Musicals at IL high schools, Feb. 2016

Spring musicals get into full swing during February in Illinois, and here’s a list of the ones we know about. 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.

1. Addison Trail High School in Addison will present Jesus Christ Superstar on January 21–23.
2. Dunlap High School in Dunlap will present Mary Poppins on January 22–24.
3. Metea Valley High School in Aurora will present Next to Normal on January 20–23. Special note: This rock musical, which expanded the subject matter for musicals to include a dramatization of how families deal with mental illness, is only the eighth musical in history to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
4. Belleville West High School in Belleville will present Disney’s Peter Pan (junior edition) on February 4–5.
5. St Viator High School in Arlington Heights will present The Music Man on January 29–February 7 (two weekends).
6. Robinson High School in Robinson will present The Addams Family on February 4–7.
7. New Trier High School in Winnetka will present Footloose on February 10–13.
8. Johnsburg High School in Johnsburg will present The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee on February 12–20 (two weekends).
9. Marian Central Catholic High School in Woodstock will present Oklahoma! on February 12–20 (two weekends).
10. Lane Tech High School in Chicago will present The Sound of Music on February 17–20.
11. Maine West High School in Des Plaines will present Annie on February 19–21.
12. Lyons Township High School in LaGrange will present Legally Blonde on February 18–21.
13. Evergreen Park Community High School in Evergreen Park will present Thoroughly Modern Millie on February 19–21.
14. South Elgin High School in South Elgin will present Thoroughly Modern Millie on February 25–27.
15. Monticello High School in Monticello will present Little Women on February 26–27.
16. Highland Park High School in Highland Park will present Mary Poppins on February 18–28 (two weekends).
17. Barrington High School in Barrington will present Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida on February 25–28.
18. Roxana High School in Roxana will present The Pajama Game on February 26–28.
19. HD Jacobs High School in Algonquin will present Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on February 25–28.
20. Sterling High School in Sterling will present The Addams Family on February 26–28.
21. James B Conant High School in Hoffman Estates will present Disney’s High School Musical on February 26–March 5 (two weekends).
22. Oak Park-River Forest High School in Oak Park will present Into the Woods on February 27–March 5 (two weekends).

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.