Entertainment :: Theatre
High School Musical by Robert Nesti
EDGE National Arts & Entertainment EditorThursday Nov 1, 2007 Who would have thought that High School Musical would become the most-seen film musical in history? (Move over Sound of Music.) Since it premiered in January, 2006 it has been seen by nearly 70-million viewers worldwide, its soundtrack went triple-platinum, and boasts both a concert version and one on ice. A stage musical was inevitable, and the Disney Organization (who owns the rights) has come up with a sprightly adaptation that doesn’t veer too much from the original, much to the delight of its biggest fans: young teenage girls and their younger sisters and brothers who treat the show as if they’re a show queen discovering Gypsy for the first time.
Is that so bad? For many it is likely their first exposure to the musical theatre, and that it proves to be a likeable facsimile of a popular television movie may spurn interest in the form, and may lead them to other Broadway shows. (Did anyone say Wicked?) That said, the road company (at the Wang Theatre through Sunday) might even win over some doubters to the show, especially if they saw the lackluster version at the North Shore Music Theatre earlier this year. Under the direction of Jeff Calhoun, High School Musical has the feel of those old "let’s put on a show" musicals from the past. It may have a generic pop score and a peppy, squeaky clean story that’s miles away from the troubled high schoolers of Spring Awakening, but it has a talented, big-voiced cast that aren’t bad company for two hours.
It’s another musical - the mega-hit Grease - that High School Musical evokes; but the world it creates is that show without the "bad" greasers. The rivalry between the jocks and brainiacs (as they’re called) is hardly the Jets and the Sharks - instead this adaptation, by David Simpatico after Peter Barsoccini’s original screenplay - plays up the notion of individuality vs. conformity. Can a jock score at basketball, star in the high school musical, and win the girl?
That jock is Terry Bolton (John Jeffrey Martin) who meets the girl - Gabriella Montez (Arielle Jacobs) while on a ski vacation, only to see her again (in a plot turn lifted directly from Grease) when he returns to his high school where she turns up as a transfer student. They click again, and end up trying out for the school musical - a version of Romeo and Juliet called Juliet and Romeo, much to the chagrin of the drama club’s star - the very blonde Sharpay (Chandra Lee Schwartz) and her twin brother, the pretty gay Ryan (Bobby List) who thought they had a lock on the leads. Sharpay maneuvers to break Terry and Gabriella up, and nearly succeeds. That’s pretty much the plot, save for some rivalry between the drama teacher Ms. Darbus (Ellen Harvey) and Coach Bolton (Ron Bohmer), and between father and son. The coach - Terry’s dad - doesn’t see his son as a future American Idol contestant and only wants him to concentrate on winning the big game.
Okay, it’s hokey, and the songs (which include two additional ones) are the kind of pop anthems that would be right at home on Idol. Why the score may lack a singular style is because it’s been written by a team of some twelve songwriters. No matter. Calhoun keeps the show moving at a lively pace, thanks in part to Kenneth Foy’s modular production design that includes rows of lockers that are pushed around the stage to create the various high school locations the show takes place in. Lisa Stevens’ high-energy choreography is nicely integrated, building to a big finale and an even bigger curtain call, where the entire score is reprised "mega-mix" style.
What makes this production so likable is the charm of its cast. Lanky John Jeffrey Martin has a sweet smile and a lilting pop belt as Terry, and his nicely matched by Arielle Jacobs who appealingly underplays Gabrielle. As the comic villainess Sharpay Chandra Lee Schwartz would be right at home in Legally Blonde, and Bobby List slyly brings a gay sensibility to Ryan without turning him into a caricature. He’s also very funny. As the adults Ellen Harvey is bigger-than-life as the dedicated drama teacher and Ron Bohmer is effective Terry’s skeptical Dad. The rest of the large cast raise the energy level to such a high level that it is difficult not to be taken by this little musical that has appeared to have taken over the world.
Through November 4 at the Wang Theatre, Citi Performing Arts Center, 270 Tremont St., Boston. Remaining performances: Friday at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tickets priced from $15.00 - $68.00, and are available at the box office, at Telecharge.com: (800) 447-7400, or by visiting the Citi Performing Arts Center website.
Robert Nesti can be reached at rnesti@edgepublications.com.
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