High School Musical

It never ceases to amaze me how such a polished performance can be put together in about 10 days. Such is the enthusiasm of the cast and the dedication of the production team.

High School Musical started life in 2006 as an American musical television film on which the stage version is based. The story revolves around two teens Troy and Gabriella who met on holiday and now find they are at the same high school. Troy is popular and star of the school’s basketball team  - The Wildcats, whilst Gabriella is academically gifted. The pair audition for the school’s new musical “Juliet and Romeo” but their social cliques don’t approve. Jealous drama queen Sharpay and her brother Ryan also try to hinder their chances. It all works out for the best in the end.

The set worked well throughout with a raised area at the back of the stage to help fit this large cast on to a relatively small stage.  It was always clear where we were with efficient scene changes sometimes using half the stage for a classroom and the other half for the gym. Lighting design worked well except for my usual gripe of spotlights shining on the audience. Costumes were excellent especially for the basketball team and Sharpay’s outfits. The choreography by Natasha Rose and her assistant Elise Gibson was inspired and outstanding. The cast were vocally strong when they all came together but at times the band was too loud, and lyrics were lost at times.

The story was quite easy to follow and all the cast, too many to mention individually, did a great job. Of the main characters, Gabriella (Elena Vinall) excelled both in singing and acting and she and Troy (Sebastian Davies) worked well together and had a believable chemistry. Alexandra Absalom-Sanchez as Sharpay nailed this part. It was obvious who she was from her costumes to her sassy attitude. Her body language was excellent throughout with her eye-rolling, bossy attitude, especially to Ryan (Zack Hughes) and her strutting around the stage. I liked the characterisation of Emilia Perdita Kavanagh as Ms. Darbus real drama from the drama teacher. I must make mention of Ellis Wilson as Jack Scott the PA announcer, together with his assistants Tariq Guermellou and Matthew Parker. Ellis delivered his lines with great animation and was very funny.

It was so lovely to see so many young people on stage obviously enjoying themselves as were the audience. An excellent production.

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