Characters Behaving Badly

As we start putting together this summer's reading list, how about diving into some amazing plays that celebrate gender diversity and inclusivity? There's a whole world of stories out there just waiting to be discovered, offering endless possibilities for your students to connect with powerful characters and inspiring narratives. These plays are perfect for embracing the magic of diverse storytelling and will make a fantastic addition to your stage or classroom this summer!

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. The vignette play, Characters Behaving Badly, by Lindsay Price, asks students to look at the concept of what it means to be “good” and “bad”, as well as what it means to play a character with whom they might not agree. Perfect for class performances! If you saw a wallet on the ground, bulging with money, and no one around, would you take it? What’s the worst thing a person can do? Is it murder? Is it lying? Is it getting an A-? What defines “good” and “bad” behaviour? Can “good” people have “bad” thoughts? Let’s hear from the author!1. Why did you write this play? Over the years, I have witnessed a lot of young or student actors being reticent to take on a “bad” character because they felt it would reflect in their own personal character. “If I play a bad character, then I am seen as a bad person.” Which leads to a great question: What does it mean to be “good” or “bad”? And who gets to decide what is “good” or “bad?” And there was my starting point. 2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences. What does it mean to be “good” or bad?” What does it mean to play a “bad” character. 3. What’s the most important visual for you in this play? There’s a moment when a character holds up a wallet full of money and asks the other characters and the audience if they would take it if they found it on the ground. Would you? 4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be? It’s a vignette play so it’s easy to default to a blackout between every scene. If you look at the script, it’s specifically designed to avoid that. Blackouts suck the life out of the drive and forward motion of a play. Use choreographed transitions and music to move from moment to moment. 5. Why is this play great for student performers? Not only are the characters great for analysis in this play, the question around what is “good” and what is “bad” is an excellent topic for discussion. How do your students define the two?

If you’re looking for plays and musicals to include in your drama classroom library, look no further — here are 42 plays and musicals featuring LGBTQ+ characters, stories, and themes. Introduce these plays and musicals to your students, read them as a class, and check out performances of them (many have filmed or movie versions). If you’re looking to perform a play with your students, be sure to check out the plays from Theatrefolk listed here — they’re perfect for high school students. And check out the other plays by our Theatrefolk LGBTQ+ authors on our site! Plays from Theatrefolk featuring LGBTQ+ Themes and CharactersFrom our very own Theatrefolk catalogue, these plays are fabulous for high school students to study and perform. Some even come with free classroom study guides. 1. Completely, Absolutely Normal: Vignettes About LGBTQ+ Teens by Bradley Walton (Free Classroom Study Guide available!) Ten interconnected vignettes with LGBTQ+ themes. 2. Red Tee by Lindsay Price (Free Classroom Study Guide available!) A vignette play that examines questions of identity and what happens when someone doesn’t fit in the way they’re expected to. 3. Bungee Jump Bear Trap by Lindsay Price A vignette play about taking risks and figuring it all out. 4. Life, Off Book by Scott Giessler Jeb is Ophelia’s fake boyfriend who is also a closeted gay man. What happens when Jeb and Ophelia have to lose the script and live life off book? 5. Pandemic Pancake by Lindsay Price Characters decide, for good and for ill, how they will respond to this evolving new world. 6. Anonymous by Allison Green The story of every teenager — it’s hard to be an individual when you’re trying to fit in. 7. Baalzebub by Rachel Atkins A group of girls is abandoned at a refugee camp in an unnamed war zone and are forced to survive together. A response to the classic novel Lord of the Flies. 8. Finding Jo March by Laramie Dean You should know right away that this is not a traditional adaptation of Little Women. 9. Moonbow Miraculous & Moonbow Miraculous: Competition Length Version by Kirk Shimano If someone has a secret they’ve been clutching to their heart, the moonbow’s glow will give them the courage to share their true selves 10. The Pretty Princess Dollhouse for Pretty Princesses by Emma Fonseca Halverson Gabi is suffering from metaphoric asthma. The walls are closing in and she can’t breathe. 11. Characters Behaving Badly by Lindsay Price This vignette play asks students to look at the concept of what it means to be “good” and “bad.” 12. Passing Period Purgatory by Christian Kiley Sometimes the hardest part of school is getting from one class to the next. 13. Thought Traps by Lindsay Price Ariane and Kate deal with people from their past who invade their head space. Will either be able to set themselves free? 14. 6ft Scenes by Lindsay Price A collection of 15 scenes in which no two characters get within 6ft of each other. As well, be sure to check out these Theatrefolk playwrights: Laramie Dean, Emma Fonseca Halverson, Bradley Hayward, Kirk Shimano and Bradley Walton. Musicals Featuring LGBTQ+ Themes and CharactersComing to you from Broadway and Off-Broadway, these musicals are packed with amazing songs and important themes. 1. Head Over Heels, book by Jeff Whitty, adapted by James Magruder, music and lyrics by The Go-Go’s A kingdom is threatened, unlikely lovers unite, and gender-fluid disguises are donned in a musical that preaches unconditional love and acceptance of everyone, no matter their gender or sexual identity. 2. Fun Home, by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori, adapted from Alison Bedchel’s memoir Alison, an author and lesbian, reflects on her journey to discover and accept her identity, as well as her relationship with her father (a closeted gay man). 3. The Color Purple, book by Marsha Norman, based on the novel by Alice Walker, music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray Celie, a teenage African-American girl living in Georgia, is given by her abusive stepfather to an even more abusive husband. Over the years, Celie finds ways to cope with life, including finding a potential lover in the fabulous Shug Avery. 4. La Cage aux Folles, book by Harvey Fierstein, music and lyrics by Jerry Herman Georges (owner of the La Cage aux Folles nightclub) and his partner Albin face the hardest challenge of their twenty-year relationship: meeting their son’s fiancee’s ultra-conservative, anti-gay parents. 5. Kinky Boots, book by Harvey Fierstein, music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper Charlie Price teams up with drag queen Lola to save his failing shoe factory, and in the process, discovers that they aren’t so different after all. 6. Hedwig and the Angry Inch, book by John Cameron Mitchell, music and lyrics by Stephen Trask Genderqueer rock singer Hedwig Robinson shares her story — including the tale of her botched gender reassignment surgery — with the audience through monologues and rock songs. 7. Rent, book, music, and lyrics by Jonathan Larson Follows the ups and downs of a year in the life of a group of impoverished, artistic friends living in the East Village of Manhattan in the late 1980s, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. 8. Bare: A Pop Opera and Bare: The Musical, book by Hartmere and Intrabartolo, music by Damon Intrabartolo, lyrics by Jon Hartmere Peter and Jason, students at a Catholic boarding school, have fallen in love with each other, but Jason — a popular athlete — fears losing his status if he is discovered to be gay. 9. Spring Awakening, book and lyrics by Steven Sater, music by Duncan Sheik, based on the 1891 German play _Spring Awakening _by Frank Wedekind In late 19th century Germany, with only each other for guidance, a group of young men and women travel the rocky path of adolescence, discovering their bodies, their sexuality, their minds, and themselves along the way. 10. The Boy from Oz, book by Nick Enright, revised book by Martin Sherman, music and lyrics by Peter Allen A musical telling of the story of Australian entertainer Peter Allen, from his humble beginnings, to his rise to fame, to his marriage to Liza Minelli, to the crumbling of their marriage due to Allen’s homosexuality, to his final concert before his death from AIDS. 11. The Prom, book by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin, based on an original concept by Jack Viertel, music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin Four struggling Broadway stars team up to help Emma Nolan have the prom of her dreams with her girlfriend, despite the actions of the homophobic PTA. 12. The Louder We Get (previously titled Prom Queen), book by Kent Staines, lyrics by Akiva Romer-Segal, music by Colleen Dauncey Based on the true story of Marc Hall, a gay Canadian teenager whose legal fight to bring a same-sex date to his Catholic high school prom made national and international headlines in 2002. 13. Falsettos, book by William Finn and James Lapine, music and lyrics by William Finn In 1970s New York, Marvin and Trina’s perfect family is broken apart when Marvin leaves Trina for a man named Whizzer. 14. Witness Uganda (previously titled Invisible Thread), book, music, and lyrics by Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews Based on the true story of Griffin Matthews. Matthews travels to Uganda for mission work after being kicked out of his church choir when the pastor discovered he was gay. 15. A Man of No Importance, book by Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens Alfie and his amateur theatre group are determined to stage a controversial play at their local church. In the process of fighting for the play, Alfie is forced to confront his own homosexuality and share his true self with those around him. 16. Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, book by Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott, music and lyrics by various artists Drag queens Tick and Adam and transgender woman Bernadette travel across Australia in their bus named Priscilla. 17. Zanna, Don’t! by Tim Acito, additional lyrics and material by Alexander Dinelaris Set in Heartsville, USA, a city where homosexuality is the norm and heterosexuality is taboo. At Heartsville High, Zanna plays matchmaker and brings happy couples together, but heterophobia strikes when a pair of opposite-sex high schoolers discover their feelings for each other. 18. Jagged Little Pill, book by Diablo Cody, music by Alanis Morissette and Glen Ballard, lyrics by Alanis Morissette, with additional music by Michael Farrell and Guy Sigsworth The seemingly-perfect Healy family, including parents MJ and Steve and teenage children Frankie and Nick, struggles with challenges including addiction, sexual identity, and the pressure to keep up appearances. 19. My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding, book by David Hein and Irene Sankoff, music by David Hein From the creators of Come From Away and based on Hein’s real family, David reflects on his mother coming out when he was 13, after divorcing David’s father, discovering Judaism, and falling in love with a woman who practices Wicca. Plays Featuring LGBTQ+ Themes and CharactersDramas, comedies, award-winners, and more. 1. She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen After the death of her sister Tilly and discovery of Tilly’s game scenario notebook, Agnes Evans delves into the world of Dungeons & Dragons to understand and grieve her sister. 2. The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project In 1998, university student Matthew Shepard was tortured, robbed, and murdered for being gay. The murder was deemed a hate crime. In the aftermath, the Tectonic Theater Project travelled to Laramie, Wyoming and interviewed hundreds of subjects both directly and indirectly related to the case. 3. Almost, Maine by John Cariani On one cold and magical midwinter night, the citizens of Almost, Maine experience love, loss, and the life-altering power of the human heart. One of the most produced plays in North American high schools. 4. Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes by Tony Kushner A two-part, seven-hour, Tony-winning epic play primarily focusing on a gay couple from New York, with other intersecting storylines. 5. The Boys in the Band by Mart Crowley A group of gay men gather at Michael’s home to celebrate their friend Harold’s birthday. Michael’s friend from college, Alan, unexpectedly arrives, who has no idea that Michael or any of his friends are gay. 6. HIR by Taylor Mac After a dishonorable discharge from the military, Isaac returns home to discover his father has suffered a stroke, his sibling Max has come out as transgender, and his mother is ready to educate Isaac about the new post-gender world (while unknowingly appropriating Max’s experience). 7. The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer Passionate and confrontational activist Ned Weeks campaigns for awareness about an unidentified disease (HIV/AIDS) that is killing gay men in New York City, while tending to friends and lovers who are dying all around him. 8. As Is by William M. Hoffman Released shortly before The Normal Heart, Rich decides to return to his ex-partner, Saul, after contracting AIDS from his new lover. Seeking care, Rich reveals how doctors, family members, and friends reacted to people with AIDS. 9. The Shadow Box by Michael Cristofer Three different people, all dying of cancer, live out their final days in homey hospice cottages, and are interviewed by a psychiatrist for a psychological project.