About the Play:

Fame is a full-length drama adapted for the stage by Christopher Sergel from the Academy Award-nominated Christopher Gore screenplay. The play is the bittersweet, but ultimately inspiring, story of a diverse group of students as they commit to four years of gruelling artistic and academic work at the top school for the performing arts in in New York City. With candour, humour and insight, the show explores the issues that confront many young people today: issues of prejudice, identity, self-worth, and literacy, substance abuse and perseverance.

Fame takes place during the last years of New York City's celebrated High School of Performing Arts (1980-1984), where cultures, creative abilities and egos collide and, of course, sparks fly. Some ignite great careers while others smoulder in the dust of broken dreams. As the play begins, the school is in the midst of auditioning applicants. They're every size, shape and attitude. They're scared, they're brave, they're rich and they're poor. They've got nothing in common but a compelling dream, to pay the dues that'll get their name in lights – and each pursues it in a special way just as each must deal with the special problems of their various lives: Doris, pushed and prodded by her overbearing stage mother, must realize the beauty that truly lies within herself. Montgomery must realize and accept his loneliness, magnificent talent and need for a friend. Ralph must cope with his intensity and anger before it drives him to the same fate of his idol, Freddie Prinze. Coco a gifted singer (Irene Cara played the part in the film) knows it all too quickly. Michael is so handsome and talented it would seem impossible for him to fail. Bruno, living with the music in his head and intolerant of classical music (such as Mozart), frustrates his teacher who hates his attitude but admires his talent. Leroy has a life in poverty, less than stellar academic skills and a lot of anger; however, his passion for dancing could change his life forever – if he'd allow it. All through the cut-throat business of out-acting, out-playing, out-dancing one another, the students are forced to cope with the social stress of everyday life. Like the School of Performing Arts, this play goes to the essence of young people and of theatre. While this is a play and not a musical, there is some music and some dancing, though this may be adapted to suit the particular talents of your performers.

Fame was adapted by Christopher Sergel in 1985 from the original Christopher Gore screenplay and was conceived by David de Silva. The movie earned five Oscar nominations in 1981 and eventually became a hit television series. The play is still enormously popular, and has been a staple of high schools since then.

Cast: 15 female, 9 male (extras as desired)

What people say:

"My older kids love this play. It deals with today's issues and my students loved that they understood these issues and that they could relate to the desires of these kids wanting to be actors." — Howard Kane, Children's Theatre Project, Richmond Hill, Ontario

"A great show to perform in a smaller venue, which is what we were forced to do this year as our normal auditorium is under renovation. Our audiences loved the show." — Jeff Stutzman, Concord High School, Elkhart, Indiana

"Recommend Fame enthusiastically as a great high school production. Cast had so much fun, set was inexpensive, costumes easy to come by." — Barbara Lund and Cindy Melcher, Eisenhower High School, Yakima, Washington

About the Playwright:

Christopher Gore (1944-1988) was an American screenwriter, playwright, and lyricist. He began writing plays and musicals shortly after graduating from Northwestern University, and wrote the screenplay for the 1980 musical film Fame, for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Christopher Sergel (1918-1993) was the president of the Dramatic Publishing Co. for over twenty years and a Broadway playwright. A graduate of the University of Chicago, he was an adventurer and sportsman who spent two years as the captain of a schooner in the South Pacific and during World War II served as a lieutenant commander in the Merchant Marine. His primary interests, however, were writing plays and managing the play-publishing company his great-uncle Charles Sergel founded in 1885. He wrote more than a dozen plays, is known for his adaptation of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird and Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio, which was seen on Broadway.