DISNEY HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL

'High School Musical': Young cast has a blast

They're all in this together.

The Rose Theater's production of "High School Musical," which opened Friday
night, flies highest in big, old-fashioned production numbers when a young cast
of 39 fills the cavernous stage with sharp singing and dancing.

Half this troupe is high school kids, many of whom knew the score of the Disney
Channel hit by heart before auditions. So, when they cut loose, the energy level
hits you like a wall.

Either they're really good actors, or those kids are having a blast up there.

From "Start of Something New" to the closing medley of the show's best-known
songs, choreographer Sue Gillespie Booton and musical director Kevin Smith have
rehearsed both chorus and leads to a glossy shine. Show stoppers included
"Get'cha Head in the Game" and "We're All in This Together."

Just as important, director Rob Urbinati has carefully shaped the onstage action
so that eyes are directed to the focal point of every scene - not a simple trick
with such a large cast and playing area. With the exception of a couple of minor
timing issues, the show moved crisply at a Thursday night preview, playing at
just a shade over two hours, including intermission.

Austin Learned, as basketball star Troy, and Katie Breen, as brainiac Gabriella,
blended in fine harmony on duets like "What I've Been Looking For" and "Breaking
Free." The two shake up the school when they defy their cliques to audition
together for the school musical.

That doesn't sit well with drama queen Sharpay and her brother Ryan, who are
used to getting lead roles every year. Stephanie Kidd, as Sharpay, turned in
some fine character acting as the show's villainess, while Anthony Abdallah, as
Ryan, exaggerated his dance moves to humorous effect...

Standouts in supporting roles: Wendy Eaton as drama teacher Ms. Darbus, Nick
Yaksich and Brandon Bennett as Troy's best-pal teammates, Ona Ramsey as a
brainiac who likes to break-dance, and Robert Williams as the school deejay.

Urbinati did a masterful job of moving the masses in and out without breaking
tempo, thanks in part to large revolving panels in Mark Parrott's scenery.
Costume designer Carole Zacek's schoolkid clothes gave the show a contemporary
look, and Wildcat spirit came through in red, white and black...

But the real star of this show is that foot-stomping, arm-snapping, all-out
belting chorus. Kids in the audience could be heard singing along to nearly
every song, while adults tapped toes and clapped along.

Bob Fischbach, Omaha World Herald
June 6, 2009

Theater: Bounce, Superball, Bounce!

Being of a certain age with grown kids has its advantages; foremost of which is that it has been nearly two decades since I’ve been forced to embark on one of those dreaded are-we-there-yet-are-we-there-yet pilgrimages to a Disney offering of any kind.

Little did I suspect over all those years that I might actually be missing out on some truly enjoyable entertainment, but the current run of the evil empire’s infectious “High School Musical” at the Rose has me strongly considering a trip to the Mayo Clinic for one of their still experimental but oh-so promising curmudgeonectomies.

Sweet without being saccharine, snappy without being seizure-inducing, “High School Musical” is, yes, I have to admit it, as irresistible as cotton candy and as bouncy as a SuperBall.

For those of you under “old,” a SuperBall was a Wham-O product of the space-age ‘60s that seemed to possess flubber-like qualities. The orb’s ricochets, just like the echoes of “High School Musical,” seemed only to increase in velocity in gravity-defying flights that put to shame their merely mortal cousins.

Balls of the more earthbound, hoops variety are dribbled to form the syncopated rhythms of “Get’cha Head in the Game” as this Romeo and Juliet (Juliet and Romeo?) tale finds the Wild Cat jock, brainiac and thespian posses battling for the hearts and souls of Gabriella (Katie Breen) and Troy (Austin Learned) when the big game, the science decathlon and the auditions for the school musical intersect when worlds collide at exactly 3 p.m. on a foreboding afternoon at East High.

Breen and Learned are pitch perfect in “What I’ve Been Looking For” before the ensemble swarms the stage for such showstoppers as the clique-solidifying “Stick to the Status Quo” and the foot-stomping, hand-clapping “We’re All in This Together.”

Stephanie Kidd is a delight as the devil-wears-Prada Sharpay, the ice queen who strives to preserve a caste system that prevents kids from graduating “from drool to cool” and Anthony Abdallah is a hoot as Ryan, her high-stepping, color-coordinated co-conspirator of a brother.

You know it’s a deep casting pool when such notable young talents as the award-winning Aubrey Flemming (“Ruthless: The Musical”) and Grace Bydalek (“For Love of Amy”) are relegated to – perhaps a couple years too young for meatier roles – smallish turns as a skater girl and a cheerleader.

Carole Zacek’s deliciously splashy costumes litter the stage with an anything-goes array of leggings, faux fur Wookies, knee-highs and patent leathers – and that’s just an inventory of toe-twinkling togs that seem to levitate in choreographer Sue Gillespie Booten’s big, big dance numbers.

New Yorker Rob Urbinati, last seen in these parts directing the decidedly weightier “Mistral Show” a few seasons ago at the Blue Barn, has his cast of 30 SuperBalls bouncing this way and that in frenetic numbers that showcase the sort of boundless energy that can only come from a cadre of young and athletic performers.

“High School Musical” has taught this crusty critic a valuable lesson. I will never again smirk at a Disney … oh, who the heck am I trying to kid?

David Williams, City Weekly
June 11, 2009

Theater Review: Dancing, singers make ‘HSM’ a hit

For gaggles of young children, The Rose Theater’s production of “Disney’s High School Musical On Stage!” was the most anticipated show of the season. For the adults in the audience, it proved to be a surprisingly entertaining peek at high school (or at least, Disney’s version) with a very talented cast of youth and professionals. The show opened June 5 for a three-week run at the Rose Theater, 2001 Farnam St., Omaha.

It’s a toss up on what was the highlight of the show. Choreographer Sue Gillespie Booton and director Rob Urbinati did a superb job with this large cast, making everyone look great whether they were dancing on cafeteria tables or dribbling basketballs in the gym. It was no small task to coordinate the dance moves of dozens of people, and Booton delivered. The opening scene with the entire cast singing “Wildcat Cheer” was a great start to the show, and everyone kept up the energy all the way to the “Megamix” ending.

Then again, I thought the singing in this show also deserved to be a contender for best in show. The leads, Katie Breen (Gabriella) and Micah Tillman (Troy on the day I saw the show), had outstanding voices. They were a delight to watch, especially in their duets like “Start of Something New.” The ensemble cast was also great, and when the full company was on stage, everything looked and sounded solid.

While the story is basically a love story that divides a school’s cliques, I found myself liking the humor in it more than the budding romance. Robert Williams played the funny and charming student announcer, Jack Scott, and Anthony Abdallah also hammed things up as the thespian brother of the Paris Hilton of the school, Sharpay (Stephanie Kidd). Abdallah’s jazz hands and other goofy antics made his character a new favorite of one of my nieces. Likewise, the lone two adults in this show, Earl Bates as Coach Bolton and Wendy Eaton as Ms. Darbus, were likeably silly characters who clashed over their students’ choice of activities.

The Rose never fails to have a sharp looking end-of-the-season musical, and “HSM” was no different. Costume designer Carole Zacek did a great job dressing up these “students” in hip fashions, as well as the red and white costumes needed for the big closing scene. The set by Mark Parrott and props by Kirsten Davis were perfect for the high school setting, and managed the job well of quickly changing from classroom to the gym to the locker room.

Though I say this is a wonderful show with talented singers and dancers, it’s not going to be a show you want to go see unless you have someone young to bring with you. This is a show that appeals best to children without dumbing a thing down. The show is suitable for children ages 6 and older and runs about two hours with an intermission.

By Kim Bousquet
June 11, 2009