(PHOTOS BY BREANA RELIFORD / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
By: Breana Reliford
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
The students of Bryan High School had community members cheering, applauding, and singing along the whole weekend during their performance of High School Musical.
The show was performed a total of three times including Friday, April 11 at 7:00PM, Saturday, April 12 at 7:00PM, and on Sunday, April 13 at 2:00PM.
Similar to the version originally produced by Disney, the story follows several stories of the students at East High School, including Troy Bolton (Ben Bukowski), the star of the basketball team that his dad, Jack Bolton (Grason Butler), coaches, Sharpay (Elleah Davis) and Ryan (Owen Davis) Evans, two siblings that have had the lead in the school musical every single year (and let everyone know it), and Gabriella Montez (Emma Schlade), a new student just arrived at East High.
Although Gabriella is new to the school, not everyone is a stranger. As she arrives, she sees a familiar face in Troy, a boy she met over winter break at a New Year’s Eve karaoke session.
As the students return back to school, the musical audition sign-ups become the talk of the town. As the director and drama teacher Ms. Darbus (Teagan Grimes) lets the students know this year they must audition in pairs, Sharpay and Ryan see the perfect opportunity to secure their spot as the lead roles once again. However, Gabriella gives them a run for their money.
As Troy is the star of the basketball team, no one knows his ability to sing… except for Gabriella, who eventually convinces Troy to secretly audition.
But once word gets out of their abilities, Sharpay and Ryan’s determination to keep their spot takes over, and Troy does his best to keep the secret from his father, who will be sure to let Troy know that the only thing that matters is the big game coming up.
As the story progresses, we also meet Troy’s best friend, Chad Denforth (Josef Durbin), Gabriella’s friend, Taylor McKessie (Lilly Cox), who is the academic team captain who needs Gabriella to win the championship for their team, Kelsi Nielsen (Mya Parker), a shy, but talented songwriter who wrote the musical, and Zeke Baylor (Chris Avell), another teammate of Troy who develops a secret crush on Sharpay.
Each character’s unique contribution to the storyline allows Troy and Gabriella to navigate the difficult expectations each of their friends, teachers, and parents have placed on them in order to follow their dreams as they develop feelings for each other.
All while Sharpay and Ryan must navigate their dream of keeping their status of being the leads in every musical since kindergarten.
Many hits from the original movie were performed, including “Get’cha Head in the Game”, ”Start of Something New”, and “We’re All in This Together” that had the audience singing along.
As the curtain closes on this show, the students of East High School (and Bryan High School) left the audience to remember to follow their dreams, no matter what others say. The cast, crew, and directors did an excellent job in their rendition of this beloved story.
