FCPS theatre--WOW! Highly recommend if you are looking for something to do!

[Anonymous]

Bumping up this thread.

This is the 2nd to last weekend for FCPS spring musicals. Get your tickets soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A few years ago some friends and I got the idea to have a theater night that didn't involve spending a fortune or schlepping to DC--we dressed up, went out for drinks, saw a show at the local high school, and then went for a late dinner. It was so fun we've done it every year since. We pick a different high school each spring and we've never been disappointed.

Love this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it’s really unfortunate that all the spring musicals are in the same two weekends. There’s just too many shows and not enough nights to see them all! I really wish some of the schools would do fall musicals. But it seems every high school does a fall play and spring musical.

Lake Braddock typically does a February musical. I think Fairfax Academy does as well- they are an Academy so they might do more musicals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it’s really unfortunate that all the spring musicals are in the same two weekends. There’s just too many shows and not enough nights to see them all! I really wish some of the schools would do fall musicals. But it seems every high school does a fall play and spring musical.

West Springfield did a fall musical last year, Sweeney Todd. It was fantastic.

But, fall musicals are very difficult to execute for many reasons, which is why schools usually don't do them.

- The musicians are usually involved in marching band, so it is difficult to put together the pit orchestra for a fall show. Schools try to pick the most skilled musicians for their pits because playing for a musical is a little more difficult than playing just instrumental music, and many of those top musicians are just not available in the fall.

- If the musical has dancing, many of the dancers are involved in dance team and cheerleading in the fall, so they are also not available for a fall musical.

- Fall is football season. The musicals tend to bring the most people to the school after football, for evening events. The parking lots cannot support a friday football game and a friday musical. This rules out half the weekends for scheduling. The musical needs to be scheduled before Thanksgiving week. If they schedule the musical after football season, which goes until early November, and the football team makes the playoffs, the musical and football will have conflicts. Logistically, this scheduling can become a nightmare for the musical.

- The musicals require the largest amount of student involvement, with well over a hundred students involved in the cast, crew and orchestra. It also requires the students to be at their peak, which is usually in the spring after they have had several shows and concerts under their belt.

- Having had kids who have done both fall and spring musicals, it just is so much more fun for the kids to finish the year with a musical. The energy doing a musical is very different from doing the plays, likely because of the singing, dancing, orchestra and sheer number of students involved in a musical. The students get pumped up after a musical in a different way from the plays. The adrenaline rush is so strong. Having the musicals in the spring is better for the program. It finishes the year with a bang, and ends the season with the kids wanting to come back next year wanting more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it’s really unfortunate that all the spring musicals are in the same two weekends. There’s just too many shows and not enough nights to see them all! I really wish some of the schools would do fall musicals. But it seems every high school does a fall play and spring musical.

Lake Braddock typically does a February musical. I think Fairfax Academy does as well- they are an Academy so they might do more musicals.

The Musical Theater Academy at Fairfax usually has their musical at the end of Jan/beg of Feb. Then the kids can also do their base school musicals after that. But they only have one big show a year.