The following list of 2023 spring high school musicals first appeared at onstagepittsburgh.com, a website dedicated to coverage of the performing arts in the Greater Pittsburgh region. Click here to find updates and to learn more about onStage Pittsburgh’s mission to connect the diverse community of theater-makers and theater-goers in Western Pennsylvania.
Spring is in the air, and not just because of the mild temperatures. High school musical theater season is underway.
While many of those talented teens are in competition for awards at this time of year – the Gene Kelly Awards for Allegheny County and Henry Mancini Awards for Beaver, Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties – when one of their own is in trouble, they quickly become a community that stretches far and wide.
For Elizabeth Forward High School, that means the show will go on, despite a four-alarm fire that destroyed the school auditorium and wiped out costumes and scenery for ”The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”
Social media was soon abuzz with news of support, and a GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $31,000 as of Feb. 15.
At last look, the Elizabeth Forward website reports, in part:
“We want to thank all members of our Elizabeth Forward community, the musical theater community, and our fellow school districts for all of the support they have offered during this time. Your generosity and kindness gives us hope and has served as a heartwarming reminder of what this is all about. This community is truly special and we are so grateful. … We promise you: the show will go on.”
Elizabeth Forward will perform “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” March 30-31 and April 1-2 at Thomas Jefferson High School.
Below, find a list of high school musicals in our region, in alphabetical order, noting both the Kelly and Mancini participants. Those annual ceremonies – high points of any theatrical season – culminate with a trip to New York’s Jimmy Awards for the pair named outstanding male and female actors in each contest.
The Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater ceremony and showcase is May 27 at the Benedum Center. The Henry Mancini Awards will be held May 21 at the Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center in Midland. (Participating schools are indicated with a GK or HM.)
Some of the latest Broadway shows whose rights have been added to the high school ranks include “The Prom,” “Something Rotten!” and “Matilda the Musical”.
(Sources: Pittsburgh CLO’s Gene Kelly Awards, the Henry Mancini Awards, school websites, phone confirmation, Theatrical Rights Worldwide and Music Theatre International. Links lead to info and ticketing web pages or to the high schools’ home pages. Contact sharon@onstagepittsburgh.com with additions, updates and corrections.)
2023 SPRING MUSICALS BY HIGH SCHOOLS
A through F
Ambridge, “School of Rock,” March 2-5 HM
Apollo Ridge, “The Sound of Music,” March 16-18
Armstrong, “The Music Man,” March 30, April 1
Avonworth, “Grand Hotel,” March 24-25, 31, April 1 GK
Baldwin, Roald Dahl’s “Matilda the Musical,” March 22-25, GK
Beaver Area, “Newsies,” March 31. April 1-2
Beaver County Christian, “Bye Bye Birdie,” March 16-18 HM
Beaver Falls, “Footloose,” March 24-26 HM
Belle Vernon, “Anastasia,” March 9-12
Bethel Park, “The Addams Family,” March 15-18
Bishop Canevin, “Freaky Friday,” April 27-29 GK
Brentwood, Disney’s “The Descendants,” April 20-22
Burgettstown, “The Addams Family,” April 13-15
Burrell, “Little Shop of Horrors,” March 16-18
Butler, “You’re a Good Man,” Charlie Brown, March 17-18
Chartiers-Houston, “Newsies,” March 17-19
Chartiers Valley, “9 to 5 the Musical,” April 8-11 GK
Canon-McMillan, “Mamma Mia!,” March 30-April 1
Carlynton, Disney’s” The Little Mermaid,” March 30-April 2 GK
Central Catholic / Oakland Catholic, “Les Miserables,” March 23-26
Central Valley, “Godspell,” March 2-4 HM
Deer Lakes, “The Secret Garden,” April 13-15
East Allegheny, “Anastasia,” April l3-15
Eden Christian Academy, “Beauty and the Beast,” April 26-29 GK
Elizabeth Forward, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” March 30-31, April 1-2 GK
Freedom Area, “Beauty and the Beast,” March 3-5 HM
Freeport, “No No Nanette,” March 2-5 HM
G through N
Gateway, “Mamma Mia!,” April 27-29 GK
Greater Latrobe, “Pippin,” March 3-5
Greensburg Central Catholic, “Seussical,” April 21-23
Greensburg Salem, “The SpongeBob Musical,” March 3-5
Grove City, “Shrek the Musical,” March 30-31, April 1
Hampton, “Something Rotten!,” April 21-22, 28-29 GK
Fox Chapel, “Guys and Dolls,” March 2-5
Franklin Regional, “Grease,” March 9-12
Hempfield, “Peter Pan,” March 2-5
Hempfield Area, “Seussical: The Musical,” March 8-9
Highlands, “The Addams Family,” March 31-April 2
Hopewell, “Disney’s The Little Mermaid,” March 30-April 2
Jeannette, “The Addams Family,” March 24-26
Keystone Oaks, “Chicago (Teen Edition),” March 30-April 1 GK
Kiski Area, “Little Shop of Horrors,” March 15-18
Knoch, “Something Rotten!,” March 3-5 HM
Laurel, “Oliver!,” March 17-19
Laurel Highlands, “Chicago (Teen Edition),” March 10-12
Mars Area, “Grease,” March 3-4 HM
Mercer, “Legally Blonde,” March 30-31, April 1
McKeesport, “All Shook Up,” March 30-April 1 GK
Mohawk, Junior High: “James and the Giant Peach,” March 31-April 1 (High School: White Christmas in December)
Monessen, “Matilda the Musical,” March 23-26
Moniteau, “Bye Bye Birdie,” March 17-18
Montour, “In the Heights,” April 20-23 GK
Moon Area, “Something Rotten!,” March 16-19 GK
Mt. Lebanon, Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” April 27-29
Mt. Pleasant, “The Sound of Music,” April 21-23
New Brighton, “The Addams Family,” February 23-25 HM
New Castle, Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” March 30-April 2 HM
Neshannock, “Legally Blonde,” March 16-18
North Allegheny, “The SpongeBob Musical,” March 1-5
North Catholic, “Cinderella,” April 21-24 HM
North Hills, “9 to 5 the Musical,” March 24-25, March 30-April 1 GK
Northgate, “Newsies,” April 27-29
Norwin, “Mean Girls” (H.S. Edition), March 23-26
O through Z
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, “Big Fish,” March 3-5, 10-11 GK
Penn Hills, “Mamma Mia!,” April 21-22, 28-30 GK
Pine-Richland, “Elf the Musical,” March 17-18, 24-25 GK
Penn-Trafford, “The Little Mermaid,” March 24-26, March 31-April 2
Peters Township, “Anything Goes,” March 16-19
Pine-Richland, “Elf the Musical,” March 17-18, 24-25 GK
Pittsburgh Allderdice, “Les Miserables” (School Edition), April 27-30 GK
Pittsburgh CAPA, “The Prom,” March 17-19, 23-26 GK
Plum, “Fiddler on the Roof,” March 30-April 1 GK
Quaker Valley, “Anything Goes,” March 16-18 GK
Redeemer Lutheran, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” (Original), April 27-29 GK
Riverside, “Damn Yankees,” March 30-April 2 HM
Riverview, “Young Frankenstein,” March 16-19 GK
St. Joseph, “Godspell,” March 23-26 GK
Seneca Valley, “The Addams Family,” March 17-18, 24-26
Serra Catholic, “Little Shop of Horrors,” April 21-23 GK
Seton LaSalle, “Jerry’s Girls,” March 24-26
Sewickley Academy, “Big Fish”, March 2-4 GK
Shady Side Academy, “Chicago” (Teen Edition), Feb. 17-18 GK
Shaler Area, “Catch Me if You Can,” March 3-5, 10-11
Slippery Rock, “The Addams Family,” April 27-29 HM
South Allegheny, “Bye Bye Birdie,” March 16-19
South Fayette, “Shrek Jr. The Musical,” March 2-4
South Side, “The Addams Family,” March 3-5 HM
Springdale, “Seussical,” March 31-April 1 GK
Steel Valley, Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” March 30-April 2
Thomas Jefferson, “Anything Goes,” March 16-19 GK
Trinity, “The Addams Family,” March 16-19
Union Area, “The Addams Family,” March 2-4
Upper St. Clair, “On the 20th Century,” March 3-4, 9-11
Valley, “The SpongeBob Musical,” April 6-8
West Allegheny, “Grease,” March 23-26 GK
Western Beaver, “The Wizard of Oz,” March 3-5 HM
Westinghouse Arts Academy, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” April 28-30
Wilmington Area, “The Addams Family,” March 16-18 HM
Winchester Thurston, “The Rocky Horror Show,” April 20-23
Woodland Hills, “Seussical,” April 20, 22, 27-29 GK
