Home >  A & E

Sunday, March 02, 2003

By Christopher Rawson, Post-Gazette Drama Editor

Once again, the hills (and valleys and plains and urban streets) of Western Pennsylvania will be alive with the sound of music: The next couple of months are high school musical season.

But the music is changing. In the list that follows, "The Sound of Music" holds its own with four productions, but leading the list with six is "Footloose" and making its first appearance in force with four is the new student version of "Les Miserables." Catching on is "HONK!" with three, matching a cluster of old reliables: "Bye Bye Birdie," "Grease," "Anything Goes," "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," "Guys and Dolls," "Into the Woods," "Hello, Dolly!" and "Cinderella."

There are several ways to use this list. One is simply to contemplate the huge cumulative amount of effort and creativity it represents. Another is to search it for pattern or revelations of changing taste. You will find some surprises -- Western Beaver's "Titanic," for one -- and even out-of-the-way shows you may never have seen before, such as Greater Latrobe's "The Return to the Forbidden Planet."

You might also want to use the list as a spur to seeing more than just your local school. That's why the shows are listed in chronological order of their first performance. For any given week, you can see at a glance (looking back to shows carried over from the previous week, as well) what the menu offers.

The list also indicates which schools are participating in the three regional showcases:

Westmoreland Night of the Stars, Palace Theatre, Greensburg, May 7; marked +.

Henry Mancini Awards (Butler, Lawrence and Beaver counties), Geneva College, Beaver Falls, May 21; marked #.

Gene Kelly Awards (Allegheny County), Benedum Center, Downtown, May 31; marked *.

Here goes ...

Franklin Regional, "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," Feb. 27-March 2. +

Seneca Valley, "South Pacific," March 1-8. #

Springdale, "Godspell," March 6-9. *

Ambridge, "Footloose," March 6-9. #

Center Area, "Mame," March 6-9. #

Shady Side Academy, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," March 6-10.

Sewickley Academy, "Working," March 7-8.

Derry Area, "The Sound of Music," March 7-9. +

Vincentian Academy, "Bye Bye Birdie," March 7-15. *

West Allegheny, "Anything Goes," March 7-15.

Steel Valley, "Grease," March 12-16. *

Chartiers Valley, "West Side Story," March 13-15. *

Moon, "Guys and Dolls," March 13-16.

Ringgold, "The Wizard of Oz," March 13-16.

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, "The Sound of Music," March 14-16. *

Pine Richland, "Guys and Dolls," March 14-22. *

Shaler Area, "Hello, Dolly!" March 14-23.

Canon-McMillan, "Oliver," March 20-22.

Central Catholic, "Footloose," March 20-23. *

South Park, "Working," March 20-23.

Mars Area, "Oliver," March 21-22.

East Allegheny, "Bye Bye Birdie," March 21-23.

Greensburg Central Catholic, "The Sound of Music," March 21-23. +

St. Joseph, "HONK!" March 21-23. *

Yough, "Oklahoma!" March 21-23. +

Penn-Trafford, "Cinderella," March 21-29. +

Bethel Park, "Into the Woods," March 26-29.

Hempfield Area, "The Sound of Music," March 26-29. +

Keystone Oaks, "Footloose," March 26-29.

Baldwin, "West Side Story," March 26-29. *

Serra Catholic, "Godspell," March 26-29.

Perry Traditional, "Once Upon a Mattress," March 26-30. *

New Brighton, "Footloose," March 27-29. #

Peters Township, "My Favorite Year," March 27-29.

Quaker Valley, "Smile," March 27-29.*

Quigley Catholic, "Into the Woods," March 27-29. #

South Allegheny, "Cinderella," March 27-29. *

South Fayette, "Hello, Dolly!" March 27-29.

Belle Vernon, "Anything Goes," March 27-30. +

Deer Lakes, "Oliver," March 27-30. *

Norwin, "Footloose," March 27-30. +

Moniteau, "Cinderella," March 28-29. #

Plum, "The Music Man," March 28-29. *

Beaver Area, "Little Shop of Horrors," March 28-30. #

Greater Latrobe, "Return to the Forbidden Planet," March 28-30.

Avonworth, "Into the Woods," March 28-April 5.

Seton-LaSalle, "Damn Yankees," March 28-April 5. *

Upper St. Clair, "Les Miserables (school edition)," March 28 -April 5.

McKeesport, "The Pajama Game," April 2-5. *

Elizabeth-Forward, "My Fair Lady, "April 2-6.

North Allegheny, "Les Miserables (school edition)," April 2-6. *

Northgate, "The Pajama Game," April 3-4. *

Brentwood, "Smile," April 3-5. *

Burrell, "Little Shop of Horrors," April 3-5.

Aliquippa, "Smokey Joe's Cafe," April 3-5. #

Greenville (Mercer), "Les Miserables (school edition)," April 3-5.

North Hills, "Once Upon a Mattress," April 3-12.

Western Beaver, "Titanic," April 4-6. #

Mohawk, "Les Miserables (school edition)," April 4-12.

Montour, "Joseph ... Dreamcoat," April 4-12. *

Riverview, "Guys and Dolls," April 4-12. *

Freedom Area, "A Chorus Line," April 10-12. #

Greater Works Academy, "Joseph ..Dreamcoat" April 10-12.

Hampton, "Once upon a Mattress," April 10-12.

Jeannette, "Footloose," April 10-12.

JCC, Squirrel Hill, "Dream Sequence," April 13 and 15.

Rochester, "The Music Man," April 24-26. #

Valley, "Grease," April 10-12.

Carlynton, "Jesus Christ Superstar," April 10-13.

Schenley, "Lucky in the Rain," April 23-26. *

CAPA (Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts), "A Retrospective," April 24-May 4. *

Winchester Thurston, "Joseph ... Dreamcoat," April 25-27. *

Gateway, "Anything Goes," April 25-May 3.

Penn Hills, "South Pacific, " April 25-May 3.

Woodland Hills, "Hello, Dolly!" April 25-May 3. *

Trinity Christian, "Fiddler on the Roof," April 25-May 3.*

Bishop Canevin, "Kiss Me Kate," April 30-May 3. *

May

Langley, "HONK!" May 1-3.

Portersville Christian, "HONK!," May 1-3. #

Shenango, "Grease," May 1-3. #

Ligonier Valley, "Fiddler on the Roof," May 2-4.

North Catholic, "Bye Bye Birdie," May 2-4.*

John Noble's Westmoreland Night of the Stars, Palace Theatre, Greensburg, 6:45 p.m., May 7.

Mt. Lebanon, "The King and I," May 7-10.

Peabody, "A Funny Thing ... Forum," May 9-10. *

Mancini Awards (Butler, Lawrence and Beaver counties), Metheny Fieldhouse, Geneva College, Beaver Falls, 7 p.m., May 21.

Clairton, "Working," May 23-24.

CLO Gene Kelly Awards (Allegheny County), Benedum Center, 7:30 p.m., May 31.