As someone who puts on several musicals a year, I know that choosing the right primary-school musical is exciting, but also challenging and time-consuming. Our Musical Finder is a great place to start to quickly find options that may work, based on cast size, number of speaking parts, length of production and number of songs, but for a little more detail and some inspiration, read on...
TOP TIP! On the product pages of our website, under MORE INFORMATION, you can find details of how to increase or decrease the speaking parts and non-speaking parts to suit your cast size, and our editable scripts are a perfect way to tailor the script to your cast as well!
Full of fun, laughter and ensuring a raucous end to your year, Aladdin Trouble (60 speaking parts; 85 mins) and Cinderella & Rockerfella (32 speaking parts; 75 mins) are perfect panto-tastic shows. With a huge range of characters, big showy songs and plenty of audience participation, these make fabulous leavers’ musicals, guaranteeing that your Year 6s really will go out with a bang! (I put Aladdin on a couple of years ago and people are still talking about it!)
Or why not try Dragon Days, full of drama, intrigue and larger-than-life characters – hilarious to put on and perfect for a big cast with 68 speaking parts and lots of non-speaking parts. This has been such a hit over the years that I’ve put it on multiple times! Or how about a full-on mystery? Set in the 1920s, Mystery At Magpie Manor is a real spectacle, so dim the lights and set the scene with flamboyant costumes for this spectacular whodunnit, with lots of scope for some Charleston and rag dancing (instructional choreography videos available).
Tight for rehearsal time? Pirates Versus Mermaids (26 speaking parts, easily increased to 58) has a hilarious script and great performance songs that are easy to learn and such good fun to perform, with a running time of only 40 minutes. Having put this on twice, I can tell you that the children all love throwing themselves into either their pirate or their mermaid role and battling it out with each other through an original story that’s sure to have the audience laughing their heads off. Or for a really balmy, summertime feel, you might want to go for Jonah – A Fishy Tail (20 speaking parts; 40 mins), a modern musical adaptation of Jonah and the whale, containing an exhilarating mix of sea-themed songs featuring sun, waves and a bunch of scurvy pirates!
Or for something much shorter and simpler to put together, what about one of our curriculum tie-in mini-musicals? Written specifically for groups of 30 children, these contain just three songs and much shorter scripts, with very simple staging and minimal props. William Shakespeare, Neil Armstrong and 1066 have been particular favourites with my Year 6s over the years!
If you’re on the hunt for real starring roles and many solo-singing opportunities, A Hint Of Snow White and Peter Pan The Musical are the perfect fit, giving so many opportunities for long and short solos throughout the 11 songs. With a subscription or free, 30-day trial, you can use Share Links to send songs home so that children can practise their solos and duets between rehearsals! Peter Pan also includes Director’s Assistant pages with lots of suggestions and advice for scene setting and prop building, and videos to help you with sword-fighting scenes, flying scenes and choreography if you’re going for the full-out, ultimate musical experience! Both are full of awesome songs and an exciting script, guaranteed to bring that big, end-of-year finale! With durations of between 80 and 90 minutes, and scripts split into two acts, these are full-on productions, so why not make a whole evening of it with a rousing overture, programmes, a drinks interval and some choreographed bowing? Give those Year 6s a real West End-style experience they’ll never forget!
And hot off the press… drumroll please! Spring Chicken The Musical has landed! This chicky is no longer yellow and small (well, still yellow!) and is well and truly on her way to a stage near you! This end-of year and leavers’ musical is one you won’t want to miss. Join the feisty Chickalita in this story of unlikely friendships, big dreams and a whole lot of singing!
