DISNEY’S HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL LIVE ON STAGETheatre Royal, Newcastle

Jul 27 2008 by Ken Oxley, Sunday Sun

WE might have been short on sunshine so far this season but there is summer fun a-plenty on the Theatre Royal stage thanks to the kids from East Side High.

High School Musical Live on Stage! will delight everyone from toddlers and teens to their grandparents.

It’s a high-energy, clap-along, feel-good show that will have you singing into your hairbrush for days after.

HSM is Grease for a new generation and, for the uninitiated, the two musicals have similar story lines.

Boy meets girl on vacation and surprise, surprise they meet up again at high school where romance blooms.

There are strong performances from the main characters, Troy Bolton, played by Ashley Day, and Gabriella Montez, played by Lorna Want, and actors Helen George, pictured right, and Lee Honey-Jones have the scheming Sharpay and her twin brother, Ryan down to a tee.

Drama teacher Ms Darbus, played by Claire Machin, also stands out. But it’s the dynamism of the whole cast together — they're clearly having a great time too — that had the first-night audience screaming — and I mean screaming — for more.

If you can still get hold of a ticket (they’re like gold dust), don’t miss it — PAULINE HOLT