# How are the Sets for these musicals



## DannyDepac (Jun 4, 2013)

Hello people, 

we're trying to pick our musical for next year at the high school I work at. I'm the Stage Director and want to pick a play that has less and "lighter" sets for next year... any suggestions? Does any one have a suggestion on these shows we're considering: 

How to succeed in business. On the way to the forum Zombie Prom, Grease, Little Shop, Avenue Q school edition (long shot),Hair Spray 

We've done: Wizard of oz, all shook up, les miserables, Beauty and the beast, Jekyll and hyde, and young frankenstein (UGHHHH) 

please any "lighter'' musical shows you could suggest on the set side would be appreciated. Thanks in advance


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## rochem (Jun 4, 2013)

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum - good high school show, fairly minimal set requirements
You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown - very little actual set, lots of little pieces, but they can be cartooney and cheaper
The Fantasticks - easy show, not much set at all

I don't have time to look right now, but I feel like we already have a number of threads like this. Check out the Search bar for more.


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## JLNorthGA (Jun 4, 2013)

How about musical reviews? They are long on songs, light on plot and usually require minimal sets.

If you have a good lighting person, how about "Spitfire Grill"? If you have a taste for the absurd - "I'll Never Be Hungry Again" by Catherine Bush.

As far a "Little Shop of Horrors" - are you planning on renting or building your puppets? The show is easy to stage and building the set can be easy - but the puppets are a major thing. I've had the misfortune of being the puppeteer.


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## TheaterEd (Jun 4, 2013)

I worked on a HS production of SMILE a couple of years ago. Had a very basic set, and was a lot of fun to work on.


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## MPowers (Jun 4, 2013)

FANTASTICKS!!!!!!! NO CONTEST!! Original version, a platform, two poles and props (NOT the ill conceived version toured with for Robert Goulet in '89!). All IMHO of course. Caveat, it is my favorite show of all time. I've played both fathers, the mute, Henry, the Indian, never Louisa for some reason, never El Gallo or Matt as they both have to actually sing (not just sell), directed it 3 times designed it at least 5 times (set and lights) and seen it at every opportunity in the last 50 years. Did I mention it's my favorite show?

On the down side for a High School is the small cast. No singing, dancing chorus of hundreds to get every senior on stage for their parents. The set and number of costumes are both so minimal you don't have a large crew need for those kids. A fair number of little simple props, Lighting should also be on the minimal side. The circus version does have many more cast possibilities but IMHO totally ruins the charm and impact of the original.

Back to your original question. Almost any show can be done with far less than the original set. If it can't, then I think it is not a show worth doing. If the set is the reason for the show, pick another vehicle. If you want to do a musical review or a "Show Choir" production, that's fine, (before anyone jumps up outraged, I love show choir, it is great entertainment. It is just not a musical or a play with music, it is entertainment.) Other possibilities are Forum, Ave Q, Spelling Bee. HTH!


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## DannyDepac (Jun 4, 2013)

Thank you all for the quick replies. As far as little shop... we'd rent... our school did it ten years ago before I was there. They said it was pretty straight forward. 

Does Anyone have an opinion on "grease" I get the impression its a lot of sets and a pain

Also Joseph and the technicolor dream coat? 

I'm leaning towards little shop, zombie prom or how to succeed in business.


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## kiwitechgirl (Jun 4, 2013)

Jesus Christ Superstar can be done with virtually no set - I worked on a school production where they had a rolling platform (50cm high, 3m x 1.5m in size) and six cloth drops (about the size of a leg) and that was it - the cross was built into the platform and hinged up out of it. Cabaret can also be done very simply - but might not be deemed suitable, depending on the school! Joseph can also be done without much in the way of set - the only thing which could be tricky is the prison cell. I did How to Succeed but we complicated it by adding a revolve in - we divided it into three with walls and each was a different office. You could do it much more easily than that though.

Every production of Grease that I've seen has had big sets - plus you need the car....

E2A: I've seen Guys and Dolls done with six double-sided flats on wheels - one side was the Broadway street scene, one side the Mission. ISTR the Havana and sewer scenes were done with light.


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## josh88 (Jun 4, 2013)

I'm told some school near me did grease with just a bunch of scaffolding a few years ago. I never saw it though so I can't really comment. When I was in high school we had a main platform, a couple of drops and the car and got by just fine.


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## justjasen72 (Aug 23, 2013)

Honk is a nice show, with a great message on Bullying. We did it with one set, and a few pieces that rolled on in front of the curtain.

Seussical is similar that you can do it with one set and a few pieces in front of the curtain. This is a great show for High schoolers, it is family friendly and has a large cast.


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## misterm (Aug 27, 2013)

I'll second Honk! and Seussical as far as being as simple set wise. Joseph can be as complicated as you want. Last time I did it, we used a few platforms and various sized boxes. The props and costumes on that show can get a bit heavy, depending on how crazy you want to get, design-wise.


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## bigbear (Sep 17, 2013)

We did Little Shop two years ago and I designed and made our puppets. I'll be happy to send plans for the little beasts if anybody is interested. Apart from the largest Audrey, everything else was easy. Big Audrey caused quite a stir when she first appeared onstage and we eventually sold the puppets to a local university for their production. Net cost = 0! Result!


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## ncstorrs (May 6, 2016)

bigbear said:


> We did Little Shop two years ago and I designed and made our puppets. I'll be happy to send plans for the little beasts if anybody is interested. Apart from the largest Audrey, everything else was easy. Big Audrey caused quite a stir when she first appeared onstage and we eventually sold the puppets to a local university for their production. Net cost = 0! Result!



So I know it was 5 years ago, but if you still have plans for Audrey puppets, we are interested for a fall 2017 show on the playbill for West Bend, WI. Can you help?


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## bigbear (May 10, 2016)

ncstorrs said:


> So I know it was 5 years ago, but if you still have plans for Audrey puppets, we are interested for a fall 2017 show on the playbill for West Bend, WI. Can you help?


Hi! No problem, I still have copies of the sketches and notes I made and some pics of the finished items. It'll take me a couple of days to compile it all, but you're very welcome to what I can offer. Here are a few shots of the puppets in action. We built 4 different sizes... We are a school, so had t oplay down the horror aspect a bit and the faces are blurred to prevent identification. Sorry, but it's the law!


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## Wheezy (May 10, 2016)

Since you did All Shook Up, could you re-use any set pieces for Grease?


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## Chris Chapman (May 10, 2016)

Both "Little Shop" & "Grease" have elements that will potentially kill the show. "Little Shop" lives or dies based on your Audrey II. The rest of the set is actually very easy. "Grease" has the same issue with Greased Lightning (to a lesser degree). Before committing to either show, make sure you have a realistic and budget aware answer to those challenges.

When we did "Little Shop" this year, we rented from MonkeyBoy Productions. I HIGHLY recommend them.









IMG_4138



__ Chris Chapman
__ May 10, 2016


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## dwardMICS (May 19, 2016)

I'm a big proponent of doing exactly what you need. So when we did Little Shop this past year, I kind of threw out the expectations. I also had to build everything from scratch as this school has no inventory, zero skilled carpenters, no parents who could come in and help out....So I did it as simply as possible, and I didn't do a big puppet. 

At the end of the day, you have to balance your budget with what you want. I had to build a lot of stuff from scratch using terrible materials (furring strips are not 1x4!!!). Lesson learned! I'll rebuild stuff with better materials next year. I would hate to tell folks you "have" to have certain things for a show. To be honest, most plays can be done with barely any set. There is a strong creativity drive when your budget is limited!

What I would honestly do is make my decision based on what feels right for the school, kids, and community. The rest of it can be put together later.


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