Whether you’re doing iRead’s Read to the Rhythm, CSRP’s Every Hero Has a Story, or an entirely different reading program for this summer, it seems that you can’t go wrong with throwing a movie musical in the mix. Even the most reluctant teen can get into the fun when you dim down the lights, turn on the captions, and you let down your guard enough to belt out to the music- whether you were in choir or not. If you are willing to sing along with your tweens and teens, they will actually follow along. So let it go, and take advantage of your umbrella movie license by enjoying some pizza, popcorn, and air conditioning this summer.
If you really want to take a movie program to the next level, go all out and make it a themed program. Take the movie and run with it by taking elements and bringing them out into the library or program room through crafts and refreshments- if there are specific foods or drinks mentioned, do teen appropriate or library appropriate versions of them. Do a quick search on Pinterest or on Google for crafts relating to the time period or area of the movie setting and let the teens loose during the movie. Alice in Wonderland, Mary Poppins, or Sweeney Todd could bring forth massive tea parties and hat crafts, while all things musical could lend themselves to duct tape iPod holders or earbud holder crafts.
I’ve listed below some of my favorite musicals to show with tweens and teens. Please check with your movie licensing company to make sure that you’re covered, and take note to see if they are appropriate for your community. Have some favorites of your own? Share your favorites in the comments!
- The Wizard of Oz: Dorothy joins the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion on an adventure down the Yellow Brick Road to persuade the Wizard to help her find her way home. Rated G.
- Across the Universe: They lived without rules. They loved without fear. But as the world changed, so did they. Rated PG-13.
- Sweeney Todd: Embittered at having been wrongly imprisoned and determined to seek vengeance against his accusers, Sweeney Todd comes home and sets up shop- the one thing different about Todd’s shop, however, is that no one who walks in for a trim is ever seen again. Rated R.
- Aladdin: When a street urchin vies for the love of a beautiful princess, he uses a genie’s magic power to pass himself off as a prince in order to marry her. Rated G.
- The Lion King: Tricked into thinking that he caused the death of his father, a lion cub flees and abandons his destiny as the future king. Rated G.
- The Little Mermaid: A mermaid princess makes a Faustian bargain with an unscrupulous sea-witch in order to meet a human prince on land. Rated G.
- Hairspray: Pleasantly plump teenager Tracy Turnblad teaches 1962 Baltimore a thing or two about integration after landing a spot on a local TV dance show. Rated PG.
- Alice in Wonderland: Alice stumbles into the world of Wonderland. Will she get home? Not if the Queen of Hearts has her way. Rated G.
- Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory: A poor boy wins the opportunity to tour the most eccentric and wonderful candy factory of all. Rated G.
- Tangled: The magically long-haired Rapunzel has spent her entire life in a tower, but now that a runaway thief has stumbled upon her, she is about to discover the world for the first time, and who she really is. Rated PG.
- Anything Goes: Bill Benson and Ted Adams are to appear in a Broadway show together and, while in Paris, each ‘discovers’ the perfect leading lady for the plum female role. Rated G.
- Meet Me in St. Louis: In the year before the 1904 St Louis World’s Fair, the four Smith daughters learn lessons of life and love, even as they prepare for a reluctant move to New York. Rated G.
- Bye Bye Birdie: A rock singer travels to a small Ohio town to make his “farewell” television performance and kiss his biggest fan before he is drafted. Rated G.
- De-Lovely: Inspecting a magical biographical stage musical, composer Cole Porter reviews his life and career with his wife, Linda. Rated PG-13.
- Grease: Good girl Sandy and greaser Danny fell in love over the summer. But when they unexpectedly discover they’re now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance? Rated PG-13.
- Hello, Dolly!: Just leave everything to Dolly, including your love life, and hers. Will she be able to solve everything and get everyone together? Rated G.
- Hair: Claude leaves the family ranch in Oklahoma for New York where he is rapidly indoctrinated into the youth subculture and subsequently drafted. Rated PG.
- Into The Woods: A witch tasks a childless baker and his wife with procuring magical items from classic fairy tales to reverse the curse put on their family tree. Rated PG.
- Little Shop of Horrors: A nerdy florist finds his chance for success and romance with the help of a giant man-eating plant who demands to be fed. Rated PG-13.
- Mamma Mia: The story of a bride-to-be trying to find her real father told using hit songs by the popular ’70s group ABBA. Rated PG-13.
- The Muppet Movie: Kermit and his new found friends trek across America to find success in Hollywood, but a frog-legs merchant is after Kermit. Rated G.
- The Music Man: A con man comes to a Midwestern town with a scam using a boy’s marching band program, but things don’t go according to plan. Rated G (1962 version).
- Newsies: When young newspaper sellers are exploited beyond reason by their bosses they set out to enact change and are met by the ruthlessness of big business. Rated PG.
- Oliver & Company: A lost and alone kitten joins a gang of dogs engaged in petty larceny in New York. Rated G.
- Rent: This is the film version of the Pulitzer and Tony Award winning musical about Bohemians in the East Village of New York City struggling with life, love and AIDS, and the impacts they have on America. Rated PG-13.
- Singin’ in the Rain: A silent film production company and cast make a difficult transition to sound. Rated G.
- The Wiz: When Harlem schoolteacher Dorothy tries to save her dog from a storm, she’s miraculously whisked away to an urban fantasy land called Oz. Rated G. Also scheduled to be the next live musical from NBC, so show it before it gets broadcast so your teens have a reference!
- West Side Story: Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy. Rated G.
- The Sound of Music: A woman leaves an Austrian convent to become a governess to the children of a Naval officer widower. Rated G.
- Guys and Dolls: In New York, a gambler is challenged to take a cold female missionary to Havana, but they fall for each other, and the bet has a hidden motive to finance a craps game. Rated G. Rumored to be in the middle of talks to be remade starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Channing Tatum.