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FeedReviewing High School Musical
I acknowledge completely and without reservation that I am not High School Musical's target audience. A story about a group high schoolers battling love, teachers, parents, cliques and expectations is not going to inspire me to change my world view. I do, however, think the world could use a little more singing and dancing. Really, who among us doesn't think the floor of the New York Stock Exchange couldn't use a nice Jesus Christ, Superstar number right about now?
My wife, who teaches high school, is a bit closer to that demographic, though. And since she had a number of students performing in Springfield Little Theatre's version of the Disney Channel moneymaker, I agreed to a date night that included springing for tickets to the show. That I was impressed by the performances from a bevy of local teenagers did not surprise me. That I found myself enjoying the experience as a whole did... a little.
I'll be brief on the plot: Think Grease for the text-message generation. Boy meets girl over summer, boy and girl play coy, boy and girl get together, social cliques resent boy and girl, boy and girl waffle on relationship, boy and girl solve all personal problems and reunite. Troy Bolton (Evan Pollock) is the hero—a basketball stud with a softer side, constantly rebuffing the advances of the superficial but strangely loveable Sharpay Evans (Cecilia Schudy). Gabriella Montez (Imari Stout) is the new-girl herione. Ryan Evans (James Brandon Martin, taking up the role of ex-SLTer Lucas Grabeel, who became a star on the Disney Channel) is the cuckolded brother/personal assistant to Sharpay. Coach Bolton (David Carson) and Ms. Darbus (Holly Muns) are the sterotyped teachers that keep the school from having a Peanuts-esque, Lord of the Flies quality. Various cheerleaders, science nerds, basketball players and Wildcat mascots completely and utterly fill the stage.
The music, under the direction of Susan Gravatt, is what you would expect from a huge cast of teenagers and SLT: Always energetic, occasionally brilliant, with a few rough patches. Pollock's vocal performance was the most across-the-board (to be fair, he sings twice as much as anyone else), Stout's performance probably the strongest. If you know a kid, you've probably heard at least one of the songs: "Get'cha Head In the Game" is catchy, and I walked out humming "We're All In This Together". Yeah, I'll admit it.
Special props should be given to the pit band: It was the tightest I've heard in a local production. Not once was there a spot where I noticed a wrong note, or an out-of-range trumpet riff. Very well done.
The acting is very good. For an opening weekend show, nerves seemed to be at a minimum—even during a brief downtown power-outage five minutes before the show, when the cast came out and sang a number and threw candy to keep the kiddies from screaming (specialy Hypes to Winner Wildcat). The kids seemed at least as real as their Disney counterparts (moreso, since they weren't on TV) and oozed personality, especially Schudy as Sharpay and Vince Miller as Troy's right-hand-man, Chad Danforth.
The sheer amount of energy it must take to literally run around the stage for two hours (not to mention week after week of rehearsals) is almost unfathomable, yet these kids did it. The credit goes to director Beth Domann and choreographer Lorianne Dunn for pulling off a major undertaking, and making it fun for people like me. Domann, too, should be applauded for keeping the production near the two-hour mark. These days it seems most theatre productions are almost as long as the average blockbuster. One scene that I suspect was a time-saving move actually turned out to be my favorite—when the three stars' storylines converged on-stage in three simultaneous climaxes. That sounds dirty, but it's not.
High School Musical didn't move me, but it did entertain me immensely and borderline delighted my wife, who spends a lot more time around the Troys and Sharpays of the world than I do. That is to say, it's worth the price of the ticket. And if you have kids, forget it—for them this is the must-see show of the year.
High School Musical runs September 18-21 and 25-28 at Landers Theatre, 311 E. Walnut St. Call 417-869-1334 or go to springfieldlittletheatre.org to buy tickets or get more information.
Matt Lemmon, web editor
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