Saturday, October 06, 2007
High School Musical on Ice
The other night I escorted a young friend to see Disney's "High School Musical on Ice at the Staples Center. Although the music in the show is not exactly my cup of tea, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the show was very entertaining. Slickly produced and professionally choreographed by Chucky Klapow and Cindy Stewart, the rapid pace of the show held the audience's attention, especially the many children who were present and were captivated by the production. At first, it was startling to hear a chorus of 3 year olds singing along to every song and pre-teens screaming at every movement of the Zac Ephron lookalike on the ice. Then it was amusing (for a while, anyways).
The young cast of skaters was quite talented, especially the leads, Lane Walker ("Gabriella"), Jordan Brauninger ("Troy"), Sandy Rucker ("Sharpay"), Peter Bonard Muck ("Ryan"), Simeon Hanks ("Chad"), Tetona Jackson ("Taylor). A standout performance was delivered by featured skater Girade Jackson, whose big smile and infectious enthusiasm delighted the audience.
As a sidenote, it was amazing to see the amount of merchandise that Disney moved. $16 snowcones in "souvenir" plastic cups, $12 for cotton candy that came with a green plastic hat, souvenir cups and buckets of popcorn...seemingly every possible opportunity to sell branded merchandise was used, and it was flying off the shelves. My recommendation? Feed the kids before you leave home, and spend your money on the glossy program or the other, more durable, souvenirs.
The young cast of skaters was quite talented, especially the leads, Lane Walker ("Gabriella"), Jordan Brauninger ("Troy"), Sandy Rucker ("Sharpay"), Peter Bonard Muck ("Ryan"), Simeon Hanks ("Chad"), Tetona Jackson ("Taylor). A standout performance was delivered by featured skater Girade Jackson, whose big smile and infectious enthusiasm delighted the audience.
As a sidenote, it was amazing to see the amount of merchandise that Disney moved. $16 snowcones in "souvenir" plastic cups, $12 for cotton candy that came with a green plastic hat, souvenir cups and buckets of popcorn...seemingly every possible opportunity to sell branded merchandise was used, and it was flying off the shelves. My recommendation? Feed the kids before you leave home, and spend your money on the glossy program or the other, more durable, souvenirs.
