History Main / SchoolPlay

* ''Series/HomeImprovement'' does ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' with Randy playing Romeo as a minor subplot during one season. However, this tends to involve the grownups as much as it does Randy: during the auditions, Jill and Wilson start bickering over who gets to help Randy rehearse his lines as Juliet. In a later episode, Wilson becomes the replacement director and quickly becomes a PrimaDonnaDirector, requiring Tim to talk him down.

* 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.
* In Mary Hoffman's ''Amazing Grace'', the title character wants to play Peter in her school production of ''Literature/PeterPan'', and despite some of her classmates saying she can't because she's a girl and because she's black, she gets the part and does a great job. In a later book in the series,''Encore, Grace!'', Grace and her classmates put on a production of ''Literature/SleepingBeauty.''

** In the Spin-off series ''Baby-sitter's Little Sister'', Karen was cast a Turkey (as in the meal not the still-living bird) in a Thanksgiving play. She initially didn't like the idea of having to go on stage in a big embarrassing costume, but soon decided because the Turkey is the [[ItsAllAboutMe "most important"]] part of the meal to [[LargeHam expand her role]] from a simple one-line to a short poem, which made her justifiably unpopular with her classmates for trying to steal the show, and her parents had to explain why what she did wasn't appropriate.

* ''Literature/TheBerenstainBears''

* ''Literature/TheBestChristmasPageantEver'': The notorious Herdmans, six troublemaking kids who have just started attending Sunday school, are the only volunteers to play Mary, Joseph, the Three Wise Men, and the Angel of the Lord (none of the other kids want to risk their wrath by volunteering themselves) in the church's Nativity pageant. They don't actually ''know'' the Nativity story, and that's the start of the trouble. [[spoiler: However, owing in part to their disadvantaged lifestyles coloring how they approach their roles, they wind up unintentionally making the actual show more meaningful than anyone had reason to suspect.]]

* In ''Series/{{Wishbone}}'', the students do ''Theatre/TheTempest''. Which prompts Wishbone to begin imagining... ''The Tempest''.

More than not RealLife averts this trope. School plays are often staged with help from or by community theaters. Professional child adaptations are used and while the actors are children the stagecraft is handled by adults, often including their parents and grandparents. 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. High schools with strong performing arts programs -- both academic and extracurricular, or more usually a mix of both -- will often include a sizable number of students intending to work professionally after obtaining a BFA from a college program, and thus consist of much more talented performers than this trope would lead you to expect.

More than not RealLife averts this trope. School plays are often staged with help from or by community theaters. Professional child adaptions are used and while the actors are children the stagecraft is handled by adults, often including their parents and grandparents. 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.

* ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody''
** An episode is centered around a production of ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream''.

* There's an ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012'' episode where Mary Jane writes a musical about Spider-Man.

* ''Simon Birch'': Like [[Literature/APrayerForOwenMeany the book that it's loosely adapted from]], a Nativity play featuring the main cast serves as part of the plot, with the title character being cast as the baby Jesus due to his small height. The play repeatedly goes awry, with the turtle doves being portrayed by literal winged turtle props, kids forgetting their lines, and Simon grabbing Marjorie's breasts when she leans over him, which results in a fight breaking out. Simon's parents ground him after the play as a result of his actions.

* ''Bang On The Door'': The second DramaQueen book, "Stage Struck", has her being the star of her school's ''WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs''. [[spoiler:She actually falls asleep near the ending; she doesn't even wake up when Cheeky Boy, as Prince Charming, kisses her (on the hand, ''twice''), but she does when Cheeky Boy shakes her and yells "WAKE UP, SNOW WHITE!". And, successful as the play is, the sleeping incident is quite embarrassing for her.]]

* ''Bang On The Door'': The second DramaQueen book, "Stage Struck", has her being the star of her school's ''WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs''. [[spoiler:She actually falls asleep near the ending; she doesn't even wake up when Cheeky Boy, as Prince Charming, kisses her (on the hand), but she does when Cheeky Boy yells "Wake up, Snow White!". And it's very embarrassing for her.]]

** Hilariously one of the Christian-oriented picture books features ''Romeo and Juliet'' in an entirely different context with the "nerds" and "cool kids" feuding, with Brother and Sister as mediators, and ''no one'' being pleased when Ferdy, king of the nerds, and Queenie, [[JustForPun queen of the cool kids]] are cast as the title characters. A fight actually breaks out at one point and Brother and Sister have to play peacemakers.

* Parodied in ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' with the "Woodbridge High School Experimental Theatre" sketches, featuring a troupe of teenage actors who have clearly just discovered but not ''quite'' understood various concepts such as ''avant garde'' and social justice issues, proceeding to inflict the results on their long-suffering parents in a series of performances which are the worst combination of [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible pretentious]], [[SoapboxSadie self-righteous]] and [[StylisticSuck inept]].

** Doug's auteur sister Judy puts on a [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible strange, symbolism-filled version]] of a traditional play about the founding of the town, despite the attempts of strait-laced vice-principal Mr. Bone to get the ordinary but dull standard version performed.

In HighSchool [[SitCom sitcoms]] and {{anime}} 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 PublicDomain and therefore are free to show.

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 PublicDomain and therefore are free to show.

* ''Series/MyBrotherAndMe'' has the older brother's school performing RobinHood, with his sister designing the costumes. He initially balks at playing Robin Hood because of the tights - leaving the role to his [[CasanovaWannabe friend Goo]], until he learns his crush got Maid Marian's part. His sister helps him get the role back by accidentally-on-purpose goofing up Goo's tights (she doesn't like him that much).

* ''Fanfic/FamilyGuyFanon'' had an episode in Season 11 called "A Play on Turds", where Meg and Chris' high school did the play ''Romeo And Juliet''. And Chris gets the role of Romeo in the school play just so he can kiss Anna. Which becomes a problem when he finds out Anna ended up becoming the understudy of an ugly girl named Ellen.

[[folder:Fanfic]]

** It's not really school, but ''Addams Family Values'' features a summer camp play about Thanksgiving in which Wednesday takes her revenge on the AlphaBitch.

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. A 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 a mere one or two lines.

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. There is of course generally NoBudget, so parents may have to make the costume themselves; 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.

Depending on the genre, look out for AllPartOfTheShow. Compare AmateurFilmMakingPlot, where the characters put on a different type of show. Contrast SetBehindTheScenes, for stories about the making of professional plays or movies. Compare ''and'' Contrast PrisonerPerformance, where amateur live theater is performed by prison inmates.

* ''ComicBook/DramaRainaTelgemeier'': 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 the {{Novelization}} of ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Mei borrows a megaphone from her teacher under the pretense that she needs it for a school play.

* In Antonia Forest's ''Literature/TheMarlowSeries'', three out of the four school novels have a school play as an important plot point: Lawrie Marlow, the youngest of the Marlow children, is discovered to have an astonishing talent for acting in her form's performance of ''Literature/ThePrinceAndThePauper'' in the first novel, in the second novel she plays the starring role in her school's nativity play ([[UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} not who you think]]: it's St Stephen), and in the third novel a plot strand turns on her being given the part of Ariel and wanting to do Caliban in ''Theatre/TheTempest''. In the last novel in the series, Lawrie [[ItMakesSenseInContext plays a monkey in another child's school play]].

* In the ''Literature/ConfessionsOfGeorgiaNicolson'' series, three plays take place over the course of ten books. Book four has ''Literature/PeterPan'', book seven has ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'', and book ten has ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet''. Georgia is forced to participate in all of the productions in some way. She works backstage for ''Peter Pan'', and actually is cast in speaking roles for ''Macbeth'' and ''Romeo and Juliet''.

* In the first ''Literature/HenryHuggins'' book, Henry's school is having a Christmas play about some little kid who dreamed about having adventures in Santa's place, and Henry is cast as the main character, which he detests.
* The Nativity Play ''Literature/APrayerForOwenMeany'' is a pivotal scene, with ties to the symbolism of the rest of the book. Johnny is cast as Joseph, which he references throughout, saying "I was a Joseph", a person sidelined while important things happen to everyone else. MessianicArchetype Owen is cast as the baby Jesus, which was supposed to be a [[PlayingATree nonspeaking role]], but he surprises everyone (except for the audience who think it's AllPartOfTheShow) with a stern, almost supernatural outburst casting his sacreligious parents out of the church.
* ''Bang On The Door'': The second DramaQueen book, "Stage Struck", has her being the star of her school's ''WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs''. [[spoiler:She actually falls asleep near the ending; she doesn't even wake up when Cheeky Boy, as Prince Charming, kisses her (on the hand), but she does when Cheeky Boy yells "Wake up, Snow White!". And it's very embarrassing for her.]]
* In the first ''Literature/TimmyFailure'' book, Timmy lies to his mother about his missing Segway by saying it's being used as a prop in a school play. To keep the lie convincing, he ends up hastily writing and producing a play from scratch. As such, the "play" ends up being held in Molly Moskins' backyard instead of at school, which predictably makes his mother suspicious (Timmy claims that the ceiling tiles in the school auditorium fell down and that Molly was a prima donna).
* ''Literature/EllenAndOtis'': In ''Ellen Tebbits'', Ellen's class puts on a production of ''Literature/ThePiedPiperOfHamelin'' with a {{Bowdlerise}}d ending: in their version, the Pied Piper brings the children home and the kids get to do a maypole dance.
* In ''Chrysanthemum'', the music teacher Mrs. Twinkle assigns everyone parts in the class musical. Victoria, Jo, and Rita get important roles as the Fairy Queen, Butterfly Princess, and Pixie Messenger, but Chrysanthemum is cast as a daisy. When they laugh at her for it and make fun of her name, Mrs. Twinkle reveals to them that she's also named after a flower, and that her name is long, too. While the actual musical is not described in detail, the epilogue notes that Chrysanthemum was absolutely perfect as a daisy, while Victoria forgot all her lines.
* In ''Literature/TheWizardOfLondon'', the Harton School puts on a production of ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream'' while spending the summer at the country estate of a patron to the school.

* ''VisualNovel/ShallWeDateWizardessHeart'' features a school play in the side story "The Performing Festival." Shenanigans ensue when Elias and the protagonist, unwillingly saddled with the lead roles, discover that they're expected to perform TheBigDamnKiss at the climax of the play.
* In ''VisualNovel/MonsterProm'', one of the locations you can go to (to up your Creativity stat) is the theater, where there's some sort of fantasy play going on. Occasionally, events that happen there will be connected to said play (such as [[DumbMuscle Scott]] trying to figure out how to play his character, a tree).

* ''WesternAnimation/MarthaSpeaks'' has the episode "Martha Plays a Part", in which [[NiceGirl Helen]] and [[TheFashionista Carolina]] get stage fright when having to play celestial objects in a play.

-->'''Skinner:''' Now, who in Springfield will eat the poisoned broth? Oh-ho! It could be anyone, even Mr. Burns!
-->'''Burns:''' This play ''really'' speaks to me!
-->
-->'''Ralph:''' Hello, I'm Dr. Stupid. I'm going to take out your liver bones. ''[decapitates dummy of Burns with saw]'' Oops, you're dead.
-->'''Burns:''' I never liked that Dr. Stupid.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' and the rest of his class put on a musical play for the Centennial Anniversary of Elwood City on the show's landmark 100th episode. Additionally, the first season story "Francine Frensky, Superstar" is about the class putting on a play about Thomas Edison and Francine getting [[AcquiredSituationalNarcissism a big head]] when she lands the leading role.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'' had the episode where Poof and Foop wind up in the Spellementary school play, Poof gets the lead role while Foop is given the role of [[PlayingATree Table #3]]. Foop later rewrites the play so Poof will be featured as the play's ButtMonkey and he'll come out as the hero. But Poof figures out what he's up to and pretends to be sick, forcing Foop to be his understudy.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'' Christmas special "A Huey Freeman Christmas", Huey's teacher gives him the task of producing a Christmas play for the school. Huey decides to create an action drama titled ''The Adventures of Black Jesus''; however he [[DisproportionateRetribution fires all the kids in the play just for goofing off and dancing]], and replaces them with adult actors. [[ComicallyMissingThePoint He doesn't understand why the Parent-Teacher Association boycotted the play afterwards]].
* Jim and Claire from ''WesternAnimation/{{Trollhunters}}'' play Romeo and Juliet respectively (with Steve Palchuck as Jim's understudy/turned-replacement in Arcadia Oaks High School's rendition of ''Romeo and Juliet''. Said play is an undercurrent subplot of Season One's first half, and part of the resolution of that half's threads sees the completion of the play.
* A flashback in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' shows a very young Meg playing Maid Marian in a school production of ''Robin Hood''. Naturally, Peter heckles her.
** "PTV" features Meg as a disciple in ''God and His Magical Rainbow Suspenders'' (a parody of ''Theatre/{{Godspell}}'', [[ShownTheirWork a show frequently produced in high schools due to it being inexpensive to mount]]). Brian and Stewie are so dumbfounded that the former smacks the latter to make him cry. Brian says out loud "Crying baby, I'll take him out", getting ''both'' of them out of the auditorium and to freedom.
** "The King Is Dead" has Lois directing the Quahog Players' production of ''Theatre/TheKingAndI''. Forced to find some role for Peter, who is trying to develop his creativity, to fill she decides to make him the show's producer and tells him to find ways to get the word out about the show. Unfortunately, his ideas, which are consistently well-received by the cast and crew bar Lois (who eventually quits in disgust) and lead to the show selling out as word spreads, gradually turn the show into an InNameOnly story of a killer cyborg played by Peter. Lois tries to convince the cheering crowd that corrupting fine art in the name of pandering to the LowestCommonDenominator is a bad thing come the curtain call, but they just get distracted by Peter breaking wind.