15 Family Friendly, Popular Musicals to Watch Without Leaving Home

Sometimes it's hard to include enough music and cultural activities into your homeschool. For middle school and high school, it can be even more difficult at times with busier schedules! But why not set aside some weekends as a time to watch something together as a family and to discuss it together? (See the end of this post for some activities for your older student to complete!) 

Would you use the Pin button at the end of this post to share this resource on Pinterest?  Thank you!

Live Performances:  

• Cats - (1998)  $3.99 on Amazon Prime (or get 7-day trial with BroadwayHD to watch free)
• Into the Woods - $2.99 on Amazon Prime or VUDU
• Newsies - (2017) $3.99 on Amazon Prime or VUDU
• Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel - (2013) Free on Amazon Prime
• The Phantom of the Opera at Royal Albert Hall - (2012) $3.99 on Amazon Prime
  

Popular Movie Versions:

• Annie - (1982) $3.99 on Amazon Prime or $2.99 on VUDU
• Fiddler on the Roof - (1971) Free on Amazon Prime (until 3/30/2020) or $3.99 on VUDU
• Grease - (1978) $3.99 on Amazon Prime or $2.99 on VUDU
• Les Miserables - (2012) $3.99 on Amazon Prime or VUDU
• Newsies - (1992) $3.99 on Amazon Prime or VUDU
• Nicholas Nickleby - (2002) Free on Amazon Prime (until 3/30/2020) or $3.99 on VUDU
• Oliver! - (1968)  $3.99 on Amazon Prime or $2.99 on VUDU
• Phantom of the Opera - (2004) $3.99 on Amazon Prime or VUDU
• Sound of Music - (1965) $3.99 on Amazon Prime or VUDU
• The King and I - (1958) $3.99 on Amazon Prime or VUDU
• West Side Story - (1961) $3.99 on Amazon Prime or  VUDU 
• Yentl - (1983) Free on Amazon Prime or $3.99 on VUDU

Did I forget any good ones?  If so, let me know in the comments!

A Shakespearean play with a twist is King Lear, (2018) free on Amazon Prime.  It's placed in modern-day but uses the original Shakespeare. In my opinion, this change makes the following of this Shakespeare tale a little easier!

Other things to keep in mind:    

With a PBS Passport, you can watch many other live performances that are currently available.

On YouTube, you can search for a musical (or play) by title and find several full-length performances by high schools and other theatre groups.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Before watching the movie, your student can do these activities:    

1.  Is the musical based on a book or original screenplay?

2.  If based on a book, look for websites that compare the movie version to the book.

• What are some strong comparisons? What are some differences?  
• Will it matter to the story in the movie version?

3.  If based on a book, research the author and find out when the book was written.

• Was that time period a factor in this story?
• Did they keep to that time period in the movie? 
• What about the cultural aspects? Is it the same from the book to the movie?

4.  If it is based on an original screenplay, who wrote it and was it based on a true story?

5.  What is the overall theme of the movie? What is the major point they are trying to convey?