IMO, the original play was far better than the movie. Better story, better music, no disco-beat Bee Gees.
For some modern plays and musicals, a cleaned-up “school edition” will be prepared. That’s how the high school I attended decades ago did Rent a few years ago.
This page from Wikipedia lists some of the differences in the school version of Grease.
It’s very common- my high school did it, too. I think the message kind of sucks and the music and characters are crappy and annoying respectively, but it’s a hit for nostalgic reasons and nobody complains. My high school did a lot of Shakespeare, and they were pretty ambitious with the musicals at times. They stage Les Miserables after I graduated, they’ve done a few Sondheim shows, and things like that. They’ve done The Grapes of Wrath a few times.
The Brothers O’Toole
Hello Dolly
Both done by my kids’ High School within the last few years. And both quite good.
Question for those of you who’ve done/seen Sondheim at the high school level…was it any good? I mean, be honest now.
Sondheim is hard, even for professionals. All those dissonant chords and rhythms that only flirt with logic… I’ve gritted my teeth through a couple of Into the Woodses, and it’s just brutal, even with a pretty talented high school cast.
:eek: They got rid of “Worse Things”?! That’s only the best song in the whole darn show!!!
Glad we did the regular version. I think there was one line of dialogue changed, and Kenickie was supposed to sing “The chicks’ll dream” twice instead of “The chicks’ll cream”. Of course he didn’t.
Not sure if that qualifies as nowadays, but 11 years ago, we did Harvey and Once Upon A Mattress.
If I feel nostalgic and want to remember it, I look at pictures and listen to the Broadway Cast Album, the video is too painful to watch… 
In 1979, my class did Pygmalion. I had a small part but I can’t remember what it was.
The high school down here is doing Footloose this year. I know they also did Seussical the Musical…not sure what else…
When I was in school (horse and buggy days) they did The King and I, Two by Two (about Noah’s Ark), Grease, West Side Story, The Music Man…
We did it at my high school and it was cast for singers not actors. My school had a really good choral program. So the songs were really good…the acting was …terrible.
I wonder if they have any “school editions” of Glengarry Glen Ross or anything else by Mamet? If they do, I can imagine they’re pretty short.
I was reading a newspaper article this morning about a high school drama club. The plays they were doing were Grease, Hairspray, and Urinetown.
My cousin’s daughter performed in Dead Man Walking at her high school.
i remember my school doing wizard of oz, bye bye birdie and into the woods.
i think a lot of high schools do beauty and the beast these days too.
My wife is a high school drama teacher, and I build the sets.
This spring they are doing “The Odd Couple (Female Version)”, perfect since all schools lack male actors!
Next year is “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown”.
She does a musical every other year.
Recent years-
Once Upon a Mattress (the prince was a girl)
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (the big boss was a girl)
The Hollow
You Can’t Take It With You
Anything Goes
Moon Over Buffalo
The Santaland Diaries (with 3 girls playing the part of the 1 guy)
I remember they did Sweeney Todd & A Little Night Music. My sister was in **Sweeney **so I saw that one, it was actually rather good considering it was all high school students! The student who played the lead actually just appeared on Broadway last year!
My niece here in Tokyo has been a member of her all-girl high school’s drama club. In the past few years, they have performed Japanese versions of “Les Miserables”, “Wicked”, “Mozart!” and “Cats”.
My friend Joe told me that at his Texas high school they did West Side Story, and both the Sharks and the Jets talked in broad Texas accents. “Hi-larious,” says Joe.
I music direct at a number of area high schools and one middle school. Shows I’ve done in recent years are:
Little Shop of Horrors
Grease
Pippin
The Wizard of Oz
Once On This Island
Beauty and the Beast
Guys and Dolls
Into The Woods
Cinderella
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Rent
Pirates of Penzance
Once Upon a Mattress (hate this show)
Sweet Charity
Chicago