Dave Gee: Life from Right Field

One of my old Summer Camps, Stagedoor Manor, has got permission to stage the premiere of the theatrical version of High School Musical (the hit Disney tv movie-musical) later this month.

Stagedoor Manor, the prestigious theatre summer camp in the Catskill Mountains of New York will stage the first amateur production of High School Musical. It's apparently being Directed by the brilliant Mr Larry Nye (Yay, Larryland! ;-) and will be performed by a cast of Stagedoor's third session campers.

Based on the hit Disney Channel film, HSM has just been adapted for the stage, in a full-length two-act version and a shorter one-act 70 minute version.

It contains all the songs from the Disney Channel soundtrack, plus two new songs and a High School Musical Megamix (cool!). The new numbers are: Cellular Fusion (Chad, Taylor, Company) and We're Counting on You (Jocks and Brainiacs), plus Wildcat Cheer (not on the CD).

(Stagedoor Manor, situated in Loch Sheldrake NY, is the top specialist theatre summer camp in the USA, staging over 40 shows every summer, and teaching valuable acting and performance skills to hundreds of teenagers each year. The movie Camp was based on director Todd Graff's time as a camper at Stagedoor Manor, and was largely shot at the camp in the summer of 2002).
Not surprisingly, Disney and Music Theatre International have already received "an overwhelming response from schools all over the country", with over 2,000 schools expected to produce High School Musical onstage by the end of next year. (A professional Broadway production of the show is also in the works... Liza Minnelli is rumoured to be up for role of the drama teacher Ms Darbus).

High School Musical has set records for tv viewers, and sales of its CD soundtrack and DVD. The Disney Channel movie's also proved a hit in Australasia and Southeast Asia.

The made-for-tv-movie stars Zac Efron and Vanessa Anne Hudgens as students Troy and Gabriella, who fall in love and battle opposition from friends and enemies to star in their school musical.
A junior novel based on the movie hit the top spot on the New York Times bestseller list (children's paperbacks) and an album of sheet music from the movie is also very popular.

* TheaterMania: Stage Version of High School Musical to Debut at Stagedoor Manor
* Broadway World: Disney Confirms First High School Musical Productions
* Playbill: "Camp" Site Gets First Dibs on Stage Version of Disney's High School Musical