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‘High School Musical 2’ @ the Fox
“High School Musical 2 — On Stage!” Grade: C+. 8 p.m. tonight-Saturday. 2 p.m. Saturday. 1:30 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Through Sunday. $20-$68. Theater of the Stars, Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E., Midtown. 404-817-8700, ticketmaster.com
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Disney entertainment empire mastered the art of summer vacation decades ago. To visit a Disney theme park is to enter a fantasy world where your favorite cartoon characters spring to life in amazing Technicolor.
No wonder, then, that summer break is the conceit of “High School Musical 2.” In the second installment of the tween phenomenon, the entire East High gang relocates from Albuquerque, N.M., to the Lava Springs Country Club, which happens to be owned by the parents of thespian over-achievers Ryan and Sharpay Evans.
Lava Springs may not be a theme park. But as portrayed in Theater of the Stars’ world premiere of “High School Musical 2 — On Stage!” at the Fox Theatre, it becomes a sugared overload of cotton-candy colors, kitschy song-and-dance numbers, innumerable swimsuits and beachballs and one very meaningful kiss between East High dream couple Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez.
The thinnest episode in the “High School Musical” franchise (Part Three is now a big-screen blockbuster), “High School Musical 2” loses its way by venturing off campus; in dancing from classroom to poolside, from restaurant kitchen to golf course, from baseball diamond to talent show, it goes off game.
The music is thin, and in this stage treatment the cast is uneven. But even though director Jeff Calhoun and choreographer Lisa Stevens can’t rival Busby Berkeley, they keep the 41-member cast on its toes and deliver a family entertainment that succeeds at tickling the fancy of kids while numbing the minds of adults. And every now and then, this “ever-effervescent” show evokes some genuinely affecting moments.
You feel that magic anytime you hear “You Are the Music in Me,” the duet that Kelsi (the lovely Olivia Oguma) has written for Troy (Anderson Davis) and Gabriella (Arielle Jacobs, reprising her role from the Theater of the Stars-incubated national tour). And you sense it in the finale’s “Every Day” and “All for One,” after Troy realizes his mistakes and trouble-maker Sharpay (Rebecca Faulkenberry) is redeemed.
Finding the onstage equivalent of Ashley Tisdale’s Sharpay has always been problematic, and Faulkenberry is no exception. Her singing is adequate but never memorable, and her one-note acting fails to exploit Sharpay’s delicious diva potential. And though Bobby List encapsulates the sweetness of Ryan, his take sometimes veers off to a fluttery and squeaky-voiced extreme.
Jacobs, on the other hand, has matured into a dazzling Gabriella — very pretty, and very easy on the ears. While Davis doesn’t quite have the dreamy charisma of film counterpart Zac Efron or the touring company’s John Jeffrey Martin, he puts his own stamp on Troy. In dealing with Sharpay’s ridiculous shenanigans, Davis nails the “what-the-heck-is-going-on-here?” look. He’s fun.
Beyond the principals, there’s not room for much character development. But attention must be paid to the following: the delightful Patrick Richwood as the officious, rubber-jowled Mr. Fulton, the country club manager and Sharpay’s pawn; Shannon Antalan as Taylor McKessie and Travis Waldschmidt, as the nervous and over-rehearsed ventriloquist, waiting in the wings for the talent show.
Though the actors look like they might slide off a couple of Kenneth Foy’s skewed set pieces, his design for the pool scenes is wondrous, as is Wade Laboissonniere’s endless parade of flashy costumes.
“High School Musical 2” may not be fabulous, and it definitely won’t get a prize for plumbing the truths of the human condition. But it knows its audience, and it knows how to whip up a summer’s worth of froth and fun.
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Comments
By AtlantaFan
November 13, 2008 12:29 PM | Link to this
Wow, a C+. I would have given it a D. The story was insipid and the musical arrangement worse. Although the main characters seem to have good voices, the musical numbers did little to show them off. There seems to be movement going on all the time. The sets moved, the company moved, and there was a lot of screaming the songs.
I didn’t enjoy this production at all. And judging by the tepid applause on Wednesday night, the audience didn’t like it either. The downstairs chairs were less than 1/2 full, and there was nobody on my row (left center orchestra) except my sister and me.
Maybe the pre-teen and teenage patrons would have enjoyed this show, but it was in the late fall on a school night. Too bad the show did not occur during the summer