High School Musical

It is always a pleasure to review a CLOC Juniors performance. Year on year you manage to present an entertaining and polished production  which is admirable because every year you have experienced boys and girls moving from the ‘top layer’  of performers when going on to college and university.

The show ‘High School Musical’ is tailor made for team of boys and girls of mixed ability and ages. (how did you get so many boys to audition ?) It was colourful with excellent costumes; musically entertaining from both the boys and the girls, and the acting and characterisation was very good, however the dialogue was often indistinct because of too broad American accent and poor diction. The highlight of the show was the choreography and movement.... always energetic; this company had been rehearsed so well that the team work and timing was exceptional and very entertaining to watch. Many of the songs are musically difficult, but watching numbers like ‘Get’cha head in the game’ and ‘We’re all in this together’ was a treat.  The performances of Troy and Gabriella were very touching and both showed real insight into their characters. Outstanding among the cast was the performance of Ms Darbus... totally involved throughout, she never dropped he character for a moment and was very amusing...very well done.

The reaction from many of the audience at the finale was perhaps predicable, with many friends and family, obviously present.  A standing ovation seems to be the norm these days at every production I see, but personally I tend to reserve this for exceptional and extraordinary work. I also like to applaud the cast as they step forward in the finale but again it’s the norm to continue with what seems to be the ‘slow’ handclap! Your club is not alone I can assure you.

However this was a very entertaining production from a relatively inexperienced cast and I look forward very much to next year’s production.

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