Catherine Bennett resumes the weekly look at the performing arts world, with the sad end of Jerusalem, the luck of a cabbie, and French revolt. Do you hear the people sing?
Adam Alcock reviews Nigel Kennedy playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons and his own Four Elements at York Opera House.
Catherine Bennett highlights the trends in the performing arts world today.
Jonathan Cridford reviews 'Ghosts', one of the Freshers' plays for this year.
High School Musical has been a keenly anticipated show: a rare opportunity for university students unashamedly to watch and enjoy Disney’s concept of an ‘ideal’ American high school packaged with a nauseous love story and filled with every cliché you can think of. If it was the High School buzz that you wanted, then this is amply provided, right down to the High School t-shirts being sold at the door! Is it a risky decision, you ask yourself, to put on at university a show predominantly aimed at children and their parents and which, unlike Grease, does not have the comfort blanket of being an ‘old classic’?
As you can probably tell, I came, as I suspect did most of the audience, to watch High School cynically, to laugh at rather than to enjoy the show for what it was. Yet, despite this, I did end up laughing in all the right places – at least, I think they were the right places. But that’s the point, it doesn’t really matter. The directors and the whole cast are so good natured and genuinely, even rather endearingly, enthusiastic about this show that they seemed glad if you smiled at all. After all, we are talking about a company called, ‘The Happily Ever After Society’, so what would you expect? And this in essence is why the show worked: neither the cast nor the audience seemed to take it too seriously.
Fraser Moyle, who played Troy, told me ‘I started by hating it, but I enjoyed the turnaround of enjoying and finally liking it.’ This very nicely sums up what I feel the audience experienced. In the ‘father and son scenes’ between Troy and his father, which at the best of times are cringe-worthy, there seemed to be a mutual understanding that without making it into a farce this show was certainly tongue and cheek. In many ways the cast played off and enjoyed the audience’s cynicism, which only enhanced their performances. Emily Hanbury and Tom Jones as Sharpay and Ryan Evans certainly played up to their comic-camp characters. With massive personalities they walked the line artfully between camp and lovable but, very successfully, never strayed into actual panto.
The narrator, however, playing up to cheap and old-fashioned camp mannerisms, which the audience tired of after the first two instalments, seemed awkwardly out of place and completely unnecessary considering the rest of High School does this so well anyway. The most successful parts of the show, when the essence of the company was most keenly felt, were the big chorus numbers. Their big songs and choreography were undoubtedly the most entertaining and accomplished moments and were fantastic to watch. For the big singing roles, Jessi Black as Gabriella Montez has a beautiful ability to soar on many of the ‘big’ notes, usually sung in the original by Troy. Jessie explained, ‘In High School the ranges are kinda reversed: the guys sing in their top range and the girls mainly sing low’. She certainly has a beautiful voice to listen to and sang very lyrically throughout the whole play. Fraser Moyle was aptly chosen to play Troy Bolton, his voice being arguably the strongest in the show.
Although this is not the show I would choose to see for the acting or singing, it is certainly one to be involved in. And this is my main criticism – it may suffer from being a show that is even more fun to be involved in than to watch. However, I would certainly come back to watch another production by ‘The Happily Ever After Society’ whose infectious enthusiasm would soften even the hardest cynic.
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