High School really fun

CYNTHIA RAMSAY

The sound from the last note hadn't faded, before young girls pushed past adults' knees to get to the lobby – for autographs from the actors. One little girl literally cried because the play had ended. Parents and children sang the songs in the parking lot, on their way to their cars after the performance. As one mother said, "It was that good."

While it isn't technically perfect – there were some sound troubles and one or two singers struggled to stay on key on opening night – Uncle Randy Productions' Disney's High School Musical is one of the most energetic and fun productions mounted this year in Vancouver.

Of course, the multi-award-winning music is key, but the execution of the imaginative and challenging choreography by this young group of performers, as well as their acting, are what make it a real crowd-pleaser.

The story certainly isn't anything new: jock and braniac meet on vacation, then braniac shows up at school because her family just moved to the area, then their reunion is resisted by their close-minded friends. Love always conquers all though, at least in most musicals, so all ends well at East High and a new, more accepting social order is established.

The journey to that happy place is marked by some wonderful songs, which play with rhythm and are accompanied by inspired use of lighting and top-notch choreography. For example, "Get'cha Head in the Game" incorporates several basketballs bounced back and forth between performers, and the spotlights in "Cellular Fusion" keep up with each cellphone-using singer as they spread the news that the jock (Troy) and braniac (Gabriella) are a couple, trying out for the lead roles in the school musical.

The entire cast in the Uncle Randy Productions' show is great. They all seem really relaxed – even when miming animals in theatre class, aka detention – and genuinely seem to be having fun. Standouts are Elicia MacKenzie as the heroine, Gabriella, and Brandyn Eddy as Ryan, the brother, and servant, of the high school meany, Sharpay, who is well-played by Amanda Williamson. Dane Szohner is perfect for school heartthrob, basketball star and, eventually, leading man Troy, Jessica Kelly is hilarious as the hip-hop lovin' Martha and Rebecca Clarkson is very cute as the shy, slightly lovestruck playwright, Kelsi. The drama teacher of East High is played with comic talent by Sylvia Zaradic – her character of Ms. Darbus has the best lines in the musical. Also part of the very strong cast are sisters Nirit and Talya Rozenberg, who have been out of the theatre scene for a while but who have returned with a winner.

Disney's High School Musical is at Centennial Theatre, until Nov. 18, with performances at 7:30 p.m. There are two shows Nov. 18, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets are $20-$30. Call 604-984-4484 or 604-980-7942.

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