High School Musical - The Plot

High School Musical - Live on Stage
The plot of Disney's High School Musical has captured the imagination of pre-teens and adolescents everywhere. We are pleased to announce that the same magic narrative is being used to transport the spellbinding film to the historic wooden boards of the Hammersmith Apollo.

ACT I

The opening of the live theatre version is slightly different to the film. Keeping up with spectacular tradition of musical theatre, High School Musical - Live on Stage opens in East High with a rousing chorus number "Wildcat Cheer". We then see handsome Troy, the captain of the basketball team, reminiscing with his friends about the ski trip his family went on over the winter vacation. We learn that he spent New Year's Eve singing karaoke with beautiful girl called Gabriella. Though they had never met before, when they found themselves singing a duet together they realised that they kindled an amazing chemistry between them and promised to meet up again. unbeknownst to Troy, Gabriella's family have moved since moved to Albuquerque and she has enrolled at East High too. At the opening of the play she too is reminiscing with her new 'brainiac' friends about the New Year's Eve party she went to and, part in flashback, her and Troy begin a beautiful rendition of "Start of Something New".

Soon we are in the tutor room where Mrs Darbus announces that East High will stage a musical written by one of its students, Kelsi Nielsen, called Juliet and Romeo. Trouble ensues when 'thespians' Ryan and Sharpay (twin brother and sister who are regular members of the drama club) start messing around with their mobile phones and land Troy and some friends in detention. After this Troy runs into Gabriella down the corridor and the two are utterly amazed that they are both enrolled at the same school. We then learn that the East High Basketball Team, 'The Wildcats' are in the final of a big championship and troy is their key player. We are treated to well crafted set piece called "Get'cha Head in the Game" as the players discuss their devotion to the team.

Meanwhile, we learn that the new girl Gabriella is somewhat of a whizz at maths and science. She corrects a teacher's equation and, after Ryan and Sharpay (the latter of which we learn has a fairly hefty crush on Troy) do a little research, they find that Gabriella has won numerous awards for her academic abilities. Taylor, who becomes Gabriella's closest friend, asks her to join the Scholastic Decathlon Team and, when she agrees, they start revising for the competition.

The next day the school hosts the first round of auditions. Of course Ryan and Sharpay go all out to wow Mrs Darbus, but the most interest is reserved for Troy and Gabriella who perform a very quiet and intimate version of "What I've Been Looking For". Though they never meant to audition, Mrs Darbus is so blown away by their rendition that she invites them for the callbacks. When news of this gets out the school is thrown into turmoil because of it rigid social structure. According to Ryan and Sharpay Troy is a Jock (sports nut) and so shouldn't be involved in the drama club. Likewise, Gabriella, as a Brainiac (boffin), should stick to equations and sums and such and not encroach on their territory.

As the news is spread around the school we are treated to one of the show's two new numbers "Cellular Fusion". The first act closes with the school in uproar as many of the pupils are outraged that Troy and Gabriella have disregarded their social cliques. Before the curtain drop we a treated to an ensemble rendition of the classic "Stick to the Status Quo"

ACT II

After Jack runs through the briefest of recapitulations, Troy and Gabriella really kick off the second half of the action by sharing the beautiful duet "I Can't Take my Eyes of You". If it was not clear before, we see here how the two protagonists begin to imitate the lead roles in "Juliet and Romeo" and fall for one another in spite of the social conventions that try to keep them apart.

Much of the school is put out by this flagrant disregard for the social order of East High, none more so than Sharpay, whose jealousy of Gabriella and her hold over Troy leads her to start lying to Mrs Darbus about the new couple. Desperate to ruin their chances of winning the leads in the school play, Sharpay concocts a complicated web of untruths involving Troy, Gabriella and Troy's father. She claims that Troy and his dad are planning to sabotage the auditions as revenge for giving Troy detention at the beginning of the first act. Amazingly, this is taken seriously by Mrs Darbus who arranges to discuss the problem with Troy's father.

The next day the different social circles try to pressurise Troy and Gabriella into splitting up and not attending the second audition. After some considerable persuading Troy gives in and admits that he doesn't like Gabriella. Quite unbeknownst to Troy, Zeke only has a mobile phone in his hand and transmits the entire confession to Gabriella. Shock horror! Devastated by the revelation, Gabriella mournfully begins to sing the lament "When There Was Me and You". Torn by the admission he has just heard himself make, Troy accompanies Gabriella at distance and the pair lonelily sing the duet.

The following day we find Troy desperate to try and patch things up with Gabriella. He searches the school for her and finds her in the theatre. Troy launches into an apology and tells Gabriella the he didn't mean what he said last night. To remind her of the initial spark that flickered between them he re-invokes their opening duet with a graceful reprise of "Start of Something New". Gabriella forgives him and the two are reconciled.

That out the way, the two encounter an entirely new dilemma. On the dastardly Sharpay's request the callback auditions have been rescheduled and now are due to fall on the same day as both Troy's championship basketball game and Gabriella's scholastic decathlon. How grim!

Both Gabriella and Troy insist that they would honour their previous commitments and not audition for the play. However, undergoing a sudden crisis of conscience, the respective cliques, the 'Jocks' and the 'Brainiacs', decide to reverse their position and agree to help Troy and Gabriella make the audition. The Jocks organise a scheme whereby some sort of virus is transmitted to the electronic basketball scorecard during the game. In the resulting confusion, Troy slips out of the gym and heads to the theatre. Meanwhile, the collective Brianiacs develop some noxious potion that erupts during the chemistry section of the Decathlon and Gabriella makes good her escape. Breathlessly meeting in the auditorium to audition, Mrs Darbus is hesitant to allow them the chance to perform due to their lateness. As the theatre fills up with students from the entire school though, she is forced to let them sing. After a stunningly heartfelt duet, Mrs Darfus tearfully gives them the lead roles in front of everyone. A feeling of euphoria creeps over the student body who stand unified in their support for Troy and Gabriella. A shout from the gymnasium means that the basketball match is back on so the Jocks tear off to complete the game and the Brainiacs get back to their decathlon.

Needless to say, the Wildcats are victorious and take the basketball championship and the academics wow the science ajudicators. The different spats between the students are smoothed over and the entire ensemble come together to sing "We're All in This Together". A huge sing-a-long megamix closes the stage show to rapturous applause and everyone files out of the theatre slightly different to (and slightly better than) how they walked in.

A real hoot for the whole family, High School Musical - Live on Stage is a treat not to be missed! Catch it at the Hammersmith Apollo from the 30th June. Enjoy!

Relevant Information for High School Musical - The London Show

High School Musical
Disney's High School Musical finally arrives on the West End stage. If you liked the hit movie then check out the all singing, all dancing live version at the Hammersmith Apollo

High School Musical - The Music
The new stage version of Disney's High School Musical has all your favourite songs from the film as well as a handful of new numbers and just one or two updated arrangements.

The Hammersmith Apollo
One of the capital's premier entertainment venues, the Hammersmith Apollo plays host to the first London run of Disney's High School Musical

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