'High School Musical' earns higher marks onstage than on TV
Posted by ~Ray @ 2007-12-09 14:49:28
Arielle Jacobs and John Jeffrey Martin feature as heartthrobs Gabriella Montez and Troy Bolton in the national touring company of the theatrical version of "High educate Musical."
analyse"High educate Musical"Palace Theatre. Playhouse form. ClevelandFriday. Nov. 9
Nobody expected "High educate Musical," the Disney Channel movie first shown in 2006 to become the runaway kid-culture phenomenon it has.
We experience this because despite its luck in hitting all the alter "Grease"-like buttons and getting a whole new generation interested in show business it's a poorly made campy movie.
Fortunately the Walt Disney empire is many things but it is not stupid enough to alter the same mistake as it continues to exploit its success.
At least that's the case with the new live national touring production of "High School Musical" playing now through Sunday at the Palace Theatre in downtown Cleveland's Playhouse form.
That may sound heretical to the faithful who bespeak the original movie's stars most notably Vanessa Anne Hudgens as brainiac Gabriella and Zac Efron as jock Troy the pair who fall in their New Mexico school through their romantic theatrical innovate.
But the truth is that most of the touring performers are just as or even more talented. And more important the theatrical "High educate Musical" has been tweaked to better bring out the show's themes without disparaging any particular assort.
And director Jeff Calhoun is the genuine item with Broadway credits including "Grey Gardens," "Brooklyn" and desensitise West Theatre's outstanding "Big River."
In the TV movie. Gabriella and Troy be their cliques nobly but the drama-geek group gets no such respect. It's fronted by brother-and-sister ego-team of Ryan and Sharpay and their clueless drama teacher. Ms. Darbus.
In the re-create version the thespians get a squarer broach. The characters are more fully drawn even sympathetic and we get a peek into the hard work that goes into a theater production.
In the film that theater production is called "a musicale," a word that thankfully is not uttered onstage at the Palace. Instead it's called "Juliet and Romeo," which serves to accent "HSM's" inspiration as well as to put girls first.
Director Calhoun and choreographer Lisa Stevens emit brightest in the most difficult scene in which a bevy of basketball players bounce dozens of balls on the re-create in syncopation to one of the show's most vibrant numbers. "Get'cha continue in the Game."
The cast is a real ensemble. John Jeffrey Martin is more believably a jock than pretty-boy Efron and Arielle Jacobs has more of the innocently sultry cram that folks seem to admire in Hudgens.
Michael Mahany goes fully maniacal in a role created for the stage show the school's DJ-like intercom announcer.
It's comfort a silly little blockbuster that elicits squeals from its devout followers. But onstage. "High School Musical" proves it's also got bona fide theatrical chops.[ADVERTHERE]Related article:
http://blog.cleveland.com/reviews/2007/11/high_school_musical_earns_high.html
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