[NEohioPAL] Berko review: HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL (Playhouse Square/Palace Theatre)

[Roy Berko]

‘HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL’ leaves kids reviewers, tweens
and teens screaming at The Palace

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	

On the way out of ‘HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL,’ the touring
show which is now on stage at The Palace Theatre, an
adult male, who was accompanying a fellow reviewer
said, “I really enjoyed that.  I didn’t know anything
about it beforehand.”  I’m not sure what planet he’s
been on, but he must not have a television set, know
or be related to any tweens or teens, or read the
entertainment section of a newspaper.

’HIGH SCHOOL MUSCIAL’ is  BIG!   The story is typical
after-school boob-tube fodder.  Troy Bolton, super
stud captain of the East High basketball team, and
Gabriella Montez, a pretty, shy transfer student who
excels in math and science, try out, and against the
odds, beat out the school’s drama queen, Sharpay and
her twin bother Ryan, for the lead parts in their high
school’s musical.  Despite other students' attempts to
thwart their dreams, Troy and Gabriella resist peer
pressure and rivalry, inspiring others along the way
to “be everything they can be.”  (Okay, as a former
junior high school counselor, I’m a sucker for plays
with a healthy moral!)   And, of course, it all ends
with a kiss and a great curtain call production
number.

First released as a telefilm in January, 2006, it was
not only the most successful of Disney Channel’s
original movies, but it spawned an entire industry. 
‘HIGH SCHOOL MUSCIAL 2’  was released in August of
2007, an ice show version is touring and there is a
casting call out for “3,” which will be released to
movie theatres in 2009.   The merchandise sales are
booming, all the way from pink boa pens to key chains
in the form of basketball shoes to “I love Troy”
t-shirts.  Disney has released the script for high
school and student productions which will bring in
even more bucks through royalty fees.

It has made household names out of Zac Efron, who
plays Troy Bolton in the tv versions, and Vanessa
Hudgens, the portrayer of Gabriella Montez.  They are
now the king and queen of gossip magazine front pages.


Not only has the show caught on with tween age girls,
it is a big hit with junior and senior high school
kids of both sexes.  At the Palace production there
were numerous males, some dressed in Albuquerque East
High Wildcat basketball jerseys (another product of
the Disney product blitz).    

With the youth audience in mind, I took my “kid”
theatre reviewers Alex (12 and a talented pianist) and
Noah Berko (a 10 year-old jock), to critique the show.
 On a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high), they gave the
production a “9 1’2”(Alex)  and “8 1/2” (Noah).  
Reasoning:  “There were some real clever special
effects.”  (They especially liked the staging of the
winning shot of the championship basketball game.) 
“There was more humor in the play than the movie.” 
“It was more interesting watching real people dancing
and singing, than seeing it on a screen.”  “The play
tryout scene had some funny parts.”  “The scene in
detention was hysterical.  The worm was a riot.”  
(Dante Russo, doing an inch-worm dance, was a stitch
and brought laughter and applause.)   “I liked
watching the clever way they changed the scenery.”
“The quality of the singing and dancing was good.”
“The ending was dynamic.” 

>From an adult perspective:  The stage version, which
follows the story of the movie, and adds two new
numbers, is every bit as good as the film, and in many
cases better. (Yes, I’ve seen both tv productions!)  
Seeing the characters in real life is more engaging. .
 The singing is professional quality.  The casting is
right-on.  I especially liked John Jeffrey Martin
(Troy), a tall  athletic looking and engaging young
man who adds a more real quality to the character than
the aesthetically perfect Zac Effron who didn’t have
the “jock” aura.  Arielle Jacobs (Gabriella)  is
totally engaging.   The duo has nice interpersonal
chemistry.  Chandra Lee Schwartz (Sharpay) is properly
repulsive as the drama queen, while Bobby List, a
terrific dancer, gives a nice sensitivity to Ryan,
Sharpay’s henpecked twin.  Ellen Harvey is delightful
as Ms. Darbus, the diva drama teacher.  The rest of
the cast is also excellent.  The choreography is
creative and nicely executed.  The orchestra is
excellent.

There are some locals in the show.  Ashley Campana,
who is in the ensemble, was born in Elyria and raised
in Vermillion and Westlake.  Guitarist Joe Parker is
from Lyndhurst, and bass player Paul Reich is from
Akron, as is Dan Bailey, the show’s Associate
Conductor. 

Capsule judgment:   The touring company of ‘HIGH
SCHOOL MUSICAL’, which is composed of many Actor’s
Equity performers, is an audience pleasing production.
 It’s a wonderful way of introducing tweens and teens
to the world of live theatre.  

Side-note:  I hate to be a grouch, but it is annoying
to be the victim of a mother of the three and five
year olds, who sat behind me, explaining everything in
her “outside” voice to her cherubs.  Much to the
irritation of those around her, who paid $67.50 for
each of their premium seating tickets, she did little
to control the three-year old’s crying through the
last ten minutes of the show.  (Maybe a minimum age of
7 would be appropriate for evening performances of
shows that last over two hours.)   Also, don’t be
surprised when the wrappers of the candy bought at the
concession stands, are ripped open mid-song and empty
soft drink cups are thrown on the floor and roll
noisily down the raked auditorium floor.  (I know,
Play House Square makes lots of money from the
concession sales, but how about restricting food
inside the theatre?)

‘HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL” runs through  November 18 at the
Palace Theatre in Playhouse Square.  For tickets call
216-241-6000, 800-766-6048 or go on line to
www.playhousesquare.com.



Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2002 through 2007, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info
      
Roy's theatre and dance reviews appear regularly on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/neohiopal.  His reviews also appear on www.coolcleveland.com

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com