Broadway Discounts for Teachers

From Sweet to Sour: Teachers on Broadway

Schools make up some of the most dramatic places one earth (we all remember middle school, don’t we?) This is also true on Broadway stages, where teachers are portrayed as mentors, heroes, romantic leads, and horrifying monsters. Here are some of the most popular teachers that have appeared on Broadway, and we’ve ranked them from the most pure-of-heart to the downright villainous. Where would you rank on the list?

1. Miss Honey in Matilda: Who could be sweeter than the teacher who ultimately adopts Matilda and gives her a home and a family while overcoming her own struggles against a villainous aunt?

2. Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music: Vying for top sweetness is Maria von Trapp, the postulant-turned-governess in The Sound of Music who captures the children’s and Captain’s heart as she breathes new life into their home.

3. Anna Leonowens in The King and I: Anna teaches the King’s children and ultimately wins his heart in this classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.

4. Principal Hawkins in The Prom: He supports and encourages the often-bullied Emma Nolan and stays by her side and defends her when she comes out at 16, much to the astonishment and confusion of her small town in Indiana.

5. Mrs. Wilkinson in Billy Elliot: No-nonsense, but all heart, Mrs. Wilkinson is the first person to teach Billy to dance, ultimately changing the course of his entire life.

6. Dr. Dillamond in Wicked: A goat professor at Shiz University, Dr. Dillamond befriends Elphaba and provides an early and much-needed ally as she navigates the often hostile halls of Shiz.

7. Dewey Finn in School of Rock: His methods are unconventional, but his heart is in the right place! By putting the kids center stage, he teaches them that they, and their passions, matter. Maybe even more than getting straight As.

8. Ms. Norbury in Mean Girls: She’s tired, she’s cranky, and she just wants to go home. But she’s not quite as cynical as she first appears and genuinely wants her students to succeed and become good, decent people rather than the feral bullies she sees in her classroom.

9. Miss Mullins in School of Rock: Principal of Horace Green Prep School, Miss Mullins is high-strung and by-the-book. But even she can let her hair down in the presence of Dewey Finn, who unlocks her long-buried passion for music and rock and roll.

10. Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady: A phonetics professor, Higgins makes a bet that he can turn a cockney flower girl into a lady by teaching her how to speak properly. He is by turns brilliant, arrogant, generous, and cruel.

11. Madame Morrible in Wicked: She may be headmistress to Glinda and Elphaba, but her biggest lesson is teaching them to not to always trust those in power. In league with the wizard, she is one of the great villains of the musical.

12. Miss Trunchbull in Matilda: She’s cruel, she’s terrifying, and she has a dark cupboard called the Chokey lined with broken glass and nails where she puts misbehaving students. The stuff of nightmares!

13. Headmaster Knochenbruch, Fräulein Knuppeldick, Herr Sonnenstich in Spring Awakening: Perhaps the worst of the lot, these teachers are domineering and strict and embody the repressive culture of 19^th-century Germany.