Is Mamma Mia appropriate for a high school musical?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Super tame compared to the shows our high school does.

Geesh, what are they performing? Best Little Whorehouse in Texas?

Urinetown. Rent. Hair. And frankly it is a toss up whether the message in Legally Blonde is better/worse than the message in Mama Mia. But high school kids are not naive about this stuff and can certainly handle a musical aobut it.

OP, what about Cabaret? What about Some Like It Hot? Can high schoolers be expected to be able to understand those themes of sexuality? What about Rocky Horror Picture Show?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]It wouldn't bother me. I remember when my high school out on Seven Brides for Seven Brothers... That one seems far more offensive than mamma Mia.[/b]

Ok, apparently I'm horrifically prudish and out of touch because I don't think a HS should choose a musical where the entire show makes light and has fun with a woman behaving like a major ho. And yes, I slept with my fair share of guys back in the day as well.

That’s completely uncalled for. Does it mean you are a ‘ho’ too? Maybe if people like you stopped having so many hangups about sex and female sexuality, teenagers would be comfortable talking to their parents before they become sexually active.

Your problem isn’t that you’re prudish or out of touch. It’s that you’re close-minded and judgmental.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Recently saw a HS performance of Mamma Mia. I don't think of myself as a conservative person but I was rather shocked that they are having a light hearted musical of which the main theme is that a woman doesn't know which of three men is her daughter's husband. On top of that, there were very sexual jokes, and language like, Holy shit! Seemed very strange to choose this particular play for a school musical, and I love the show in general, but I don't feel comfortable seeing high schoolers playing these roles.

DP I thought it was Father, not husband.

Also, it is totally fine. It isn't elementary age! It's just a show, just relax ( or don't see it)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s fine; high school musicals don’t all have to be sanitized.

Grease is a mainstay in high school musicals. The most famous song (“Summer Nights”) has a lyric about whether or not Sandy “put up a fight” in the backseat. A side plot is about Rizzo thinking she might be pregnant.

Even Oklahoma isn’t all wine and roses. Curly sings a song to Jud in which he essentially suggests that Jud commits suicide. Ado Annie is “Just a Girl Who Cain’t say No.”

And on and on...

Yes, yes, yes, I get it. Obviously lots of plays are a little risque. It's not like I expect them only to be performing Annie, but this is a play where the main story plot revolves around a woman who had sex with three men in two weeks, and there are jokes regarding oral sex.

Would you be happier with Les Mis - prostitutes and suicide - that one is a mainstay as well. What about Into the Woods? Losing virginity, abandonment, infertility, crime...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Recently saw a HS performance of Mamma Mia. I don't think of myself as a conservative person but I was rather shocked that they are having a light hearted musical of which the main theme is that a woman doesn't know which of three men is her daughter's husband. On top of that, there were very sexual jokes, and language like, Holy shit! Seemed very strange to choose this particular play for a school musical, and I love the show in general, but I don't feel comfortable seeing high schoolers playing these roles.

You may not think of yourself as conservative, but you certainly are if you are pearl clutching about a mother who was dedicated to raising a sweet, smart girl and running a business after being caught up as a teen in the 1960s without the benefit of birth control and getting pregnant after falling in love with one guy and then rebounding with a couple others after a broken heart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Super tame compared to the shows our high school does.

Geesh, what are they performing? Best Little Whorehouse in Texas?

Urinetown. Rent. Hair. And frankly it is a toss up whether the message in Legally Blonde is better/worse than the message in Mama Mia. But high school kids are not naive about this stuff and can certainly handle a musical aobut it.

What's wrong with Legally Blonde?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Super tame compared to the shows our high school does.

Geesh, what are they performing? Best Little Whorehouse in Texas?

Urinetown. Rent. Hair. And frankly it is a toss up whether the message in Legally Blonde is better/worse than the message in Mama Mia. But high school kids are not naive about this stuff and can certainly handle a musical aobut it.

What's wrong with Legally Blonde?

She uses her sexuality to achieve her success, at least in part. I know her intellect was there as well, but there's a message that being hot can also help.

[Anonymous]

If you think your HS kids don't know about sex, pregnancy, drugs, alcohol and vulgar language then you haven't spent enough time talking to your kids about their lives. It took awhile, but once my kids realized I wasn't going to be accusing them of anything they were very open about what was going on in HS. I became a good listener and once in awhile they were actually quite open to what I had to say. Why not take your kids to see Mamma Mia and then talk to them about it?

[Anonymous]

Grease is SO much worse and it’s all performed in high school. The whole joke is that Sandy won’t put out!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Grease is SO much worse and it’s all performed in high school. The whole joke is that Sandy won’t put out!

Yup. The whole premise is that Danny is ashamed to say he likes her because she's a prude. Then she has a makeover and becomes super sexualized and THEN he decides he likes her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Grease is SO much worse and it’s all performed in high school. The whole joke is that Sandy won’t put out!

Right? Greased Lightening. Summer Nights. You're The One That I Want. Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee. There Are Worse Things I Could Do.

[Anonymous]

Its the music thats the sell.

Heres another high school that did it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuBAOFi_d1o

If the school has strong vocalists they can pull it off without a lot of drama.

Most kids would see/hear worse on TMZ

[Anonymous]

I remember when our local middle school did The Wiz and the entire cast was white.

I'm sorry, but if you know your program and know that there are no POC going to audition, just do the Wizard of Oz.

[Anonymous]

I’m much more offended by the fact that my kid’s high school had an active shooter drill today. We put our kids through this s#*t on a regular basis and that’s ok, but please do get your knickers in a knot about the idea that teens might hear about sex...

[Anonymous]

My kid's high school in DC did Mama Mia this year and had the daughter planning to marry another girl (added a same sex wedding element). It actually was tamer than last year's musical, which was Rent (with AIDS, not diabetes LOL). I love the fact that the theater department treats these high school kids like the teens they are rather than little kids who should be watching Shrek the Musical. Yes, there are some grandparents who seem a little put off when the teen actors curse but it really is age appropriate and makes the kids feel like they are doing real acting in something they can be interested in.