I love the Fantasticks, but the problem with a school putting it on is that there’re only six (or seven.<counts on fingers>…the narrator, Matt, Luisa, His Dad, Her Dad, and the mute and , the old actor guy, the guy who dies…eight!) parts,only one of which is written for a girl (and none of the parts aren’t unisex…you can’t make the narrator a girl, for instance or the “Round and Round” song becomes…not something that a conservative school would be comfortable with…the Rape Ballet would also have problems if one or more of the actors were women.)
And the charm of the show is it’s intimacy…adding a big chorus ruins the charm (I’ve had the misfortune to see this done:
Matt: Love, you are Love
Chorus: YOU ARE LOVE
Matt: Better far than any metaphor could ever, ever be
Chorus: EVER BEEEEEEEEEEE!
Matt: Love, you are love
Luias: I am love!
Chorus: SHEEEE! SHEEEE IIIIISSS LOOOOOOOVE
Matt, whispers:[sub] My mystery[/sub]
Luisa, whispers:[sub] His mystery[/sub]
Chorus. NOT whispering: THE MYYYYYYYYYYYSTEEEEEEEY!
Matt; of love.
Chorus: OOOOOOOFFF LOOOOOOVVVVE! OOOOOOFF LOOOOOOVE!
It wasn’t pretty)
Another suggestion: How 'bout a forgotten musical by Kander and Ebb ccalled Flora, The Red Menace: Lots of parts, catchy songs, big chorus, nothing objectionable in the content.
Fenris