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theatre
| 7/1/2009 10:27:00 AM Email this article • Print this article |
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Troy, as played by Michael Parker Ayers, in the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse production of ‘High School Musical on Stage!’ now through July 18. (Photo provided) |
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Teenage Troubles
by Barbara Adams
High School Musical On Stage! Book by David Simpatico; songs by Matthew Gerrard & Robbie Nevil: Ray Cham, Greg Cham & Andrew Seeley; Randy Petersen & Kevin Quinn; Andy Dodd & Adam Watts; Bryan Louiselle; David N. Lawrence & Faye Greenberg; and Jamie Houston. Music adapted and arranged by Bryan Louiselle. Directed by Kate Swan; musical direction by Mark Goodman and choreography by Lori Leshner. With Michael Parker Ayers, Alyssa Herrera and ensemble. At Auburn's Merry-Go-Round Playhouse through July 18.
In the venerable new tradition of stage musicals based on films, Auburn's Merry-Go-Round Playhouse opened the summer with The Full Monty and now moves on to High School Musical On Stage! The show's a dynamic, tightened version of the popular 2006 Disney channel movie written by Peter Baroscchini, which, with its two film sequels, has become teenagers' Grease for the new millennium.
Under the Disney aegis, the ethnic conflicts of West Side Story have been replaced by the tensions among perennial high school cliques. In a post-racial East High, group lines are still strictly drawn - jocks, brainiacs, skater dudes, drama queens - and only an unconventional romance can upset the social order. The story's predictable, but the entertainment quotient isn't. This dazzling production, smartly directed by Kate Swan, unites all the excellent resources of designers and more than two dozen teens. If you're not smiling, singing, and dying to dance by the end of this show, you have a curmudgeon's withered heart.
Following in the wake of a wildly successful movie isn't easy, but Swan and crew keep the spirit (partly with some look-alike casting) and yet offer a fresh version. All the East High locales - homeroom, gym, chem lab, theater, locker rooms, cafeteria, and even the hero's hideaway, a rooftop garden - are splendidly evoked by Rob Andrusko's inventive and versatile set, well lit by Robert Frame. The action is fast and the set pieces shift just as swiftly, while Swan's staging and Lori Leshner's choreography keep the large cast fluidly moving. The Wildcats' signature brilliant red dominates Ami Shupe's costumes, which perfectly capture all the social groups' dress codes.
The story: Basketball "playmaker" and captain Troy Bolton and "freaky math genius" Gabriella Montez met cute at a ski lodge's karaoke contest over winter break. When Gabriella and her mom unexpectedly move to Troy's town, the teens begin a friendship; both want to break out of their stereotypes and become something more. Singing thrills and unites them, and they decide to audition for the school musicale. Alas, this puts them in the path of reigning diva Sharpay, who along with her brother Ryan, has dominated the school productions since, well, kindergarten.
Troy's basketball buddies and Gabriella's brainy friends are dismayed by the couple's new interest in singing, and along with the jealous Sharpay, conspire to keep them offstage and safe in their cliques. But love and music conquer all, of course, dissolving boundaries and upsetting social rules. In the finale, all the teens come together in a frenzy of song, dance and camaraderie, affirming the worth of the individual as well as the rewards of teamwork.
Leading the company are the musically gifted Michael Parker Ayers and Alyssa Herrera as Troy and Gabriella. They're a handsome couple, every bit as engaging as the movie's leads, with sweet, powerful voices and smooth dance moves. From their tender opening duet, "Start of Something New," to Act Two's jazzy opener, "I Can't Take My Eyes Off of You," Ayers and Herrera make unforgettable stage magic.
The charismatic Ayers proves equally versatile in the big team number, the catchy, hip hop-inflected "Get'cha Head in the Game," where all the basketball guys spin and pop in synch, pumping up for the championship match. Leshner's vibrant choreography shines here and throughout, especially in lively, complicated pieces like "Stick to the Status Quo," where all the factions justify their turf in the school cafeteria.
The heart of this upbeat production, under Mark Goodman's tight musical direction, is its strong ensemble song and dance. Among a talented, lively troupe, you'll still notice the exceptional dancing of Blakely Slaybaugh, one of the skaters. Miles Jackson and Marisa Kennedy are solid as the reps of the athletes and academics, respectively. And as the dramaramas Sharpay and Ryan, Meegan Midkiff and Marshal Kennedy Carolan are full of attitude, sparkling in their Latin audition number. (One appeal of this musical is its wide range of pop music genres.) It's distracting, though, that Midkiff seems too old for the part, and her blouses are decidedly unflattering.
The cast is rounded out by the adults, T.J. Mannix as the coach and Troy's dad, and Rachel Black as the histrionic drama teacher, both a little more serious than their film counterparts. Unfortunately, on opening night, Black's mike cut out for too long, and there were a few other glitches in Joel Pape's otherwise adequate sound design.
But overall, this is a delightful, effervescent production, a family show in the best sense - one that will make even your most painful memories of high school go "from drool to cool."
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