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High School Musical On Stage!

Playwright - David SimpaticoPremier dates – 1st August 2006 at Stagedoor Manor summer theatre camp in New York

At East High School (in Albuquerque, New Mexico), Troy Bolton tells his Jock friends, Chad Danforth and Zeke Baylor, about meeting Gabriella Montez on New Year's Eve during winter vacation on a ski trip. Gabriella, who has just moved to Albuquerque, also tells her newfound Brainiac friends Taylor McKessie, Kelsi Nielsen and Martha Cox of her vacation. We meet Sharpay and Ryan Evans, the two drama stars of the school. Sharpay is selfish, and Ryan follows her orders but tries to be friends with everyone. Troy and Gabriella have a flashback to New Year's Eve when they met. One-half of the song is during the flashback, then we return to East High where Chad, Taylor, Kelsi, Ryan, Sharpay, Zeke and other students sing of their New Year's Resolutions.

In homeroom, Mrs. Darbus tells her class of the upcoming winter musical, "Juliet and Romeo", a new version of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", written by Kelsi Nielsen, a shy East High student. When Ryan, Sharpay, Troy, and Gabriella start using their cell phones, Mrs. Darbus gives them all detention. Chad interferes, telling Mrs. Darbus that Troy cannot go because they have basketball practice after school and that they have an upcoming championship game. Mrs. Darbus then gives Chad a 30 minute detention, and gives Taylor detention when she remarks that Chad can't even count that high. At Gabriella's locker, Troy runs into her and they show their amazement of how they found each other again. Sharpay walks by and tries to flirt with Troy, but he shows no interest in her. Sharpay observes that he is interested in Gabriella and she is interested in him. Later, the Jocks have basketball practice .

In a Science class, Gabriella shows her smarts by pointing out a flaw in the teacher's equation. Taylor is impressed and asks, on behalf of her Science Club, if Gabriella could join their team to win the upcoming Scholastic Decathlon, although Gabriella refuses. Sharpay overhears and has Ryan investigate by Googling her.

Discovering that Gabriella was a very intelligent Brainiac at her old school, Sharpay prints her newfound information and puts it in Taylor's locker. The students later head to the Mrs. Darbus's room for detention, and act like animals. Taylor then asks Gabriella again to join the Scholastic Decathlon team based on the printouts Sharpay planted in her locker, and Gabriella agrees. Everyone does the 'ball of noise,' and Coach Bolton comes to get Troy and Chad for practice and then talks to Mrs. Darbus about it.

The next day, thespians audition for the play. Sharpay and Ryan audition as well. After the auditions have been declared closed, Gabriella and Troy sing the song as Kelsi intended it - much slower. Although Troy and Gabriella did not intend it to be an audition they are called back for a second audition. When their friends hear the news they spread it via cell phones .

Sharpay is furious, believing Troy and Gabriella have stolen the lead roles and broken the 'rules' of East High. Though most of the school agrees, lyrical chaos erupts during a lunch break when students begin telling their secret obsessions outside of their cliques . The scene culminates with Sharpay getting 'caked' by Zeke, after Gabriella spins into him. Act I ends with Sharpay angrily shouting "Someone is going to pay for this!"

Synopsis of the playAct 1:

Jack Scott recaps events before Troy and Gabriella dance on the rooftop garden. Zeke comes to Sharpay's locker and tries to flirt with her. Meanwhile, the Jocks and Brainiacs plot against the infuriated duo during study hall. Sharpay and Ryan see the Jocks and the Brainiacs mingling together and imagine they are trying to help Troy and Gabriella. So Sharpay lies to Mrs. Darbus saying that Troy and his dad are trying to ruin the auditions because she gave Troy detention. Later at practice, Mrs. Darbus talks to Troy's dad and then he talks to Troy. Gabriella comes to practice to see Troy while Martha comes and takes her to the lab. Troy's dad thinks Gabriella is the reason why Troy got detention. He tells Troy that he is a playmaker and not a singer. This infuriates Troy who angrily asks his father if he ever wondered if he could be both and storms off in a rage, leaving his father stunned.

The Jocks and Brainiacs put their plan to work, pushing at Troy and Gabriella to 'split up'. Eventually, Troy, furious with his friends for telling him the same things his dad did, gives in and pretends that he doesn't like Gabriella, completely oblivious to the phone in Zeke's hand, transmitting Troy's words directly to Gabriella. Gabriella hears and becomes very upset. Troy and Gabriella, lonely and upset, sing . The Jocks and Brainiacs then realize that they have gone too far and feel guilty for ruining Troy and Gabriella's relationship.

The next day, Sharpay and Ryan are rehearsing for their callback while Sharpay talks to Ryan about her role in the school. Then Troy comes in looking for Gabriella and Ryan tells him that she is in the theatre. Troy goes to the theatre and tells Gabriella that they were set up and he didn't mean what he said and sings to remind her of New Year's .

Hearing that the callback date has been moved up by request of Sharpay to the same time as the big game and the Scholastic Decathlon, Troy and Gabriella announce to the Jocks and Brainiacs that they are going to not do the callback, but instead help their respective teams for their events. The Jocks and Brainiacs say they should do the callbacks. Troy and Gabriella refuse, but the teams decide to lend a helping hand anyway.

On the day of the big game/Decathlon/callbacks, the students are excited for the festivities. Sharpay and Ryan perform their callback song, which at the same time happens with the basketball championship and the science decathlon, during which Taylor engineers an electronic meltdown in the decathlon and light malfunctions in the game, which forces all the students to move to the theater. Chad and Taylor explain to Troy and Gabriella that this is their only chance. Mrs. Darbus, hesitant to allow Troy and Gabriella an audition due to their lateness, has no choice but to let them audition as the auditorium fills with students . Mrs. Darbus gives Troy and Gabriella the parts on the spot with everyone watching.

The end of Act II brings us to the gym where all the main characters wrap up their plots (Chad asks out Taylor, Zeke gets Sharpay to be nice to him, Jack Scott and Kelsi literally fall head over heels for each other, and Sharpay makes up with Gabriella and Troy). The Wildcats win the big game and the Decathlon. The students celebrate followed by a recap of all the major songs in the show.

Synopsis of the playAct 2:

High School Musical is set in a modern day high school (called East High) in Albuquerque, New Mexico.The Characters are teenage American students and are all different stereotypes of students (nerds, skaters, jocks, etc.)

Context

Troy Bolton - Captain of the Basketball team. Main Lead.Troy meets Gabriella Montez at a ski lodge karaoke party on New Year's Eve. When the school year resumes, Troy finds that Gabriella is a new student at East High. For fear of what his father, friends, and classmates would think, Troy asks Gabriella not to mention his singing performance to anybody else. However, the secret eventually gets out when Troy and Gabriella unintentionally audition for the winter musical after singing in the auditorium. The news throws East High's social order out of balance. Troy finds himself having to choose between Gabriella and the musical callbacks or his team and the championship game. Although his friends initially try to thwart Troy's chances of being cast as the musical's lead, they help him make both the game and the callbacks, which had been scheduled on the same afternoon. Troy and Gabriella earn the lead roles, somewhat angering the drama department's president, Sharpay Evans.

Character Analysis

Gabriella Montez - The "New Girl" to East High School, met Troy over winter break.She moves to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Gabriella begins attending East High mid-year. Hoping to escape the "freaky genius girl" reputation she had earned at her previous schools, she doesn’t join any extracurricular activities. Her first friend at East High is Troy Bolton, who she had met at a ski lodge karaoke party on New Year's Eve, however she quickly makes friends with Taylor McKessie, who finds out about Gabriella's various academic accomplishments and urges her to join the school's nation decathlon team. Gabriella is hesitant, but eventually agrees. Having unearthed a passion for performing at the karaoke party, Gabriella decides to audition for the school musical, but is too late. It is only when the musical's director, Ms. Darbus, overhears Gabriella singing with Troy that she gives them both a callback. Gabriella is uncertain about perusing the lead role, especially when Taylor and the other members of the decathlon team tell her that the musical will take her focus off the upcoming decathlon event. Taylor and her friends stage an intervention, which portrays Troy as not caring about Gabriella or the musical. Heartbroken, Gabriella drops out of the running for the lead role. However, Taylor eventually confesses what she did and helps Gabriella make the decathlon and the musical auditions. Gabriella and Troy earn the lead roles, beating out Sharpay Evans, who had previously tried to thwart her chances of making the callbacks

Sharpay Evans - Lead in every school musical since kindergarten. President of

the drama club. And most popular student.Sharpay is shown as being somewhat popular. Students on campus seem to fear her, as they scour to make room for her in the hallways or cafeteria. Fear also appears to be the reason why other students, such as Kelsi Nielsen, remain a part of Sharpay's posse. Sharpay is sometimes the victim of playful jokes and light teasing from the East High basketball team, despite the fact that one of their star players, Zeke Baylor, has a crush on Sharpay. Sharpay's talents are challenged for the first time when Gabriella Montez and Troy Bolton are called back for the lead roles in the musical. To ensure that she and Ryan remain in the spotlight, Sharpay convinces Ms. Darbus, the musical's director, to switch the date of the callbacks to the same day as Troy's district championship basketball game and Gabriella's national decathlon. However, Troy and Gabriella still manage to make the callbacks and are cast in the lead roles

Ryan Evans - Sharpay's brother. Performs with Sharpay in musicals. Vice

president of the drama club. Ryan is depicted as being dim-witted and completely submissive to Sharpay, though this could be because he likes Troy and Gabriella. When Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez threaten Ryan and Sharpay's chances of being cast as the leads at East High's winter musical, Ryan assists Sharpay in making sure Troy and Gabriella's scheduled conflict with the callback dates. The plan falls through and Troy is cast in the lead role

Chad Danforth - Basketball team member, best friend of Troy's.Chad is gearing up for the district championship basketball game and assumes Troy, also the team captain, is doing the same. However, news soon spreads around school that Troy and Gabriella Montez, a new student, have auditioned for the school musical and have been called back for the lead roles. Hoping to keep Troy's head in the game, Chad and his teammates stage an intervention while Taylor McKessie and her friends, who want Gabriella to stay focused on the national decathlon team, do the same with Gabriella. The plan is successful, but Chad and Taylor soon realize that they hurt their close friends. After admitting their guilt, they help Troy and Gabriella make the callbacks, as well as the game and decathlon.

Taylor McKessie - Head of the Brainiacs. Very smart.She is also impressed at the intellect of new student Gabriella Montez. Articles of Gabriella's academic achievements at her old schools are place in Taylor's locker. Although Gabriella did not slip the articles in the locker, she agrees to join the decathlon team at Taylor's suggestion. However, when Gabriella's interest begins to turn to the school musical and Troy Bolton, Taylor teams up with Troy's best friend, Chad, to make sure they can keep their friends away from one another and focused on the prize. While Chad and his basketball teammates explain to Troy that they will not win the district championship game if he is involved with the musical, they film him saying that the musical and Gabriella are not important. Taylor show Gabriella the footage and she is left heartbroken. Realizing the magnitude of what they have done, Taylor and Chad work together again to make sure Troy and Gabriella make the musical callbacks.

Initial creative ideasScenery – Front of a High school Chemistry lab Basketball court Canteen Auditorium

Props – Basket balls Books Mobile phones Chemistry equipment Crème brulèe Bags

Costume – (modern style) Basket ball team uniform for Jocks Sports jackets for jocks Cheerleader costumes Baggy shorts/jeans for background actors

(Male) Skirt/dresses for background actors

(female) Lab coats Beanies/snapbacks for skater dudes.

Sound – School bell Talking down corridor Basket balls hitting

the floor/sneakers squeaking

Chemicals reacting Cheerleader chants