The Kids On Stage topped the charts with their renditions of Get Your Head in the Game, Keep the Status Quo, Breaking Free and other great songs in this Disney movie gone play. 

The 5^th through 11^th grade Super Troupe’s entire ensemble cast shined during their performance.  The dancing and choreography was lively, entertaining and very well put together.  The choreographer, Jenna Thomas, only 19 years old is an amazing talent herself and she taught these teens how to make the right moves on stage. 

All the cliques at East High get shaken up when our heroes Troy (Wes Shenker) the basketball star and Gabriella (Ashley Machacek), the new brainiac at school, decide to try out for the high school musical, and everyone tries their hand at putting a stop to their romance and their “foolish ideas” of testing their newfound skills. 

Gabriella and Troy’s voices blend beautifully, especially in the song Breaking Free. Gabriella has a very lovely and full voice, and her poise as a young teenage actress is phenomenal.  She belts out her songs with strong emotions that the audience can feel.  Troy has this same ability with his duets and his acting, and he has a transparency that plays very well for his part as he tries to rise above what others expect and just go for what he wants out of life.  The two actors perform very well together. 

Ryan (played by namesake Ryan Teich) is the dramatic brother to Sharpay, the star of the high school drama club who will do anything to keep herself in a “starring” role. Ryan’s dancing flows, and his Jazz steps are full of fun and personality, just like the character he plays so perfectly.  He and his sister make a great team with plenty of dramatic flair and high dance moves, especially with Ryan jumping into Sharpay’s arms instead of the other way around. They even have a fan club with signs like ”Marry me Ryan” and “Ryan is my hero” and who offer much applause for both Ryan and Sharpay. Sharpay (Misha Trux) allows her personality to shine through as she acts her exaggerated role so naturally, playing to the audience with little looks here and there. 

There are many little extras in this High School Musical that made it unforgettable.  Even the dancing has a separate personality for different characters, including Chad (Colin Alsbro) whose moves are skillful and are accompanied by his excellent singing voice.  He and Troy make a great team as best friends. 

The lighting sets the mood for each scene and the set is simple yet very effective.  The solo dance of the cheerleaders gets an A as well as the short duet by the ensemble at the end of the play.  Many of the other actors like Zeke (Caleb Meyer) who has a very nice voice and an adorable personality, Chad, Kelsi (Jamie Kovich), Jack (Dylan Ford) and Taylor (Jordan Krieger) play their roles with competence and their costumes fit their characters – especially Jack who wears nothing that matches but looks great.  As the play goes along, the actors each bring out a very real person for their characters and at the end it is hard not to think of them as Zeke, Chad, Gabriella, Troy, Ryan, Sharpay, Taylor and so on and so forth.

Performed March 10 -11, 2007.

Roshelle Hall