Disney’s High School Musical On Stage!

By Angie Bedford

High School Musical

You'd have to be holidaying on another planet if you haven’t heard of the Disney Channel Mega hit film franchise High School Musical.

In the few short years since East High School was first introduced to audiences worldwide, we have been bombarded with its offspring High School Musical 2, High School Musical 3: Senior Year, High School Musical: The Ice Tour, the accompanying soundtracks, as well as massive hype for the musical’s stars.

It seemed only natural then that the movie musical would hit the stage, to delight the tweens and older music theatre junkies, as well as allow Disney to dig deeper into our wallets!

High School Musical has been on the non-professional circuit for the last year or so, but arguably Whitehorse’s production is the "biggest" to hit Melbourne, perhaps aiming to fill the void left by the National tour cut short earlier this year.

My expectations for Whitehorse’s production were to see a carbon copy of the film version. However, Director / Choreographer Scott Hili notes that Whitehorse’s production aimed for a “truer and more intensive theatrical experience”, that showed the depth of the characters.

Although I felt this wasn’t fully realised, I admired Hili’s innovation and vision.

First things first, I’ll mention it and get it out the way – the sound was not up to scratch.

I sympathise with opening night problems and the obvious difficulties of sound at the Besen Centre, however I felt some of these could have been rectified by or during the interval, but alas, they were consistent throughout.

Some of the leads could barely be heard for the majority of the show. The balance also was sadly not right.

In the large ensemble numbers the audience could only hear the ensemble and loud band, the leads singing the melody line didn’t stand a chance – therefore so much was lost on the audience, who were straining to hear.

For this reason I feel my comments are a little blurry – for example, lack of diction was possibly a result of muffled sound, similarly non-confident performances again may have been marred because I simply couldn’t hear them.

Of course, the constant problem made it difficult to become immersed in the story, so I hope these issues are rectified soon, as I really did feel for the cast.

Hili assembled a fairly young cast for the production, and we were treated to a colourful mix of Jocks, Nerds, Drama Geeks, Cheerleaders and teachers. Where Hili’s vision succeeded was in the generally less stereotypical portrayal of these cliques, allowing the audience to be able to connect with each group on one level or another.

Kyahl Anderson was perfectly cast as Troy. It’s never easy filling a role so distinctly associated with a performer – heartthrob Zac Efron – but Anderson will have his own group of fans for his understated performance, which differed from the plasticity of Efron’s Troy.

He did a great job juggling his vocals with fast paced movement. Anderson is clearly a gifted dancer, and I actually think he could have been used a little more in this area.

Gina Mets continued the understated characterisation as Gabriella. She has a sweet voice and looked the part. I would have liked to see a little more personality and punch earlier in the show, as she was a little hard to connect with. I think she will warm into the role as the season continues.

Cathy Brocklehurst and David Miles were forces to be reckoned with as thespian twins Sharpay and Ryan Evans. They were always high energy, and had a good rapport with each other. I think their movement at times was unpolished, but they did appear to often caught short of space.

Brocklehurst’s Sharpay was less one dimensional than her Disney counterpart; I appreciated her choice to make antagonist Sharpay super bitchy, but also misunderstood. Miles was very endearing as long suffering Ryan, he sang well and committed to his jazz squares!

The supporting cast featured the Troy’s lovable best friend Chad Danforth (Liam Kilgour) and preppy head of the Scholastic Decathlon Taylor McKessie (Diana Perini), both performers were more stylised, and provided good comic relief. Amy Cumming as pianist and composer Kelsi Nielson was quite physical in her humour.

Brigid DeNeefe was outstanding as the fabulous teacher of the arts – Ms.Darbus. Although exploiting every drama teacher stereotype in the book, Ms. Darbus was still ‘real’ and a delight to watch thanks to DeNeefe’s commitment to characterisation and expressive skills.

DeNeefe really carried the energy in those longer drama class and homeroom scenes, which could have dragged on in the hands of a lesser performer.

The ensemble were used often, and performed particularly well in Wildcat Cheer and Get’cha Head in the Game.

As for the show itself: to date, I have never seen so many musical contributors! This allows for the eclectic mix of musical styles and tempo, all with a pop-musical feel. The I only wish there was no Mega Mix, it’s unnecessary and turns High School Musical into a high school musical!

Musical Director Ben Hudson, and the band (conducted by Daniel Puckey, also Assistant Musical Director) did a fine job. I, did, however, find that there was some inconsistency in vocal styles, as some performers adopted the Disney pop vocal, where others, such as Anderson as Troy, produced a more classical musical theatre sound, which I preferred.

Visually, the show was very effective, although the main high school framework upstage really seemed to take up too much space. At the show’s climax, during Bop to the Top, we are meant to see three separate areas of the school; however the limited space made the cast look cramped. Given the set’s size, downstage could have been used better.

Set highlights (designed by David Horne) included the cute gym showers and the impressive Wildcats vertical banners featuring the team’s stars. They also snuck in some High School Musical 3 and 17 Again posters that popped up throughout the show, perhaps in homage or tongue in cheek to the teen film franchise.

Despite a few minor hiccups, Lighting Design by Jason Lord and Michael Saxon was exciting and colourful, setting a fun atmosphere.

Director/Choreographer Hili also took on the task of costume design. We were treated to a rich 80s colour scheme. Ms.Darbus’ first outfit was grand, gaudy and extremely over the top! I avoided looking as closely at the musical auditionees’ nude unitards with carefully placed leaves – a la Adam and Eve – but I admired the confidence of the wearers!

Whilst I enjoyed the individuality of the costumes, such as Perini’s cute button vest and checked pants, it might have been nice to introduce these pieces later on in parallel the personal development in the characters – just a thought!

Given that the cast were controlling the numerous set changes, some settings could have been simplified to shorten the time between scenes. Given the colour and refinement in the main set and costuming, we didn’t need so much detail and quantity of smaller sets.

High School Musical has really reinvigorated young people’s interest in musical theatre, and I am delighted that Whitehorse has brought the show to the stage.

It is refreshing to see a show that is incredibly fun, and yet teaches important messages. Whitehorse have a fun show on their hands, and with a few technically alterations, you’re in for a great night out!

"High School Musical : On Stage!"

Based on a Disney Channel Movie written by Peter Barsocchini
Book : David Simpatico
Music Adapted, Arranged and Produced : Bryan Louiselle
Directed & Choreographed : Scott Hili
Musical Direction : Ben Hudson

More Information: www.whitehorsemusical.com.au