'High School Musical' earns some high marks
If you and your kids aren't already sick and tired of the oft-produced stage version of Disney's "High School Musical," a trip to the Metropolis Performing Arts Center might just "Bop to the Top" of your to-do list.
The Metropolis production of the phenomenally popular 2006 Disney Channel TV movie has plenty of high points to recommend it, though it doesn't scale the professional heights of Disney's official national tour that recently played Chicago.
The one major exception is Joel Gross's surprisingly affecting performance as basketball jock Troy Bolton who has a secret hankering to sing. Gross invests a lot of emotional truth into the role, not only showing the risk he's taking to do the un-jocklike musical audition, but also breaking cliques to pursue a budding romance with brainiac transfer student Gabriella Montez (a polished and pretty Katie Siri).
Tiffany Trainer also has loads of "Mean Girls" fun as the scheming drama queen Sharpay Evans, comically breaking into splits each time she reminds everyone of her presidential drama club status and bullying her younger arts-inclined twin brother, Ryan (a fine foil in Mike Miserendino's performance).
Where Metropolis' "High School Musical" slips in its grades is in director Lauren Rawitz snail-paced dialogue scenes and some chorus members who aren't giving their full performance energy to Kristen Gurbach Jacobson's cheery choreography.
Another bad mark on Metropolis' "High School Musical" report card is its use of canned music. It may be cheaper, but a pre-recorded score makes everything more like a night of karaoke sing-along instead of pulsating live theater.
One final word of advice to elderly Metropolis subscribers: give your tickets to or bring along young grandkids, nieces or nephews. They'll probably appreciate this scrubbed-up and sanitized variation on "Grease" and its peppy score written by a phalanx of pop songwriters more than you ultimately will. Plus you'll be forever cool with them until the next Disney Channel craze hits and gets adapted to the stage.
Disney's "High School Musical"
2½ stars out of four
Location: Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights
Times: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 7 p.m. Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays; through Nov. 11
Running time: Two hours and 20 minutes
Parking: Metered parking and area garages
Tickets: $22-$42
Box office: (847) 577-2121 or
Rating: Squeaky-clean for everyone