Bottling lightning is one of the most difficult tasks in all of theater. It's especially tough if you're trying to accomplish that task for a young audience: Their fads and tastes have a half-life measured with a stopwatch rather than a calendar. The Children's Theatre Company has done all it could to re-create the infectious magic of its sold-out wintertime production of "High School Musical.
" Most of the young actors playing the leads have returned. (Chris Kempainen is a slightly less en fuego Ryan Evans, replacing Brian Skellenger, who's moved over to the Guthrie Theater's production of "1776.") To maintain the young-ish enthusiasm, about 10 members of the hyper-kinetic ensemble are new to the show.
And the company has wisely replaced the pre-recorded soundtrack from its first staging with a live, tight six-piece band, which makes the production feel more like a piece of theater and less like a dizzily elaborate evening at the karaoke joint. Director Peter Rothstein and choreographer Michael Matthew Ferrell have enlarged the production slightly to accommodate its presence on CTC's larger main stage, and the show still runs with a whip-cracking velocity, belying the old adage that youth is wasted on the young. But with "High School Musical 2" being relentlessly promoted on the Disney Channel, the mania of the original has died down significantly in the past few months.
Indeed, where the entire winter run was sold out well before opening night, a good number of seats were empty at Saturday's opening night performance. And, while moving the production to the larger main stage theater was a fiscal decision (bigger house = bigger box office), it has some aesthetic implications. One of the best things about the original run of "High School Musical" in CTC's smaller second theater was that the show's unbridled enthusiasm felt as if it would blow the top right off the Cargill Stage.
This remounted version has maybe a fraction less energy, but it's tasked to fill a bigger space. The combination robs the new production of some of its charm and makes more visible the aerobic workout required to keep the show's breathless pace. Bakken (playing the jock-y Troy Bolton), Katie Allen (the brainiac Gabriella Montez) and Laura Otremba (as the drama diva Sharpay Evans) all have grown into their roles, which is normally a good thing.
But while it wouldn't be at all accurate to say these youngsters have become complacent, the alchemic, giddy, can-you-believe-we're-actually-doing-this aspect of their performances has been replaced with a surety that is more professional but less delightful. Problems with the sound system on opening night rendered a handful of characters momentarily mute and skimmed another level of energy off the show. That problem will be resolved as the run continues, but the central challenge facing these young performers will be to find a way to keep the show feeling fresh as it continues its run.
Is CTC's stage version of "High School Musical" still worth seeing? Sure. Even though it was and is a more nuance-free take on the relentlessly obvious movie, it's sleek, and it's polished, and it's a lot of fun.
Papatola can be reached at dpapatola@pioneerpress.com or at 651-228-2165. Bottling lightning is one of the most difficult tasks in all of theater.
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