Our Musical Madness tourney gets real: Pick your top high school musical from 16 matchups

Our Musical Madness tournament gets real this week, as last week's play-in winners join the rest of the field for the First Round.

To bring you up to speed, we took the list of all the musicals that are on high school stages across the Lower Hudson Valley this season and made an NCAA March Madness-style bracket. No “Sound of Music.” No "Cats." They aren’t being staged by any high school we’ve heard from in Rockland, Westchester or Putnam counties this season.

We seeded the musicals in four regions — Rodgers, Miranda, Menken and Sondheim — a process that was fun and frustrating and no doubt rattled some nerves in the corridors of power. Remember: This is about the musicals, not about the schools that are producing them (but of course, the school or schools with the winning musical get bragging rights).

Who won the play-in games?

Four musicals emerged victorious from last week's play-in matchups:

• The Shakespearean tag-team of "Love's Labour's Lost" and "Twelfth Night" toppled "The Addams Family," 66% to 34%.

• Voters punched the clock for "9 to 5" over "Zombie Prom," 69% to 31%.

• "Fame" might not live forever, but it lives to fight another day, after toppling "James and the Giant Peach," 62% to 38%.

• And "Bat Boy" pulled off an upset over "Grease," 68% to 32%. (Who's going to break the news to Rizzo?)

The winners become the No. 8 seeds in their regions, with the honor of facing each region's No. 1.

How do I vote this week?

Voting is open from 5 a.m. Tuesday to 8 p.m. Thursday. You can vote in every matchup. There are 16 head-to-head games this week. Want your musical to win? Tell your friends and family to vote.

(If the poll does not immediately load, refresh the page. The poll generally loads better on desktops and laptops rather than on mobile devices. Also, avoid using the Firefox browser.)

Here — region by region — are this week's matchups. Release the Madness!

RODGERS REGION

'Into the Woods' (1) vs. 'Love’s Labour’s Lost/Twelfth Night' (8)

Can Little Red knock out Malvolio? Sondheim's after-they-lived-happily-ever-after musical has something for everyone, including a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn, and a slipper as pure as gold. Children will listen and so should their parents. Pro: Music and lyrics and book, quirky and clever and fun. Con: The pun at the end of “Maybe They’re Magic” is beneath a man of Sondheim’s powers. (At Harrison, March 10-12; Lakeland, April 21, 22.)

It will need all that and more up against the tag team of "Love's Labour's Lost" and "Twelfth Night," which toppled the popular (but blissfully creepy) "The Addams Family" last week. "Love's Labour's Lost" has a battle of the sexes. “Twelfth Night” has a shipwreck, cross-dressing and mistaken identity. (“Love’s Labour’s” at New Rochelle, March 23-25. “Twelfth Night” at Clarkstown North, March 16-18.)

'Mean Girls' (2) vs. 'High School Musical' (7)

Regina George vs. Sharpay Evans. OMG! In “Mean Girls,” it’s Regina George’s world, we just live in it. Tina Fey’s story of an outsider dreaming of high school popularity in a world of, well, mean girls, was nominated for a dozen Tony Awards. Pro: They have you at the first “fetch.” Con:  One degree of Lindsay Lohan. (At School of the Holy Child, March 3-4; Horace Greeley, March 23-25; Edgemont, March 24-25.)

In “High School Musical,” East High's theater queen Sharpay has notes for Troy and Gabrielle. Getcha head in the game and break out the crème brulee. Pro: Kids playing kids. Con: Wayward basketballs in the audience. (At Carmel, March 10-11; Port Chester, March 23-26.)

'The Little Mermaid' (3) vs. 'Chicago: Teen Edition' (6)

“The Little Mermaid” is the tail as old as time. You want thingamabobs? She’s got 20. Pro: “Under the Sea.” Con: “Poor Unfortunate Souls.”  (At Mount Vernon, May 18-21.)

“Chicago” has: All. That. Jazz. Pro: Ain’t Fosse great? Con: Fosse ain’t easy. (At North Salem, March 10-12; Dobbs Ferry, March 24-25.)

'Anastasia' (4) vs. 'Bye Bye Birdie' (5)

“Anastasia” has scale, it has story, it has music from Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. Pro: “Journey to the Past,” a perfect musical-theater song. And “Once Upon a December,” which was born for the stage. Con: That firing squad. (At Rye Neck, March 2-4.)

In the perennial favorite “Birdie,” they love him. (Conrad.) Oh, yes, they do. Have you heard about Hugo and Kim? Pro: “The Telephone Hour.” Con: Poor Harvey Johnson. (At Pleasantville, March 10-12, 17-18; Sleepy Hollow, March 24-26.)

Looking for a show?Search our musicals database

MIRANDA REGION

'Spamalot' (1) vs. '9 to 5' (8)

The Monty Python musical is clearly not dead yet. Pro: “The Song That Goes Like This” and “Diva’s Lament (What Ever Happened to My Part?)” are deliciously meta. Con: The ending is too silly, even for Python fans. (At Tappan Zee, March 17-19; Eastchester, April 21-23.)

It was touch and go there, but “9 to 5” pulled off a win over scrappy "Zombie Prom." They'll need all that momentum against "Spamalot." Pro: That title song. Con: All the others. (At John Jay, March 23-25.)

'Jersey Boys' (2) vs. 'Oklahoma' (7)

You can’t take your eyes off of “Jersey Boys,” the story behind the Four Seasons in this Broadway long-runner. Pro: The buildup (and payoff) for the song that everyone says will never go anywhere. Con: The very real risk of a faulty falsetto. (At Stepinac, April 28-29; May 4, 6, 7.)

It’s up against a bona fide classic, “Oklahoma,” Rodgers & Hammerstein with farmers and cowmen (and cow women). This one is more than OK. Pro: Oh, what a beautiful musical. Con: “It’s a Scandal. It’s a Outrage.” (At Haldane, March 17-19.)

'In the Heights' (3) vs. 'Footloose' (6)

“In the Heights,” at No. 3 in this region, is pre-Hamiltonian Lin-Manuel Miranda. It’s “Fiddler on the Roof,” if Tevye spoke Spanish. Pro: “Breathe.” Con: The blackout. (At North Rockland, March 10-11, 16-18; Peekskill, April 20-22.)

It faces one of this season’s most-popular musicals in the Lower Hudson Valley, “Footloose.” Pro: Title song. Con: “Almost Paradise.” (At Mamaroneck Feb. 9-11; Rye, March 3-4; Ardsley, March 10-11; Ramapo, March 24-26.)

'Shrek' (4) vs. 'Kiss Me, Kate' (5)

Fractured fairytales. A prince with shortcomings, a secretive princess and an ogre-the-top hero. Pro: “Story of My Life.” Con: Donkeys who mimic Eddie Murphy. (At Mahopac, April 27-29.)

It’s head-to-head with “Kiss Me, Kate,” a backstage-musical-Shakespearean-gangster-mashup. What’s not to love. Pro: “Brush Up Your Shakespeare.” Con: All that backstage drama. (At Ursuline, March 24-25.)

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MENKEN REGION

'Something Rotten!' (1) vs. 'Fame' (8)

If "Something Rotten" were any fresher, you’d slap it. Casting Shakespeare as a rock star and telling the story of the Bottom Brothers who live in his shadow? Genius. Pro: You don’t have to be Nostradamus to know “A Musical” is a winner. Con: “It’s Eggs” is plain just plain silly. (At Blind Brook, March 9-11; Hastings, April 21-23; Putnam Valley, April 28-30.)

As for "Fame," fresh off a win over "James and the Giant Peach," those scrappy theater kids have to be feeling good. But their work is cut out for them. Pro: Kids playing kids, leg warmers. Con: Reliving high school years, even those spent at a famous arts school. (At Woodlands, March 17-19.)

'Hello, Dolly!' (2) vs. 'The Wiz' (7)

Horace Vandergelder, Yonkers’ most-eligible bachelor, doesn’t know what hit him when he crosses paths with the card-carrying Dolly Gallagher Levi in “Hello, Dolly!” Pro: The waiters in full gallop at The Harmonia Gardens. Con: “It Takes a Woman.” (At Bronxville, Feb. 9-11.)

It’s “Dolly” against Dorothy in “The Wiz.” Ease on down that road, to oohs and Oz. Pro: A familiar story, with a fresh take, decades before “Wicked.” Con: Like all musicals, can feel dated in the wrong hands. (At Spring Valley, March 30-31, April 1; Sacred Heart, March 31, April 1-2.)

'Legally Blonde' (3) vs. 'Freaky Friday' (6)

No. 3 “Legally Blonde” is the anti-“Grease.” Elle Woods goes after what she wants, decides she doesn’t want it, and charts her own path. Pro: The lunacy of “Bend and Snap.” Con: Chauvinist law professors. (Albertus Magnus, March 24-26.)

It faces “Freaky Friday,” in which girl and her mom swap places for a day, with music by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey of “Next to Normal” fame. Pro: One degree of Jamie Lee Curtis. Con: One degree of Lindsay Lohan. (At Byram Hills, March 9-11.)

'Matilda' (4) vs. 'The Lightning Thief' (5)

What would have happened if Roald Dahl had had a decent childhood? We’ll never know. Hello, Dahly. Pro: How great a name is Miss Trunchbull? Con: The cruelty. (At Valhalla, March 10-11; Walter Panas, April 14-15.)

Matilda, that kid with the special powers has to contend with another kid with powers of his own, in “The Lightning Thief,” a musical staging of Rick Riordan’s bestseller. Percy Jackson is out to clear his name. Ye Gods! Pro: It’s new. Con: It can be hit or myth. (At Briarcliff, March 10-12.)

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SONDHEIM REGION

'How to Succeed…' (1) vs. 'Bat Boy' (8)

The full title, of course, is “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1962 and, yes, parts of it are problematic in 2023, but the story of an upwardly agile window-washer at World Wide Wickets is still a winner. On the level, there is a brotherhood of man. Pro: “I Believe in You.” Con: “A Secretary is Not a Toy.” (At Ossining, March 23-25.)

It faces the plucky "Bat Boy," which bested "Grease" last week. "Bat Boy" is a horror musical with a rock score based on a Weekly World News story about a half-boy, half-bat. Pro: Offbeat, quirky, rare. Con: Rare, quirky, offbeat. (At Pelham, March 24-26)

'Little Shop of Horrors' (2) vs. 'Once Upon a Mattress' (7)

Things are looking up on Skid Row since that total eclipse of the sun and the arrival of You Know Who 2 in “Little Shop of Horrors.” Pro: “Suddenly Seymour.” Con: Dr. Orrin Scrivello, DDS. (At Nyack, March 17-18, 24-25.)

“Once Upon a Mattress” finds Mary Rodgers following in her dad’s considerable footsteps, with “The Princess and the Pea” set to music. Pro: “Shy” is a fantastic entrance song. Con: There’s a whole lotta “Nonny” going on. (Irvington, March 10-12; Suffern, March 23-25)

'Beauty & the Beast' (3) vs. 'The Wedding Singer' (6)

Her neighbors think a frat-boy boor with muscles galore is a better match for our French bookworm than a rich Beast with some anger issues? Zuts! Oh, and the candlesticks talk. Pro: The opening number, “Belle,” sets the scene perfectly. Con: It ain’t exactly Ibsen. (At Tuckahoe, March 9-11.)

The loopiness of “The Wedding Singer” is most of its charm. Come out of the dumpster. Pro: “Somebody Kill Me.” Con: New Jersey, 1985. (At Somers, March 24-26.)

'Cinderella' (4) vs. 'Mamma Mia!' (5)

OK, “Cinderella” isn’t “South Pacific” or “The Sound of Music,” but this Rodgers & Hammerstein score is a gem, with absolute charmers, including “In My Own Little Corner” and “Ten Minutes Ago.” Pro: The slipper always fits. Con: “The Prince is Giving a Ball.” (At Nanuet, March 10-11.)

It’s up against a musical that a friend of this bracket subtitles: “Swedish singer’s songs set in Santorini.” It’s “Mamma Mia!” Pro: Moms love it. Con: Too many dads. (At White Plains, Feb. 3-5; Hendrick Hudson, March 17-19.)

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story had the incorrect play-in winner in the Sondheim bracket. "Bat Boy" prevailed over "Grease."

This article originally appeared on New York State Team: High school musical tournament gets under way. Vote now