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!
------------------------------
Kristin Hall
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Drama Director
Lincoln MA
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 02-28-2026 11:09
From: Jason Sebacher
Subject: Play suggestions for grades 7-9
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!
------------------------------
Jason Sebacher
Founder, Managing Editor
Gitelman & Good Publishers
Chicago, IL
jason@gitelmangoodpublishers.com
Original Message:
Sent: 02-27-2026 18:26
From: Jordan Fox
Subject: Play suggestions for grades 7-9
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.
-----------------
Please note the contents of this e-mail and any attachments are private, confidential, and intended for the recipient. They may contain information subject to legal privilege and protected by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §2510 et seq. Please also be sure to check any attachments for viruses before opening. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.