Jennifer Hemme, who also directed one of the pilot productions of the first High School Musical, directs this one as well. Performed at the high school this summer, she merged both current high school students and several alumni in casting the students of East High.

High School Musical 2, in case you’re one of the few who hasn’t seen the movie, takes place in the summer following the original show. The school’s basketball star Troy Bolton and super math freak Gabriella Montez, whose romance bloomed during the school year, are looking for summer jobs along with all their friends. Meanwhile, Sharpay Evans, the prima donna theatrical star of East High who got beat out by Gabriella for last year’s high school musical (and for Troy’s affection), is eager to steal Troy away. And she’s hoping to do it with a little help from her connections with the local country club where her father’s a bigwig, luring Troy with a summer job, chances for a basketball scholarship, and herself. But her devious plans hit an immediate bump when Troy convinces the country club to hire all his friends including Gabriella, meaning they’re all in it together for the summer.

Jordan Rakita stars as Troy, who finds himself struggling internally between following his dreams and being loyal to his friends (coming to a head in the song Bet On It). Jordan has a strong voice and good personality for the character. Carly Richardson fits Gabriella equally well, with lovely singing and a genuine niceness about her – an understanding nature even as she grows upset with Troy becoming more and more distant from her and from the person he once was. Molly Rosenberger is an amusingly brash, golf-challenged, self-centered Sharpay who puts in some extremely concerted efforts to remake Troy into someone as “fabulous” as herself.

With all the alumni Hemme brings to the game, you’d expect a deep cast, which it is. The talented Jonathan Sangster shines as Sharpay’s brother who comes into his own in the sequel. Riley McIlveen as Chad and Catie Shaw as Martha squeeze more humor out of their characters than usual, not to mention Timothy La (Zeke) as the guy with a never-ending supply of puns and cooking clichés who hilariously tries to use a baking tray to break up a fight, Ambree Klemm as Gabriella’s best friend Taylor McKessie, and Ariel Swainston as the now confident playwright Kelsi Nielsen who is putting together new songs including the hit You Are the Music in Me. Amanda Smith, Allyson Busch, and Daniel Efargan combine as Sharpay’s bubbly and ditzy entourage of Fabulous “Sharpettes.”

Performs July 24 - August 2, 2008.

Rob Hopper
National Youth Theatre