Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Casting revealed for Disney’s High School Musical at Music Hall at Fair Park

By Pegasus News wire

Casting has been announced for the North Texas premiere engagement of Disney’s High School Musical. Presented by Disney Theatrical Productions, the division responsible for such smash Broadway hits as The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and Mary Poppins, High School Musical is based on the 2006 Emmy Award-winning Disney Channel Original Movie. The touring company, which is scheduled to play 42 cities over 60 weeks in the Unites States and Canada, includes a live orchestra and a cast of 34 talented theatrical performers.

Dallas Summer Musicals will be bringing the show to the Music Hall at Fair Park from July 2-13 and tickets can be purchased online or by calling 214-631-ARTS.

The basketball team captain, “Troy Bolton,” will be played by John Jeffrey Martin, whose Broadway credits include Rocky Horror Show, Hairspray and Good Vibrations. He is a graduate of Syracuse University with a BFA in Musical Theater. Starring opposite Martin as the shy, academic student “Gabriella Montez” will be Arielle Jacobs. Jacobs’ theatre credits include Crazy for You, A Chorus Line and Cinderella, and her film credits include The Stepford Wives and Water Lilies.

John Jeffrey Martin as Troy Bolton

Veteran actor Ron Bohmer will portray Troy’s father and Wildcat’s basketball coach, “Coach Bolton.” Bohmer is known for his Broadway and National tour credits including The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Phantom of the Opera, The Woman in White, Aspects of Love, Fiddler on the Roof and Sunset Boulevard. Troy’s best friend, “Chad Danforth,” will be played by Shakiem Evans who most recently appeared as “Eddie” in Broadway’s Mamma Mia! Evans Off-Broadway credits include Two Gentlemen of Verona and Fame, and he is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University. Ellen Harvey is the drama teacher “Ms. Darbus.” Harvey’s Broadway credits include Thou Shalt Not and The Music Man, and her touring credits include Mamma Mia! and Doctor Dolittle. “Taylor McKessie,” the leader of the “brainiacs” at East High School, will be played by Shaullanda LaCombe, who was “Shenzi” in Disney’s The Lion King and “Charlane” in Ain’t Misbehavin.

Bobby List will play Drama Club enthusiast and brother of Sharpay, “Ryan Evans.” List, a recent graduate of the University of Cincinnati – Conservatory of Music, played opposite Debby Boone in The Human Comedy at Barrington Stage and in The 60s Project at the Goodspeed Opera House. Michael Mahany will introduce audiences to a new character written specifically for the stage production, “Jack Scott,” the crooning voice of East High School. Mahany’s credits include the Off-Broadway production of Spring Awakening, a reading of Ella Minnow Pea, a workshop of Bill Russell’s Mister Fabulous and regional productions of Into the Woods and Annie Get Your Gun. The Young composer “Kelsi Neilson” will be portrayed by Olivia Oguma who has appeared on Broadway in Mamma Mia! and Les Miserables and Off-Broadway in Sarah, Plain and Tall, La Dispute and The Scarlet Letter. Oguma’s film credits include Hallmark Hall of Fame’s The Flamingo Rising and Strangers with Candy: the movie.

“Zeke Baylor,” the basketball player who loves to bake, will be portrayed by Jelani Remy, who is making his National Tour debut and was last seen in regional productions of Cabaret and Parade. Lizzie Weiss will play the hip-hop brainiac “Martha Cox.” Weiss earned her BA in Theater from the University of California at Irvine, and was an original cast member of the Atlanta Theatre of the Stars production of High School Musical. The scheming Drama Club president, “Sharpay Evans,” will be played by Heléne Yorke, who received a BFA in Musical Theatre from The University of Michigan and appeared in the Off-Broadway production of Walmartopia.

This new touring stage adaptation of Disney’s High School Musical is directed by Jeff Calhoun (Big River). High School Musical features a book by David Simpatico (adapted from the original movie script by Peter Barsocchini), and a score including all the songs from the original soundtrack plus two new songs written especially for the stage.

Commenting on the touring production, Thomas Schumacher, President and Producer of Disney Theatrical Productions, said, “Our stage version of this great property has been mounted as a direct response to overwhelming demand. As someone who has been passionate about theatre since I was a kid, I am thrilled that we are touring this remarkably popular title as a fully realized stage production, and most certainly introducing countless young people to the world of theatre for the very first time. You can’t ask for more than that.” Schumacher adds, “It is a great joy and privilege for us to be able to produce and present the Disney Channel’s enormously popular property on stage.”

Disney’s High School Musical is a contemporary musical comedy about a popular high school basketball star and a shy, academically gifted newcomer who discover they share a secret passion for singing. When they sign up together to audition for the lead roles in the school musical, it threatens East High's rigid social order and sends their peers into an uproar. In a desperate effort to maintain the status quo, the "jocks," the "brainiacs" and even the drama club regulars are soon hatching convoluted plots to separate the pair and keep them offstage. By defying expectations and taking a chance on their dreams, however, the couple inspires other students to go public with some surprising hidden talents of their own.

The creative team for this new touring stage production of High School Musical, in addition to aforementioned director Calhoun, are choreographer Lisa Stevens, scenic designer Kenneth Foy, costume designer Wade Laboissonniere, lighting designer Kenneth Billington, sound designer Duncan Robert Edwards and music supervisor Bryan Louiselle.

Posted by Shawn

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