Broadway in 1957 but has since received multiple film adaptations in 1961, and more recently in 2021. This is without a doubt a great production, but Harrison can do better than this.
Chicago
Now this is the kind of vibe Harrison needs — murder, prison, and The Roaring 20’s. The show is set during the 20’s and focuses on two women who crave attention, manipulating the media in a battle of wits and wills. It has great catchy tunes from across the 20’s, highlighting the art of that time period’s music. With all that jazz, who wouldn’t want to see this show?
Phantom of the Opera
Focusing on the consequences of obsession and the delights of mystery, this show is perhaps the most visually appealing on our wish list. The suspense throughout the musical engages viewers and keeps them completely captivated. This show also requires several unique and exciting props, particularly the iconic chandelier, something many students are dying to see on Harrison’s stage. It would give the crew a special challenge and would have audience members on the edge of their seats, feeling anxiety and excitement as the massive set piece falls from the ceiling. This may be the only time a fly-deck manager ever gets to purposefully drop a batten on a cast member. It sounds like too great of an opportunity to pass up!
SIX: The Musical
In 6th place we have SIX: The Musical. Call this placement on the nose if you want, but this musical is a perfect blend of drama and history, making it a great fit for this spot! The show acts as a closer look into the wives of King Henry VIII, creating a unique story and sound. The entire musical is essentially a history lesson stylized as a pop concert. According to Madison McIntyre, a devoted crew member in drama, “The songs are wonderful, and the humor never fails.” Clearly students agree that all we want to do is watch this musical performed by our own drama program!
Heathers
Harrison came very close to performing this musical (or at least that’s what the drama club thought at the time). In May of 2023 at our annual drama awards ceremony, a dramatic slideshow revealed that we would be performing Legally Blonde: The Musical in April of the next year. As a list of about 15 shows slowly dwindled down to the final candidates, Heathers gave us all a bit of false hope. This is certainly a must watch and a must perform for all theater members. It contains great themes and has extremely impactful messages and musical numbers. We were so close then, and after two years, it’s time we gave Heathers a second chance in the Harrison Creative Arts Theater.
The Greatest Showman
If it were up to me, this musical would totally be number one on the list, but it isn’t available for student production yet. However, when it becomes available, it seems there are just a few shows with better qualities in the eyes of the Harrison student body. This is a brilliant musical and would look so cool in our theater! It has great vocals and visuals. We’ve had productions with flying characters before, particularly in Mary Poppins and Peter Pan. Surely it wouldn’t be that hard to get an acrobatic actor with trapeze capabilities and an incredible voice, right?! Imagine being in the audience as the lights go dark, and suddenly you hear, “Whoaaa-ohh-oh-oh-ohh!” I mean, come on! With classics like “A Million Dreams”, “This Is Me”, and my personal favorite, “Rewrite the Stars”, this musical definitely deserves a special place on our stage.
Wicked
Another show that isn’t available for high schools to perform yet, but that Harrison would be very interested in performing someday is Wicked. “The best way to bring folks together is to give ‘em a real good enemy.” Who doesn’t love a good villain? Wicked is an absolute must watch, both the Broadway show and its recent resurgence in the 2024 movie. It also has great visuals and chilling vocals from Tony winning singer and actress Idina Menzel. At the time of writing this article, I still haven’t seen Wicked on Broadway or on stage anywhere, so I was walking in blind when I saw the movie. However, as a lover of both musicals and cinema culture, this was one of the best experiences I have ever had both on a musical performance, and on a cinematic level. The music is genuinely amazing, as is the story, and I need to see this happen in our drama program before the end of my senior year. If it’s the director’s choice, and you’ve got the voice, then why not do this show — so, let’s start, ‘cause Harrison’s got an awfully long way to go!
Hamilton
If Harrison had a chance to do this show, we definitely would not throw away our shot as soon as this is available for high schools to perform. Hamilton may be one of the most popular shows of all time. It turns a stereotypically boring history lecture into a truly compelling story. The music has a unique twist, being primarily made up of hip-hop and rap styles, all of which are incredible and would sound amazing on the Martin Marietta stage. For many, this show was also a center of relief and enjoyment during the pandemic, allowing them to escape the struggles of life in quarantine. Many students seem to agree it’s about time Harrison fires its shot and gets to work, work on this brilliant masterpiece!
Mean Girls and more!
Mean girl, mean girl, down the hall, tell us the best show of them all — that’s right, it’s Mean Girls! According to a poll from around our school, this musical had the most repetitive and steady support, appearing at least six times across all responses. Mean Girls follows several teenagers as they navigate life in high school, balancing their identities with social pressure. The themes of fitting in and messages about bullying help make this musical relatable for lots of people, even those who have never been bullied themselves can identify with these important ideas. Plus, it’s got some pretty banger songs! Anyone with even a shred of musical taste will get hooked on this awesome soundtrack. There are more than enough reasons to like this musical, making it well deserving of the number one spot on our wish list!
There were several other musicals that some students mentioned they would like to see at Harrison. These included Newsies, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, La La Land. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Hairspray, Matilda: The Musical, The Wizard of Oz, Shrek: The Musical, EPIC: The Musical, High School Musical, The Sound of Music, Dear Evan Hansen, Into the Woods, and Hadestown. If our directors used this list to decide the next shows, they would have material for years and years to come!
Will any of these musicals ever happen at Harrison? We can only hope! Typically, our drama program chooses shows that are no longer on Broadway, and some of the more popular musicals on this list like Hamilton might be a bit of a long shot (no pun intended). The good news is Mean Girls closed on Broadway after the pandemic, so our top choice is still on the table!
