History Main / SchoolPlay

** The trope is also invoked in [[TheMovie the second movie]] (sans the crossdressing and gender reversion, sadly), when Naoko writes a short play for the SchoolFestival. Sakura is cast as the Princess and Yamazaki is supposed to play her Prince Charming, but [[spoiler: thanks to the Nothing messing around]], Yamazaki is injured and Syaoran ends up as his replacement.

* In Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's ''The Agony of Alice'', Alice plays a sentient bush who grabs the heroine, played by TheRival, Pamela. When Pamela steps on Alice's foot (accidentally or not), Alice grabs Pamela's hair, prompting an unscripted outburst to mutual embarrassment. Arguably worse for Alice, who [[HumiliationConga can't .

* ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'': In the first book, Greg joins the school play after his mother makes him try out. He's cast as a tree in the production of ''Theatre/TheWizardOfOz2011'', and is initially dismayed at getting a bit part, but quickly grows to like it when he realizes he gets to throw apples at Patty Farrel and doesn't have to sing. However, the director ends up significantly altering the play to the point where Greg and his fellow trees not only don't throw apples at Dorothy, but ''they sing an original song'' to her. Taken UpToEleven during the actual performance, where no one remembers their lines and the actor playing Toto goes as far as reading comic books while onstage. When Manny calls Greg an embarrassing nickname while he's onstage, Greg actually ad-libs a line to refer to another tree by the nickname. Finally, the trees get cold feet about singing their song and throw apples at Dorothy instead, causing the play to be shut down.

* In ''WebVideo/SuperMarioLogan'', the class preform ''Literature/TheThreeLittlePigs'' in the episode of the same name. Cody wanted to be the Big Bad Wolf, but instead he was a tree. And the play ends with [[TwistEnding Jeffy destroying the third house]].

* ''Series/TheBradyBunch'' has several school play episodes

* ''Series/TheBradyBunch'' does ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' with Marcia playing Juliet, Cindy's fairy princess play, plus a play about the American Revolution where Peter plays Benedict Arnold. (The family also did a backyard production of "Literature/SnowWhite" and a home movie about the Pilgrims.)

[[folder:Film]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'' opens with a young Judy Hopps performing in a play about how predator and prey evolve from their primal states.

* ''Manga/MyMonsterSecret'' has "[[RecycledInSpace Space]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Bamboo_Cutter Kaguya]]", a version of " Tale of the Bamboo Cutter" that's mostly a thinly-disguised autobiographical tale about the class's resident [[HumanAliens alien]] Nagisa Aizawa, which allows her to share her experiences on Earth without breaking TheMasquerade. Since she's scheduled to return to her home planet in the near future, her classmates end up breaking down near the end of the play and say their goodbyes to her on stage, which only makes it look that much more realistic.

* ''Film/{{Hamlet 2}}'' is about a school production of the eponymous play.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'', the students perform ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}} [[RecycledInSpace in Space]]''. There was also talk of ''Hamlet on Ice''.

** In "The Quirk-ducers," Louise hijacks Tina's short story "The Quirky Turkey" to turn into a Thanksgiving play in the hopes of pulling a {{Springtime For Hitler}} and getting a half-day off school.

* There's an ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' episode where Mary Jane writes a musical about Spider-Man.

* The music video for Crash Test Dummies' "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTeg1txDv8w Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm]]" is depicting different scenes from school plays.

* ''ComicBook/{{Drama}}'': The plot revolves around a middle school production of "Moon Over Mississippi", an AffectionateParody of "Moonlight and Magnolias" fiction. While the full plot is never revealed, it’s clearly a StarCrossedLovers take between a southern belle and a Union soldier. However, it’s also quite a TroubledProduction, from tensions between the cast and stage crew to a improperly functioning cannon.

* In Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's ''The Agony of Alice'', Alice plays a sentient bush who grabs the heroine, played by TheRival, Pamela. When Pamela steps on Alice's foot (accidentally or not), Alice grabs Pamela's hair, prompting an unscripted outburst to mutual embarrassment. Arguably worse for Alice, who [[HumiliationConga can't leave the stage]].

Often a play (school or otherwise) will be such a disaster that the audience, usually including an important patron or theatre critic, will mistake it for a comedy, resulting in an [[SoBadItsGood unexpected success.]] If the badness is intentional in an attempt to get (back) at something, you may end up with SpringtimeForHitler. TheLawOfConservationOfDetail dictates that things that go according to plan don't merit much of a story, and FinaglesLaw promises that something will fail anyway, so TheShowMustGoWrong. Sometimes the parents expect it to be so bad that [[DaddyDidntShow they don't even bother going]].

* In ''WebVideo/SuperMarioLogan'', the class preform ''Literature/TheThreeLittlePigs'' in the episode of same name. Cody wanted to be the Big Bad Wolf, but instead he was a tree. And the play ends with [[TwistEnding Jeffy destroying the third house]].

* ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'': In the first book, Greg joins the school play to boost his popularity. He's cast as a tree in the production of ''Theatre/TheWizardOfOz2011'', and is initially dismayed at getting a bit part, but quickly grows to like it when he realizes he gets to throw apples at Patty Farrel and doesn't have to sing. However, the director ends up significantly altering the play to the point where Greg and his fellow trees not only don't throw apples at Dorothy, but ''they sing an original song'' to her. Taken UpToEleven during the actual performance, where no one remembers their lines and the actor playing Toto goes as far as reading comic books while onstage. When Manny calls Greg an embarrassing nickname while he's onstage, Greg actually ad-libs a line to refer to another tree by the nickname. Finally, the trees get cold feet about singing their song and throw apples at Dorothy instead, causing the play to be shut down.

* ''Series/HomeImprovement'' does ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' with Randy playing Romeo. However the plot of the episode revolves as much around Wilson (director) and Tim (set designer) butting heads as it does Randy.

-->'''Pepper:''' It's about a guy... who's pulled in a million different directions... ''[realizing what she's saying]'' while trying to avenge his dead father.

* The second season of ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' has a performance of ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream'' as an ongoing subplot. Somewhat surprisingly, neither [[TheHero Peter]] nor [[LoveInterest Gwen]] are in it, though [[FunPersonified Mary Jane]], [[LovableAlphaBitch Liz]], [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Flash]] and [[JerkAssWoobie Harry]] are. ([[spoiler:The latter doesn't go on, however, having been kidnapped by the Green Goblin]].) The actual play happens during the penultimate episode and provides commentary on [[PrisonEpisode its A-plot]] and the various characters' arcs.

* The whole plot on ''Film/WereTheWorldMine'' revolves around a put on scene of ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream''.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutron'', the students perform ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}} [[RecycledInSpace in Space]]''. There was also talk of ''Hamlet on Ice''.

Often a play (school or otherwise) will be such a disaster that the audience, usually including an important patron or theatre critic, will mistake it for a comedy, resulting in an [[SoBadItsGood unexpected success.]] If the badness is intentional in an attempt to get (back) at something, you may end up with SpringtimeForHitler. TheLawOfConservationOfDetail dictates that things are much more interesting when they ''don't'' go according to plan, and FinaglesLaw promises that something will fail anyway, so TheShowMustGoWrong. Sometimes the parents expect it to be so bad that [[DaddyDidntShow they don't even bother going]].

Often a play (school or otherwise) will be such a disaster that the audience, usually including an important patron or theatre critic, will mistake it for a comedy, resulting in an [[SoBadItsGood unexpected success.]] If the badness is intentional in an attempt to get (back) at something, you may end up with SpringtimeForHitler. TheLawOfConservationOfDetail dictates that things are much more interesting when they ''don't'' go according to plan, and FinaglesLaw promises that something will fail anyway, so TheShowMustGoWrong.

Also, despite real life high school plays generally being ''extracurricular'' activities rather than required participation (as grade and middle school plays usually are), you can expect ''every'' major character on the show to have some kind of role (even ones who wouldn't logically have any interest in theater whatsoever). Expect at least one big, meaty lunk to suddenly find [[HiddenDepths some talent for acting]] and be especially memorable in his role. Meanwhile, a more dramatically inclined character will probably come off as a LargeHam.

The plot of these episodes usually revolves around the characters struggling to memorize their lines, trying to manoeuvre themselves into the lead roles, complaining/boasting about the roles they did get, or working up the confidence for a kiss scene. Also, despite real life high school plays generally being ''extracurricular'' activities rather than required participation (as grade and middle school plays usually are), you can expect ''every'' major character on the show to have some kind of role (even ones who wouldn't logically have any interest in theater whatsoever). Expect at least one big, meaty lunk to suddenly find some talent for acting and be especially memorable in his role.

Another common theme is OneLineAnxiety, where a character puts way too much importance on a comparatively minor role. This may be [[ItsAllAboutMe an egocentric character]] believing their bit part is the star of the show, or a less confident character dealing with PerformanceAnxiety about remembering their one or two lines.

In HighSchool [[SitCom sitcoms,]] the play is usually ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'', with the main characters cast in the lead roles. This is especially likely in a SheIsNotMyGirlfriend situation. The balcony scene is ''always'' shown, and the specific line "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" is ''always'' uttered. ([[YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe Expect the writers not to realize that "wherefore" means "why" and not "where".]]) Once in a while, the main plot is a less-lethal parallel of the tragedy of the play. All this is probably because the general public knows [[SmallReferencePools only a handful of actual plays.]] Also, Creator/WilliamShakespeare plays are public domain and therefore are free to show. The plot of these episodes usually revolves around the characters struggling to memorize their lines, trying to manoeuvre themselves into the lead roles, complaining/boasting about the roles they did get, or working up the confidence for a kiss scene. Also, despite real life high school plays generally being ''extracurricular'' activities rather than required participation (as grade and middle school plays usually are), you can expect ''every'' major character on the show to have some kind of role (even ones who wouldn't logically have any interest in theater whatsoever). Expect at least one big, meaty lunk to suddenly find some talent for acting and be especially memorable in his role.

A School Play featuring younger children will most likely be [[ChristmasEpisode the Nativity.]] Common tropes include a central character being cast as a BitCharacter like [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep "third shepherd"]] or, worse, [[PlayingATree an inanimate object,]] and [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter resent the fact]] that the AlphaBitch and TheAce got the starring roles as always. The CheerfulChild may get a solo speech at some point which will leave the audience overcome with CutenessOverload. Parents may have to make the costume themselves, so expect [[CheapCostume shoddy]] {{Rummage Sale Reject}}s if Mom does it and mortifying awfulness [[BumblingDad if it's left up to Dad]]. The kids will stumble through their lines awkwardly, and at least one will either (a) cry, (b) wet themselves, or (c) throw up. {{Corpsing}} is likely to ensue.

More than not RealLife averts this trope. School plays are often staged with help from or by community theaters. The performers are their children and grandchildren. [[Main/AdaptationForChildPerformers Professional child adaptions]] are used, sets and costumes are prepared by the same staff doing the adult productions, and direction is done by teachers of the art. As an example of how far this can go, both Mary Poppins Jr. and Peter Pan Jr. include rental of a wired flying harness as part of the licensing with Disney.