Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

The Educational Theatre Association has released its top-10 lists of plays and musicals performed in high schools during the 2022-2023 school year. More than 2,300 public and private high school teachers across the U.S. participated.

 topped the list of full-length musicals, followed by 

10 Ways to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse 

 calls the survey a "snapshot" of both what's popular with high school theater departments and "the educational climate." Eighty five percent of respondents reported being, "at least somewhat concerned about censorship" and 67% said that, "censorship concerns" are influencing their selections for next year.

Changing tastes and values reflected in the Play Survey

Jennifer Katona, executive director of EdTA, believes 

's popularity, "has a lot to do with our students love of the Netflix show 

"It's got a lot of music from a lot of different lyricists and musicians, so the students in the schools are really enjoying that one, too

 has been licensed to schools and it jumped to the #10 spot of full-length musicals. It helps that the musical based on Tina Fey's 

 movie had a successful Broadway run not too long ago, and that the cast is largely female. High school theatre programs often attract more girls than boys.

The annual Play Survey began in 1938. NPR's Education Desk did an eye-opening 

 of how high school plays have tracked over the survey's 85 year history.

was consistently among the top 10 plays "by decade," from the 1940s-2010s. In the last two surveys, Thornton Wilder's eternal classic held the number 10 spot but didn't make the list this year. Katona says high school drama departments are "diversifying their repertoires."

"Schools have really made an effort to bring in different playwrights and have different representation of voices on their stages," she says.

With school boards and local governments 

 theater productions and banning books, the EdTA survey also found that drama teachers are nervous.

"Teachers know that they need to be smart about what they're putting on their stages," says Katona, "They're making choices that will allow them to keep their theater programs." She adds, "Theater has always been a safe space for a lot of our students."

Danny Issa teaches theater at Washington-Liberty High School in Arlington, Va. While he says, while he always involves students in the play selection process, he also makes sure school officials are well aware of content that some might find inappropriate.

"The arts in general are in such a precarious position at all times. Are we going to have funding? Are we going to be able to make it through another season?" Issa reflects. "Just a single complaint from a parent can have a show pulled." That includes losing, "all the money that you've pumped into a production."

Still, Issa's concerns did not stop him — and lots of other high school theater teachers — from staging 

a play about love and relationships that includes gay characters

 held the No. 6 spot on this year's list of full-length plays.

High school theater programs are ‘rebounding from the pandemic’

Culture wars aside, the Play Survey found that, on average, attendance is up and theater programs are ramping up production.

"The average audience size across all performances in a school season increased 13 percent over last year to 1,967," EdTA writes in a statement.

"Coming out of the pandemic, I think everyone was really excited to just be able to see theater again," says Issa.

Washington-Liberty High School's musical — 

 — sold more than $10,000 in tickets, up more than $4,000 from last year's musical, according to Issa.

We ended up opening our balcony in the auditorium," Issa says. "Just because of the sheer number of people that showed up for closing night."

 versions of this story were edited by Rose Friedman and adapted to 

Arts and Culture

Elizabeth Blair

Author

were among the most popular shows, according to a new survey. But the report also showed that drama teachers are nervous about censorship.

The Addams Family, Clue and Frozen JR were among the most popular shows, according to a new survey. But the report also showed that drama teachers are nervous about censorship.


These were the most frequently performed plays and musicals in high schools this year

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox