HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL

       “High School Musical” is a literal theatrical phenomenon.

            Since appearing as an original Disney Channel movie, it’s spawned a stage version that’s successfully touring the world, as well as a Disney Channel sequel.

            And the stage version of the first movie is the hottest thing going in the community and high school theater worlds.

            This first half of the year alone, the show’s being produced by at least two local high school theater groups, and two community theater groups.

            RISE on Broadway is the most recent of the latter, and their production does not disappoint.

            “High School Musical” has become the “Grease” of the new millennium. Troy, the playmaker on his high school basketball team, meets Gabriela, a self-described freaky math girl, on winter vacation.

            Quick little fling, all very innocent, then back to the status quo of their respective worlds.

            Status quo gets flipped on its head when Gabriela’s mom is forced to relocate, and Gabriela ends up in the same school and grade as Troy.

            Can you say, Danny and Sandy?

            At first, Troy’s too cool to associate with Gabriella. Jocks simply don’t mix with brainiacs. There is a middle ground, though. The school’s drama club.

            Troy and Gabriella reconnect at the auditions for the drama clubs musicale, “Juliet & Romeo,” setting the jocks and the brainiacs on a collision course.

            “High School Musical” is light and predictable and really a lot of fun.

            Director Sharon Cross keeps the show moving – quite literally – moving the cast of 50+ on and off the stage, mimicking real high school corridors quite well.

            The dancing is really quite good. Everyone dances – the cheerleaders, the basketball players, the brainiacs, the thespians, even the teachers and coaches.

            From the basketball-filled choreography of “Getcha Head in the Game” to the show’s rousing finale, the entire cast is moving – on stage, in the wings and in the aisles. A tip of the hat to the show’s hard-working choreographer, Terrie Legein.

            A special nod to musical director Michael Savignac, who gets the most out of every voice on that stage, especially in the second act, with one powerful number after another. “When There Was Me And You” was especially strong, using the ensemble as a back up choir.

            Thanks to an overflow of talented teens, Sharon Cross decided to cast two sets of principals, in the senior and sophomore casts.

            Opening night featured the senior cast, and they were all very good.

            Timothy Crepeau dances and sings up a storm as Troy Bolton, the playmaking jock. His movements are fluid, his voice easy-flowing. A delight to watch.

            Chandler Cross (Gabriella Montez) really gels with Crepeau. They look and act very naturally with each other. She is Crepeau’s match in dancing, and perhaps a notch above in singing. Her voice is a bit lower than his, resulting in a harmonious mix.

            Their duet at the beginning of the second act, “I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” is especially sweet.

            James Lambert (Chad) and Courtney Pritt (Taylor) work nicely as allies to Crepeau and Cross, and make a nice mix of their own.

            Bethany Bergeron does well as Sharpay, the manipulative drama queen in charge of the Drama Club. Her turf is being threatened by an assault by the jocks on one side and the brainiacs on the other. She’ll do whatever she can to lose no ground.

            Daniel Larson is laugh-out-loud funny as Ryan, Sharpay’s vice-president. His performance is over-the-top and flamboyant – and he doesn’t waste a moment of his time on stage. He’s always up to something, and it’s usually something funny. And he can sing and dance with the best of them.

            RISE on Broadway has a real winner with this production of “High School Musical.” And if you’re anything like me, you’ll have some of the songs stuck in your head long after you’ve gotten in your car and driven away from the theater.

       RISE on Broadway’s production of “High School Musical” runs through May 11 at the Columbus Theater on Broadway in Providence.

                Log  onto www.riseonbroadway.org for all the details.