Schools on Stage

Little Stars

Maverick Musicals’ 2008 top seller (it even beat the perennial favourite, Man of Steel) is a rock and roll musical aimed at junior and intermediate groups. It follows the behind-the-scenes story of five finalists competing in the national TV hit, a singing competition seeking the next ... Little Star! Crooked judges, hyperactive presenters and a live studio audience – it's a perfect parody of the Idol TV format. The musical offers directors the flexibility to include as many singing, dancing and comedy acts as they want to in the competition scenes.

Grease

The Radford College (ACT) production of Grease demonstrated how imaginative direction and a talented cast can keep an old favourite fresh, playing to sell-out crowds. From the “typewriter font” program, to the wonderful use of period TV advertisements as between scene fillers, the Radford production had a delightfully “retro” feel. The imaginative set created a specific T-bird zone on one side, with a wall of car parts and accessories, and a Pink Ladies zone on the other side, with a multi-purpose area in between.

Mega-Nunsense Premiere Made Sense for All-Girl School

Finding a musical for an all girls’ school can be a big challenge.

The Performing Arts staff at Diocesan School for Girls in Auckland wanted great dramatic and musical opportunities, and it had to be engaging for the cast and audiences. We saw a local music theatre group’s production of Nunsense, and thought it could be the show for our senior students, though the five person cast was a limitation.

Further research with Dominie revealed a mega-musical version of Nunsense was now available.