By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Troy likes Gabriella.
Gabriella likes Troy.
And Sharpay and Ryan like ... starring in every high school musical at East High School.
Will Troy and Gabriella find happiness, even as jock and brainiac and theater cliques try to keep them apart, and submarine their audition efforts?
The Sitka Fine Arts Camp young performers theater troupes should provide the answers this weekend.
“Disney’s High School Musical” directed by Zeke Blackwell, will be on stage four times this coming weekend, with two performances by a cast of older kids, and two by a cast of younger students in a scaled down production.
Students at Baranof and Keet Gooshi Heen schools were treated to short previews of the show today.
The older kids perform the full Broadway version 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday; the younger kids will perform the shorter “Jr.” version 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. All shows are at Odess Theater in Allen Memorial Hall at SFAC.
The musical – or “music-AL” as East High theater director Ms. Darbus would pronounce it – premiered on the Disney Channel in 2006 and took home Primetime Emmy Awards that year for outstanding children’s program, and best choreography. It was adapted for stage the same year, and today is a popular choice for school-age performers.
“I was looking for something that was just going to be infectious joy and extremely entertaining,” Blackwell said. “Last year it was ‘Matilda,’ which was a delightful musical but also somewhat serious. I wanted something this year that would contrast and would feel really, really upbeat and joyful.”
The kids also put in their requests, and this play rose to the top this year.
“It’s a musical that students are interested in and are familiar with, which surprised me because at this point it’s almost 20 years old,” the director said. “I didn’t know if today’s youth would know it but they do and they love it.”
In the story Gabriella (Ada Olbrych, Ruby Richter) and Troy (Lola Hitchcock, Viola Kubacki) meet at a winter ski resort, and find themselves paired up for karaoke. Soon after, Gabriella is transferred to Troy’s school. Both decide to try out for the musical, but friends would prefer they stick to the academic team (Gabriella) and basketball team (Troy).
“At its core, it has a strong message that I connect with,” Blackwell said. “Which is that we should be true to ourselves, and we should let other people be true to themselves, and we should be proud to be our authentic selves.” That message is carried at its strongest in “Stick to the Status Quo,” which closes the first act.
Some of the fun in the show is the play-within-a-play, with a lot of inside jokes for theater fans. One of the characters is a high school-age composer (Amara Johnson, Molly Hames) who is selected to write the high school musical in the story. Sharpay (Morgan Hames, Madison Skan) and Ryan (Lazaria Kubacki, Connor Wentzel) are the upper-crust brother-sister team who are used to taking lead roles in every show. And Ms. Darbus (Alaina Becker, Noelle Hay) is a caricature of an out-to-lunch theater director who unsurprisingly does not like sports.
The most popular songs from the musical are “Breaking Free,” “Start of Something New” and “We’re All in this Together.” Most of the performers are on stage for most of the show with more than a dozen songs and high-energy dance numbers.
A few of the kids who spoke to the Sentinel at a recent dress rehearsal of the Jr. show said they think this show is a good choice.
“I’ve loved ‘High School Musical’ for a long time,” said Noelle Hay, 10, who plays Ms. Darbus. “Ms. Darbus is one of the characters I put down because she is dramatic and I like to be dramatic.”
Noelle said that she used to pretend to be the various characters when she was playing at home. “And now I actually get to be the character.”
She thinks the music is “amazing” and “the dancing is so much fun to do.”
Arya Galanin, 11, who plays Taylor, said she believes she was cast in the right role, and credited director Blackwell with finding good fits for each of the actors.
“She’s kind of sassy and a smart person, and personally I think I’m a lot like my character,” she said. “I actually auditioned for Gabriella but when I got Taylor I feel like I actually liked Taylor better.”
Arya has been in eight shows so far, including this one.
“I think ‘High School Musical’ will probably end up being my favorite, because I’ve liked it since way before the show,” she said.
Arya took the time to make a personal pitch to Sentinel readers: “You guys should totally come see it; it’s awesome!”
Hannah Cummiskey is the music director, Melissa Hantke is the choreographer, Rebecca Poulson designed the set, Blackwell designed the lights, and Denush Vidanathirana is the sound designer.
The play is appropriate for all ages. Tickets are $5 for under 18 and $10 for 18 and older, and are available at fineartscamp.org and at the door.
