Disneys High School Musical

This show was adapted from the Disney Film of High School Musical and it made an excellent vehicle for the youngsters from Hertford Operatic’s Young Idea.  The story line is about two characters Troy Bolton, the Captain of the Basketball team and Gabriella Montez, who originally met at a Karaoke evening at a winter skiing resort on a school holiday.  Then Gabriella enrols at the same school and they audition for their forthcoming school production.

The Cheerleaders and the Basketball team burst on to the stage with great energy and confidence making for a lively opening to the show. 

Troy Bolton, (Joe Savill) and Gabriella Montez, (Macy Pollington) complimented each other vocally although at times it appeared that Macy was not secure in her higher range and  I felt there was a lack of connection emotionally. Never the less, generally performance was good and Joe Savill was well cast.   

Their nemeses Sharpay Evens, (Amelia Acheson) and her camp gay twin brother Ryan Evans, (Richard Churchill)  also worked well together. There was a definite connection here.  Sharpay relished her baddie role and both had a good sense of comedy plotting and counter plotting, singing and dancing. Some good character work here.

Ms Darbus, (Zoe Martin) who clearly lived and breathed theatre gave an excellent portrayal of her role. I really felt her passion for the theatre club, a young character actress to watch for the future. 

Along with Coach Bolton, (Ciaran Couldridge) Chad Danforth, (Charlie Gates)  Taylor Mckessie, (Lily O’Hare), Kelsi Neilson (Poppy Newman) and Zeke Baylor (Joshua Langley) there were some very inspiring character portrayals from other younger cast members.

Jack Scott (Harry O’Hare) gave a creditable performance on the radio with a voice that was very ”easy listening”. Well done.

Unfortunately there were obvious technical issues on the evening I attended. Sound was not good at all. Mics were late being turned up or at times non-existent. The lighting plot was difficult to follow as there were more than a few times when the principal cast were in shadow. This should have been noted during your technical rehearsal. A closer check needed to be made on props e.g. not enough mobile phones to be dropped into the bucket, one youngster positioned DSL, held a bright green folder in her hands that was absolutely void of any paper what so ever. Dialogue needed to be slowed down a little and diction was poor. Much of the delivery was given in profile. 

Musically the youngsters in the chorus worked very hard and were obviously enjoying themselves. For me the outstanding number of the evening was the company rendition of “Stick to the Status Quo” Good vocally, neat footwork and smiling faces. Great!

Choreography was good and well within the range of the performers however, at times the stage seemed over crowded and we lost the demarcation zones of the different alliance groups. 

Full of vitality and great chorus singing, this musical should have ticked all the boxes but unfortunately, limited direction, poor lighting and mediocre sound let the production down. The cast did their best and I look forward to seeing their next production. 

Thank you for your generous hospitality.

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