Musicals at IL high schools, March 2016

Spring musicals are still coming in for March in Illinois. Here’s the first couple weeks, at least as far as we know. As we find more musicals (please email paul@schoolsnapshots.org), we’ll update this list. Information on this page is derived from widely varying sources and generally can’t be confirmed. All information is subject to change without notice.

Urinetown at Dublin Scioto High School (Ohio), 2008 (Mike King / Flickr Creative Commons)

Some actors on the high school stage may be considering careers in the theater.

“In all likelihood, you have become a better person because the theater has enriched your soul, provided you with friendships, and given you some serious life skills above and beyond those of many of your peers,” writes Mary Ann Riel on TeenLife.com. “Now you are considering the stage for your profession and want to study acting in college.”

But there’s a lot more to it than just wanting to be on the stage.

“You are entering an overcrowded arena and, in order to compete, you need to prepare like an athlete,” she writes. “Many dream of life on stage and screen but when it comes right down to the nitty-gritty, most people talk more, text more, play more, waste more time and energy, and do too little of that four-letter word beginning with a W and ending in K.”

High school musicals in Illinois during March 2016

1. Conant, Hoffman Estates, Disney’s High School Musical, Feb. 26–Mar. 5 (2 wknds)
2. Deerfield, Legally Blonde, Mar. 2–5
3. Oak Park-River Forest, Oak Park, Into the Woods, Feb. 27–Mar. 5 (2 wknds)
4. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley, Gibson City, Oklahoma!, Mar. 4–5
5. Riverside-Brookfield, Riverside, The Addams Family, Mar. 3–5
6. St Teresa, Decatur, The Addams Family, Mar. 4–5
7. New Trier, Winnetka, Legally Blonde, Mar. 3–6
8. Bismarck Henning, Bismarck, Schoolhouse Rock Live (Jr), Mar. 4–6
9. Crystal Lake South, Crystal Lake, The Addams Family, Feb. 26–Mar. 5 (2 wknds)
10. Moline, Fiddler on the Roof, Mar. 10–12
11. Maine East, Park Ridge, Mary Poppins, Mar. 4–12 (2 wknds)
12. Niles North, Skokie, 13, Mar. 10–12
13. Mascoutah, Hairspray, Mar. 10–12
14. Downers Grove North, Downers Grove, The Drowsy Chaperone, Mar. 10–12
15. Bloomington, Legally Blonde, Mar. 10–12
16. Marengo, Pippin, Mar. 10–12
17. Stockton, Fiddler on the Roof, Mar. 11–12
18. Polo, Disney’s High School Musical, Mar. 11–12
19. Mt Pulaski, Honk! (Jr), Mar. 11–12
20. Hoffman Estates, Oklahoma!, Mar. 4–12 (2 wknds)
21. McHenry (West Campus), Phantom of the Opera, Mar. 4–12 (2 wknds)
22. Illiana Christian, Lansing, Cinderella, Mar. 10–12
23. Kankakee, Once upon a Mattress, Mar. 11–12
24. Le Roy, The Addams Family, Mar. 11–12
25. Chester, Into the Woods (trailer), Mar. 10–13
26. Coal City, Little Shop of Horrors, Mar. 10–13
27. Lakes Community, Lake Villa, Mary Poppins, Mar. 10–13
28. Warrensburg-Latham, Warrensburg, Shrek the Musical (Jr), Mar. 11–13
29. St Patrick, Chicago, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Mar. 4–13 (2 wknds)
30. Harrisburg, Mary Poppins, Mar. 11–13
31. Oakwood, Fithian, Legally Blonde, Mar. 11–13
32. Shelbyville, Footloose, Mar. 11–13
33. Rochester, Once Upon a Mattress, Mar. 11–13
34. Amboy, The Sound of Music, Mar. 11–13
35. West Carroll, Savanna, The Addams Family, Mar. 11–13
36. Bolingbrook, Shrek the Musical, Mar. 11–19 (2 wknds)
37. Central, Camp Point, Seussical, Mar. 18–19
38. Marist, Chicago, The Music Man, Mar. 17–19
39. Delavan, Little Women, Mar. 18–19
40. Minooka Community, Les Misérables (school ed.), Mar. 17–19
41. Belvidere, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Mar. 17–19
42. Porta, Petersburg, Annie, Mar. 18–19
43. Cary-Grove, Cary, Cinderella, Mar. 11–19 (2 wknds)
44. Triad, Troy, Cinderella, Mar. 17–19
45. Taylorville, The Sound of Music, Mar. 17–19
46. Iroquois West, Gilman, The Sound of Music, Mar. 17–19
47. Princeton, Oklahoma!, Mar. 18–19
48. Salem Community, The Addams Family, Mar. 10–19 (2 wknds)
49. Pinckneyville, The Addams Family, Mar. 17–19
50. Jersey Community, Jerseyville, Guys and Dolls, Mar. 17–20
51. Hampshire, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Mar. 18–20
52. Effingham, Mary Poppins, Mar. 17–20
53. Crystal Lake Central, Crystal Lake, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Mar. 16–20
54. Hononegah, Rockton, Les Misérables (school ed.), Mar. 18–20
55. Canton, Tarzan, Mar. 18–20
56. Astoria, Annie, Mar. 18–20
57. Anna-Jonesboro, Anna, Seussical, Mar. 17–20
58. Sacred Heart-Griffin, Springfield, Footloose, Mar. 17–20
59. Byron, The Addams Family, Mar. 17–20
60. Mendota Township, Mendota, The Addams Family, Mar. 18–20
61. Aquin Catholic, Freeport, South Pacific, Mar. 18–20
62. Collinsville, Seussical, Mar. 31–Apr. 2
63. Newton Community, The Addams Family, Mar. 31–Apr. 3

Musical productions in high schools often include the hard work of hundreds of students, teachers, and other community members. We write about them in support of new federal legislation in the Every Student Succeeds Act, which directs schools to include music and the arts as part of a “well-rounded education” for students in the US. Even before ESSA, though, Illinois Learning Standards in the fine arts have supported the production of musicals in our schools, including 25.B.5 [Understand how different art forms combine to create an interdisciplinary work (e.g., musical theatre, opera or cinematography)] and 26.B.5 [Create and perform a complex work of art using a variety of techniques, technologies and resources and independent decision making], among others.