There are some shows that you go to simply to be entertained, and then there are those that unexpectedly transport you back to a completely different time in your life. Seeing Disney’s High School Musical at The Lowry was definitely the latter for me.
Celebrating 20 years since High School Musical first became a Disney phenomenon (yes 20 years!), this new stage production has arrived at The Lowry in Salford, bringing East High, the Wildcats and all those incredibly catchy songs back to life.
For me, though, this was about much more than revisiting a favourite from my younger years. This time I was experiencing it alongside my daughter, and watching her discover the characters and fall in love with the songs herself was genuinely incredible.
We’re All In This Together… Again
From the moment you enter The Lowry you’re taken into the world of East High with full size gym lockers, a basket ball for tricks, a karaoke booth and a pink dressing table that you can explore, allowing you to feel like your part of the story.
Hearing numbers such as Breaking Free, Get’cha Head in the Game, Stick to the Status Quo and, of course, We’re All In This Together performed live was a huge dose of nostalgia. But what made it even better was glancing over at my daughter and seeing how much she was enjoying them.
That’s the lovely thing about this production. For those of us who grew up with High School Musical, there’s a huge nostalgia factor, but it doesn’t rely solely on nostalgia. There’s enough energy and excitement in the production for a new generation to fall in love with it too. It really is a show for everyone, whether they saw the original or not.
A Fantastic New Troy and Gabriella
Tobias Turley, who you may recognise from ITV’s Mamma Mia! I Have A Dream, plays Troy Bolton and he mastered the role perfectly. He also had a wonderful on stage presence with Leonor Correia, who plays Gabriella Montez, it was easy to believe they were actually falling for each other throughout the show.
It obviously wouldn’t be High School Musical without Sharpay Evans making sure everybody knows exactly who she is and Caitlin Tipping takes on the larger-than-life role of fabulously, while Luke Bayer plays her brother and long-suffering performing partner, Ryan Evans.
The pair are great fun to watch and bring everything you’d hope for from the Evans siblings. Sharpay has that perfect mixture of confidence, determination and outrageousness, while Ryan is simply trying to keep up with his sister’s plans. Their scenes provide some of the show’s biggest laughs.
One particularly lovely piece of casting is KayCee Stroh as drama teacher Ms Darbus.
Long-time High School Musical fans will immediately recognise KayCee because she was actually part of the original films, playing Martha Cox, the brainiac who famously reveals that she loves hip-hop and dancing.
There’s something wonderfully fitting about her return.
Jason Donovan – And a Very Personal Full-Circle Moment
Then there’s Coach Bolton. Jason Donovan plays Troy’s basketball coach and dad in the Lowry production, and seeing him walk onto the stage gave me another completely unexpected wave of nostalgia.
The last time I saw Jason Donovan on stage, I was about 10 years old. I saw him in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in Blackpool, and it’s one of those childhood theatre memories that has stayed with me.
Jason has obviously had an extensive stage career since those Joseph days, but there was something particularly special for me about seeing him again after all this time.
And I’m very pleased to report – he’s still got it!
He brings plenty of presence and humour to Coach Bolton while also capturing the more serious side of a dad who has certain expectations for his son and gradually has to understand that Troy might want something different for himself.
Overall is was an incredible show, fast paced with lots of laughs, music to sing and dance along to and a story line that has you hooked even if you already know how it ends. If you haven’t grabbed your tickets yet then I recommend you do as the show is currently on tour across the UK.
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