High School Musical
Just when you thought the juggernaut that is High School Musical couldn’t get any bigger it gets its own stage show and takes one step closer to world domination, although if the reaction of the opening night audience was anything to go by, it has already achieved it. Goooo Wildcats!
The story, if you’ve yet to be exposed to all that is HSM, is straight from every teen movie ever made, but hey, this is Disney after all. Popular sports star Troy Bolton (Chris Durling) defies his coach (also his father) to follow his dream of singing in the school musical, while at the same time falling for the shy book worm Gabriella (Rebecca Tapia) and bringing her out of her shell. They also get one over on the popular kids, get the crusty old teachers to shake off their inhibitions and have a bit of a boogie and teach everyone that following your dreams is cool.
While to many this may sound like pulling teeth, the show is saved by its musical numbers. The lengthy dialogue scenes (of which there are many) fall flat when compared to the finely drilled chorus numbers that are executed by the young cast with a level of energy and passion the likes of which you don't often see on a stage. They put so much into it that the idea of doing it more than once a week (never mind eight times) boggles the mind. The sets, which are simple but work brilliantly and the Technicolor landscape of lights, costumes and red glitter streamers showering down on the audience only serve to add to the excitement and energy.
As well as putting the Energiser bunny to shame the cast is also talented, with Rebecca Tapia leading the way as Gabriella. She has a sweet, pop voice and brings believability to a role that doesn’t present a lot to work with. However, she is almost upstaged by Teagan Wouters and Liam McIlwain as the popular and over-the-top Sharpay and Ryan Evans, they sing, dance and get all the funniest bits. Special mention should also go to Donna Lee, who brings a dignity to her role as the drama teacher, it is clear the cast have learnt a lot from her, both in character and out. If there is a down side it is in leading man Chris Durling. Although he looks the part and dances well his voice lacks the pop sound and feel the role so desperately requires. He also has a distracting tendency to always (and I mean always) use his arms like someone looking for a fight, it gets annoying very quickly as it makes an already one-dimensional character more so.
Despite the rudimentary story, the energy of the cast (and the catchiness of the songs) means that you can’t help but like the show and leave with a spring in your step. Being surrounded by a full house of young fans, all clutching their merchandise (of which you can purchase just about anything) and singing along only adds to the atmosphere and makes this a very enjoyable night out for the whole family (with a good ticket price to boot!)
