REVIEW BY TOM WORSNOP
EDITED BY EMMA PARFITT
Newman College’s joyful production of High School Musical 2 is fun, upbeat, and oozing with nostalgia for 2000s high school drama. The show follows Troy Bolton (Luke Higgins) and his East High Wildcats basketball team, trying to find jobs for the summer break. They all find themselves employed at the Lava Springs resort, owned by the family of Sharpay Evans (Hannah Campbell), Troy’s vain classmate who is determined to steal him away from his girlfriend, Gabriella (Tegan Forge).
The costumes, hair, and make-up (Bridget Hart) are wonderfully reminiscent of the late 2000s aesthetic, including some absolutely diabolical fringes that stepped right out of the film clip of Justin Bieber’s Baby. The sight of flip-phones fully immerses us into the era, and shows great attention to detail. Incorporating the time period into the opening “please turn off your phones” announcement was also extremely clever, and set a wonderful tone for the whole show, declaring that our iPhones shouldn’t be making noise, because the iPhone hasn’t even released yet.
The set for this production (Grace Rule) is scaled-back, and leaves a little too much vacant space across the large Union theatre stage, feeling sparse. However, there are some clever moments that really shine. The use of towels draped over chairs is a smart visual short-hand for sun lounges on the beach, and the ‘golf course’ being a strip of astroturf with some mini golf bags and clubs is an adorable touch of brilliance, taking a limitation and turning it into a moment of levity for the audience. In future, I would love to see Newman College develop their craft and perhaps engage in using projections or utilising the cyclorama to help fill out the space. As well as this, the occasional use of coloured LED lighting onto the cyclorama and swirling lighting patterns offers some eye-catching variation to an otherwise standard warm stage lighting (by John Wilton).
The cast had some stand-out performers, with Hannah Campbell and Grace Dwyer as Sharpay and Ryan Evans nailing their sibling relationship as it evolves through the show, while Tegan Forge gives the show its emotional grounding as Gabriella Montez. Troy’s friends Chad Danforth, Zeke Baylor, and Jack Scott (Max Black, Jaegar Fawcett, and Ed Plunkett respectively) really strike a fantastic tone of campy melodrama that feels right at home in this late-2000s teen romcom. Comparatively, Luke Higgins as Troy Bolton gives a more understated performance, which allows him to hit more of the genuine emotional depths in songs like Bet On It.
The scene-stealer of the show is undeniably Ed Bush as Mr. Fulton, the boss of Lava Springs resort. His physicality and demeanour perfectly establish the dynamic of a middle-aged adult trying to do their job in and amongst a rabble of high schoolers. It must be said that the cast works best as an ensemble, and what really makes this show stick the landing on its emotional beats is the commitment each performer has to being a part of the scene. It’s always a joy to see the reactions of characters, and how consistent they are in their characterisation in the show, even if they are in the background. This means that all the really big ensemble numbers hit the energetic highs that they need to, making this a great experience.
In that regard, kudos must be given to the choreography by Grace Taylor, which is always dynamic, making the world of the show feel alive and kicking. I particularly enjoy the song I Don’t Dance, which beautifully utilised the ‘face-off’ aspect of two teams playing baseball to create a wonderful visual moment of performers weaving around and against each other, telling the story of the baseball game simply through movement. Overall, Poppy Elfick’s whole direction of the show really nails the Disney Channel vibe that feels heartwarming and nostalgic. The band, conducted by Dylan Forge, sound excellent throughout, and in particular the percussion section shows the impressive range of the percussion musicians (Harry Tozer and Alexander Jambrich).
I also think their pre-show announcement acknowledging some of the more problematic elements of the musical, specifically around one particular song which depicts childish stereotypes of indigenous Hawaiian culture, and how they wouldn’t be allowed to change it due to copyright restrictions, was an intelligent choice. While I myself cannot speak to the experiences and thoughts of indigenous Hawaiian people, it certainly felt to be a necessary statement, done with the best intentions, given the restrictions they are under. It also seems Elfick made sure that the scene involving this song did not play into its lyrics, keeping the costuming unchanged, and the movement fairly low-key and vague, which is again an admirable attempt at playing down the song’s intention.
The music is on-song and the ensemble shines in every scene, creating a night of theatre that is dynamic, engaging and strikes a silly, tongue-in-cheek tone which is just good fun to watch.
Newman College’s High School Musical 2 played July 21st – August 2nd at the Union Theatre.
TOM WORSNOP is a performer and writer, and has been involved in Unimelb theatre since 2019.
EMMA PARFITT (she/her) is the Dialog’s head editor and has written Dialog reviews alongside studying towards her science degree for the past two years. She is a production manager, stage manager and producer on the Melbourne indie theatre scene and a veteran of student theatre at Union House Theatre.
The Dialog is supported by Union House Theatre.
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