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  • 1.  Play suggestions for grades 7-9

    Posted 02-27-2026 18:27

    Hello !  We are looking to produce a grade 7-9 play next year. We typically have 20-25 students involved in the show and our shows for this age range are usually around 60-70 min. We currently only offer a musical for grades 7-9 and we're thinking of switching it up. Does anyone have any recommendations of plays for this age range? I would really appreciate hearing about any plays that have worked really well for your school. 

    Thank you!

    Jordan Fox (she/her/hers) | Director of Theatre & Dance

    Windward School | 11350 Palms Blvd | Los Angeles, CA 90066

    Direct Line (424) 289-1131

    jfox@windwardschool.org


    A dynamic, engaging education. A nurturing, inclusive community.


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  • 2.  RE: Play suggestions for grades 7-9

    Posted 02-28-2026 11:09

    Sounds like a great group! Plays offer students a great chance to dig into language and character in ways a musical might not-- Bravo for giving them a new challenge! I'd recommend a few large-cast plays for this age group. You can fully preview all of these plays for free:

    Gawain and the Green Knight is the classic medieval tale, full of knights and strange creatures, adapted for middle school: Gawain and the Green Knight by Ian MacInnes Play | Gitelman & Good Publishers

    SHARDS is a bit more serious, but students have really loved exploring these challenging dynamics: SHARDS | Gitelman & Good Publishers

    The Tales of Odysseus is a large, ensemble-cast adaptation of books 9-12 of the Odyssey--these are the stories with the cyclops, etc: The Tales of Odysseus | Gitelman & Good Publishers

    Let me know if you have any questions about finding the best fit for your group! 



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    Jason Sebacher
    Founder, Managing Editor
    Gitelman & Good Publishers
    Chicago, IL
    jason@gitelmangoodpublishers.com
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  • 3.  RE: Play suggestions for grades 7-9

    Posted 03-01-2026 16:11

    Hi Jordan,

    Plays of roughly 60-70 minutes that have been successful with my 6th-8th students (and enjoyable for the director) include:

    Trap (Gregg) - Middle School Version, Charlotte's Web (Robinette), The Alibis (Various), The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (Hartford), Faces of Freedom (Mercati), Still Life with Iris (Dietz), A Wrinkle in Time (Gould).

    Slightly longer, but still a good fit for the age group: Romeo and Juliet Together (and Alive!) at Last (Fenichel Asher), To See the Stars (Mercati), and The Hound of the Baskervilles: A Comic Thriller Starring Shirley Holmes and Jennie Watson (Brown).  We've also done evenings of 2 one act plays.

    There are definitely a range of styles in my list, but all are fairly adaptable in terms of cast size.  Our casts tend to range from 12-25 for  straight play. 

    Plays on my list to check out for the next few years (so, folks, please chime in if you have experience with any of them!): Moriarty's Daughters  and The Neverland Project.  

    Looking forward to hearing what other people have enjoyed!



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    Kristin Hall
    Pronouns: she/her/hers
    Drama Director
    Lincoln MA
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Play suggestions for grades 7-9

    Posted 03-02-2026 09:12

    We loved The Girl with the Golden Locks (Pioneer Drama), The Pirate Show (Baker Plays, now Concord), and Empowered (Playscripts, now Concord). We are currently working on The Princess Who Had No Name (Pioneer) and having a great time.



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    Jennifer Bennett
    Markham Woods Middle School
    FL
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  • 5.  RE: Play suggestions for grades 7-9

    Posted 04-19-2026 09:08

    Next Stage Press (www.nextstagepress.com) just released a large cast comedy called "The Christmas Crisis."  The play is about Santa battling video game addiction at the North Pole, so it's very age appropriate for your students.  I read the script.  It should be about 70 minutes instead of the 90 minutes advertised.



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    Robin Blasberg
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  • 6.  RE: Play suggestions for grades 7-9

    Posted 04-20-2026 09:10

    We loved Game of Tiaras  (one act) by Don Zolidis.  It is available through Playscripts.  It's a mashup of Game of Thrones, Shakespearean tragedy, a few Disney Princesses thrown in, some sword fighting, and a low budget "Blood Packet Guy".  It's tons of fun and was a big hit with our audiences!  We also loved The Alibis available from Concord.  This play is flexible.  It is written by 8 different playwrights and you can remove whatever scenes you want to fit your casting and the performance length.  This one is similiar to Clue.  A crime has been committed and there are several suspects who all have a wacky alibi for the night in question.  Hope this helps.  



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    Christy Beavers
    Summit Lakes Middle School
    MO
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Play suggestions for grades 7-9

    Posted 04-21-2026 10:37

    Hi, Jordan,

    Two of the plays I have done with my middle school troupe that the kids really enjoyed are The Beverly Hillbillies  and Get Bill Shakespeare Off the Stage! The Beverly Hillbillies  is a 90-minute show based on the television series from the 1960s. The kids loved the quirky characters and the audience loved seeing those characters come back to life.  Get Bill Shakespeare Off the Stage is a play about students who rebel when their new theatre teacher decides to do Shakespeare instead of the play they selected with the previous drama teacher. In the process of objecting to Shakespeare, they discover his plays are actually not that bad. 

    Peggy Matanic

    Wilbur Wright Middle School

    Munster High School

    mjmatanic@munsterschools.gov



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    Peggy Matanic
    Wilbur Wright Middle School Theater Company Director
    Munster High School
    mjmatanic@munster.us
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  • 8.  RE: Play suggestions for grades 7-9

    Posted 04-22-2026 17:03
    The Phantom Tollbooth by Susan Nanus, based on the classic by Norton Juster; Homeschooled by Jason Pizzarello, a funnt play about a town running out of money for school so the parents have to teach their kids (esprcially great after covid); A Recipe of Me by Kate Kilpatrick, a Thanksgiving themed play about kids learning about their elders via family recipes.



    Original Message


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