With a wholesome, entertaining plot dashed with memorable songs, an inspired direction from Audie Gemora, jaw-dropping choreography by Chinnie Nepomuceno, and startling performances from the cast led by teen heartthrob Sam Concepcion, STAGES and Trumpets Playshop's production of Disney's High School Musical (HSM), which runs weekends until July 15 at the Meralco Theater, proves to be the year's must-see musical for the whole family.
"It was fantastic to see such young faces, all 40 of them, ruling the stage with so much enthusiasm," says music VJ Iya Villania, who watched the premiere of HSM. "It is definitely a great watch for the whole family."
Indeed, celebrity parents like Jamie Rivera, Anthony and Maricel Pangilinan, Yayo Aguila, Vicky Belo, among others, enjoyed watching HSM with their children. Singers Bituin Escalante, Karylle, Raki Vega, Reymond Sajor, Carlo Orosa, Aaron Agassi, Khalil Kaimo, Paolo Valenciano and young TV hosts Princess Ryan and Edgar Allan Guzman were also spotted at the premiere.
14-year-old Sam Concepcion, who plays basketball jock-turned-stage actor Troy Bolton, delivered a solid performance by showing his mettle as an actor, singer, and dancer. He was exceptionally good in the song and dance spot cum basketball routine Get'cha Head in the Game.
He also shared romantic moments with his leading lady Cheska Ortega, who, with her apparent charm and crystal clear voice, is perfect to play the role of the brainiac-turned-campus figure Gabriella Montez. Together, they sang beautiful duets like 'When There Was Me and You,' 'Breaking Free,' and 'I Can't Take My Eyes Off You.'
Alex Godinez, niece of Martin Nievera, proved that performing is truly in her genes as she exhibited her acting prowess taking on the role of the bratty Sharpay Evans, while TV personality PJ Valerio made an impressive theater debut as musical fanatic Ryan Evans.
Theater actress Sheila Francisco, who received acclaims for her portrayal of Bloody Mary in the London staging of South Pacific, was sensational as the Drama Club Moderator Mrs. Darbus, while Jeff Arcilla dished-out a very sensitive, realistic performance as Coach Bolton.
Greatly appreciated by the showgoers are the dance spots like 'Start of Something New,' 'Stick to the Status Quo,' 'We're All in this Together,' and most especially, the mega-mix cum curtain call.
Catch STAGES and Trumpets Playshop's production of Disney's "High School Musical On Stage" at the Meralco Theater weekends until July 15.
For tickets, call Ticketworld at (632) 891-9999 or STAGES at 818-1111 loc 209 or 225.
Disney's "High School Musical On Stage" is made possible through special arrangement with Music Theatre International, and is presented by PLDT MyDSL and McDonald's, in cooperation with Alaska Yamoo, The Philippine Star and Bench. Major sponsors are Ponds, Studio 23 and Myx. Minor sponsors are Skechers, Purefoods, Bed Head, Papermate,
SYSU, Oishi, Kiseki, K Zone, Total Girl, Hit FM, Magic 89.9, NU 107, Crossover, Click the City.Com and Yehey.Com.
Photo credit: Antonni Cuesta of Silverlens Photography
17 comments:
awww thanks for the pixies, kuya o! at least i have an idea how it partly looked like. hahaha... wish i could watch this talaga. kudos sam and the whole production!
No problemo, loi.
=) Oliver
ganda ng pics!
Saw the play yesterday. I don't want to be a critic but the sound system was terrible at opening. Over all, it was good. Sam was great. Sharpay and ryan was the best. But sadly, Cheska Ortega did not meet our expectations. She looked like a stick, she walks like she's wearing slippery shoes or is the floor slippery? or her shoes heavy? my friend said she's "patay" no life.
sorry... pairing her to Sam is a bit too contrasting.
Same here. Cheska's hair was all over her face. We can't see her expression. It was awful.
I also watched it yesterday and I had so much fun watching it!!! And I agree with anonymous, the sound system was bothering a lot of the audience and Cheska Ortega was sort of lifeless... but Sam Concepcion made up that! I never knew he was so cute in real life :D
By the way, are there no plans to extend the show dates? Two weeks na lang kasi... and based from the number of people watching yesterday madami talaga. That's it, take care :)
heard from sam's forum na extended sila for another week. i'm speechless! congrats sam at lahat sila pati
I also watched last Saturday and sadly, the sound system was really bad. But in the later minutes of the show, the sound system got better.
Sam Concepcion proved to be a better Troy Bolton than that of Blue Rep's production last March. I also watched the Blue Rep's show but it was a waste of money. Their Troy was straining himself to reach the high notes in Breaking Free, which was a sore to my ears. sorry.
Cheska Ortega has a good voice but she did not bring life to the character. I agree with Anonymous and Jessica, she did not meet our expectations, contrary to Audie's statement that she was 'perfect' for the role..hmmm, come again?
I thought Cheska was good! sharpay and ryan are ok.. I think that it was sam that did not meet our/my expectations. I've been getting really bad reviews about him. He also kept cracking. Good show though!
http://www.candymag.com/candytv/?vid=123
they sound so good together.
TOE-TAPPING, ROUSING MUSICAL
WE saw the press preview of “High School Musical” at Meralco Theatre, a production of Stages and Trumpet Playshop directed by Audie Gemora. It’s not as flawless as their version of “Footloose” starring Jay-R but it’s still a toe-tapping, rousing musical presentation with exuberant, enthusiastic performances from the very young cast. The play is based on the Disney TV movie, “High School Musical,” the “Grease” of this generation that’s such a hit with the young crowd. Even our own grandchildren, Louise and Sam, are so fond of it they’ve seen it on video about a hundred times so we ourselves have memorized the songs from repeated viewings.
The story is about a high school jock, Troy Bolton, and the new nerdy girl in school who’s a brainy bookworm, Gabriella Montez, and how they get to audition and be chosen to play the leads in their school’s annual musical presentation usually topbilled by the singing brother and sister team of Sharpay and Ryan Evans. They met in a New Year’s Eve party while on vacation and randomly paired to sing in a karaoke number the show’s first great song “The Start of Something New”. They both discover for the first time that they have a good singing voice.
Later, Gabriella finds herself attending the same school as Troy in Albuquerque and their unexpected reunion leads to, what do you expect, young romance. When word gets around that they will audition in their school’s musical, their respective cliques try to discourage them, telling Troy to concentrate on being the leader of their basketball team and Gabriella to focus on the coming math contest where she’ll participate.
The story is quite thin but it carries a good message about defying stereotypes, the rivalry between arts and sports, and the need to try new things. What’s more important is that the cast frequently breaks into contagious song and dance numbers. The songs here are so listener-friendly and two of them, “Breaking Free” and “Get’cha Head in the Game” even made it in the Billboard charts. The finale song, “We’re All in This Together”, is a real showstopper and will stick in your head for days.
The ensemble cast is generally good and greatly supported by Sheila Francisco as the by-the-books drama teacher and Jeff Arcilla as the coach dad whose main concern is winning but later has a positive change of heart. The scene-stealer here is Alex Godinez who performs with much flair as Sharpay, which is really the most colorful role in the show. Cheska Ortega is a great find as Gabriella. She has a winsome stage presence and also sings competently.
The one we think is miscast is Sam Concepcion as Troy. We’re not saying he’s a bad performer, but that he’s not right for the role. He’s not just credible as their team’s star basketball player, what with everyone else taller and heftier than him.
He’s just so skinny and the role needs someone bigger on stage to be believable as a champion athlete. Even his voice is still that of a boy, not yet that of a young adult. We can’t help but think how it would have been had PJ Valerio (who’s very good as Ryan) was made to play the role of Troy.
http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php?issue=2007-06-28&sec=3&aid=22770
for me, they all did great but it was sam who really stoodout!
I agree. Sam was so skinny, we practically laughed when he appeared in a basketball jersey and shorts. I think the one who played Chad was also not fit for the role, he was too tall and skinny too, and might pass as a nerd not a jock. But Sam sang very well.
I hate Sam, he has no right to play as Troy Bolton, actually according to my opinion, he is so maarte!!!
The best of ‘High School Musical On Stage’ Reviews!
“I loved the dance numbers, especially ‘Stick to the Status Quo.’ The actors in the play had the same level of energy as the ones in the movie, maybe even more…this was one of the best plays I’ve ever watched.” Guile Domingo, 12, Junior Inquirer
“Chinnie has whipped up some stylish choreography that incorporated various aspects of the movie to the delight of HSM’s kiddie spectators…curtain call number adds some comic plot developments to the storyline and creates one of the most brilliantly executed curtain calls I’ve seen to date…” - Christopher de Venecia, Philippine Star
“…The finale song, “We’re All in This Together”, is a real showstopper and will stick in your head for days.” – Mario Bautista, People’s Journal
“This columnist tagged along and was rewarded with two hours of wholesome entertainment provided by supremely talented young artists, led by Sam Concepcion, Cheska Ortega, PJ Valerio, and Alex Godinez…” Ronald Constantino, Tempo
“Sam Concepcion…has proven that he really has what it takes to be a star.” – Ethel Ramos, Malaya
“The movie has been called cheesy, silly, and ungainly, but no withering reviews by any hard-to-please critic apply to the stage version, at least not the one currently running at the Meralco
Theater…”- ClicktheCity.Com
“The whole cast breathed life into all the cute and bouncy melodies that have made HSM such a joy and a guilty pleasure for kids and adults alike.” – Yehey.Com
“Sam and Cheska’s scenes together were the best in the musical. And their rendition of "Breaking Free" elicited the most cheers and applause from the audience…” Pep.Ph
“HSM is simply a phenomenon that rockets me back to my high school days when it's all right to hum, dance, and bop to the top…” Faith, Bangag.Com
“Big hit din ang comic tandem ni Alex Godinez at ng sumisikat na screen actor na si PJ Valerio.” – Len Llanes, Bulgar
“Tinaguriang ‘Grease of the iPod generation’ ang HSM. Paglabas namin ng Meralco Theater ay tumutugtog pa rin sa tenga namin ang upbeat na ‘We’re All in This Together,’ itsura ng nakaiindak na ‘We Go Together’ ng Grease.’” – Allan Diones, Abante Tonite
So go grab your tickets at Ticketworld (632)891-9999 or at STAGES (632)818-1111 loc. 209 or 225.
my friend and i watched it last july 8. i saw nothing wrong with the cast. they were all great. and the sounds? well, we could hear very well.
I guess we were lucky...cause Cheska Ortega was great! And we could see her face.
Ang weird nga lang, 'cause Seve's really tall and the girl who played Taylor was a bit short. But they make up for it by the great acting and singing.
=)could you post more pics of them please?!?
hello!!where can we inquire regarding provincial bookings for the high scholl musical. i am from butuan city, agusan del norte and we would like to show plays like this in our city. For sure, this would be a HIT!!!!
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