Dev Halls’ High School Musical is an earnest love letter to the franchise

On Friday 25th February Devonshire Hall and the LUU Backstage Society concluded their three day run of ‘High School Musical on Stage!’, directed by Jess Simmons and based on the original High School Musical film. The adaptation follows the same course as the film, focusing on American high schoolers torn between the expectations placed on them by their cliques and their creative desires hidden within.

Immediately noticeable is the love that both audience and production have for the High School Musical property. The mania surrounding the 2006 made-for-TV film had to be experienced to be understood, which this production benefits from due to the cast and crew being made up entirely of first year students. The audience was immersed from the get-go, with the customary phones-off announcement concluded with “What team?”, and the audience’s emphatic roar of “Wildcats!”, highlighting just how embedded the film is in early Gen Z culture; I was sat alone and the Wildcat reflex took over me nonetheless. Although the American accents of almost every character left something to be desired, they weren’t especially distracting and almost complimented the endearingly cheesy nature of the franchise. The transitions were seamless, the sets charming and the lighting appropriately utilised throughout.

Credit: Jackie Slipper

The musical is instantly set apart from the film, with Sean Lomas as Troy singing the songs himself, which is more than can be said for Zac Efron in the first film. Lomas especially impressed when allowed to sing in a higher vocal range than songs like ‘Get’cha Head in the Game’ allow, and shone in ‘What I’ve Been Looking For’. The highlight of Elise McCracken’s consistent performance was in her solo, ‘When There Was Me and You’, with her vocal flourishes impressing throughout.

Any High School Musical fan will understand that the true star is Sharpay. She was played adeptly by Caitlin Lister who completely understood the assignment with all the sass and drama expected from the character matched with her own powerful, belting voice that outshone Ashley Tisdale’s by a mile. Josh King provides a refreshingly tortured aspect to Ryan, an oft overlooked character who finds solace only in his (perfectly executed) jazz squares. Maisy Dodd beautifully dominated the stage with her rendition of Ms Darbus, bringing all of the overacting and theatrics expected of her character and delighting the audience with nods to the romantic chemistry between herself and Coach Bolton (Uma Dell).

Credit: Jackie Slipper

The musical standout of the production was certainly ‘Stick to the Status Quo’, with the stage being fully utilised and eliciting a wonderful audience response. Especially notable was the surprisingly powerful verse by Sam Bolles as Zeke and the relentless ‘popping and locking’ of Charlotte Haren as Martha. The live band performed stunningly all night, with the inclusion of a full brass section serving to highlight the dedication of those behind the production.

High School Musical on Stage! proved to be an earnest love letter to the franchise, the inclusion of brick phones and chunky laptops showing an eye for detail and a level of care and passion that felt completely natural for a production led by those who grew up on High School Musical. Knowing that there is also a production of High School Musical 2: On Stage! in existence, one can only hope that the talented Backstage Society will cast their eyes towards a sequel.

Local Store and Charity seeking clothing donations for their Winter Clothes Drive

The Zip yard, based in Chapel Allerton, alongside Leeds’ charity Homeless Street Angeles have decided to team up and launch a winter clothes drive for people on the streets who struggle to make ends meet, so they can be warm this winter.

The UK tailoring franchise, which has become the country’s largest professional tailoring network with currently 27 stores nationwide, joined the Local Fundraiser of the Year winner at the Yorkshire Choice Awards in 2019 on their mission to help homeless and marginalised people change their lives, by offering them opportunities with which they can achieve their full potential. 

This partnership encourages both customers of The Zip Yard and local residents to drop off their unwanted warm winter clothes at the city local store for distribution via the charity. The clothing alterations business is offering their seamstresses skills to repair any donated items free of charge. 

Neluka Dunning, the businesswoman owner of Chapel Allerton-based store expressed their feelings on giving back to the community: […]The very nature of our business means people are always bringing in their clothes for repairs and alterations. As part of the Winter Clothes Drive with Homeless Street Angels, we’re offering our services to repair items brought in by the public so that they are all in good condition to go on and keep people warm in the continuing cold weather [since] at this time of the year, lots of people are having wardrobe clear outs and replacing older items with new ones received at Christmas or bought in the sales, so it’s the perfect time to drop off coats, hats, thermals, gloves and thick winter jumpers.” 

She also conveyed their gratitude towards their partner and stated: “We’re looking forward to helping them distribute donations”. This gratitude is reciprocated, as the co-founder and director of Leeds Homeless Street Angels, Shelley Joyce, also spoke very highly of the support the local store has given them. 

“Support from local businesses like The Zip Yard is incredible for us, and the winter clothes drive will give individuals the opportunity to give otherwise unused items that might have gone to landfill or charity shops straight to our clients who need them right now. It’s a brilliant initiative and we hope people will utilise The Zip Yard drop off point when they are clearing out their wardrobes.”

Furthermore, Joyce highlighted the importance of donations during Covid times: “Winter is a particularly difficult time for those living on the streets – the temperature often dips below freezing and Covid has meant there are less people out and about who might have previously gifted items or provided warm drinks.”

Those wishing to donate items can drop them off at The Zip Yard Chapel Allerton store, Chapel Allerton House, 114a Harrogate Rd, Leeds LS7 4NY.  

Hooda: New social networking app, lands in Leeds

Hooda have introduced a new mobile app that is sure to revolutionise the student experience. The initial release is exclusive to both the University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett students, and is available now for free download on the App Store and Google Play.