Smells like tween spirit

According to a survey by American firm Alloy Media and Marketing, tweens (i.e. boys and girls aged between six and 14) spend about $51 billion (Dh187.3bn) a year in the US alone, while family members spend an additional $170bn (Dh624.4bn) on them. And despite the financial crisis, there are no signs of this figure falling anytime soon.

This is perhaps why the UAE is witnessing a rise in tween-related products and entertainment. Walk into any general store and chances are you will spot tonnes of High School Musical (HSM) and Hannah Montana merchandise, from stationary and games, to books and CDs. Cinemas are offering films such as The Jonas Brothers Live, as well the new Hannah Montana movie. Musicals are also proving to be big attractions.

Just ask Lucy Blakeman from Popular Productions, who recently brought the theatre version of High School Musical to Dubai, and is now back with Annie, in time for the Easter holidays. “Tween culture has not been affected at all,” she tells Emirates Business. “In fact, merchandise figures are higher than ever. Disney have an array of projects in production from HSM 4 to the new Montana album, and there is no indication of the market slowing down. “A lot of other entertainment companies are trying to find ways to replicate Disney’s winning formula.”

The much-loved Annie follows the story of an orphan with big dreams and a big heart, who stays positive through the grip of the Great Depression – which seems perfect timing. “In hard economic times like these, theatre can play an important role in bringing a break from reality to enjoy a tale of hope,” says Blakeman.

The show, which runs from this Wednesday to April 18 at Dubai’s First Group Theatre, features five professionals from London’s West End, while the rest of the cast came from auditions held in Dubai, including two Annies (Claris Bell and Ella Oberg), and three teams of orphans.

“There is so much talent in Dubai and we are delighted to be giving it a platform on which to be seen,” she says. “Ticket sales are going well, which is fantastic for this hard working cast.” Tickets cost Dh189, and are available by calling 04 210 8567 or visiting Annieonstage.com.

Meanwhile, Blakeman confirmed the next production to be brought to Dubai will be HSM 2. “Following on from last year’s phenomenal success, we have been granted the rights to produce Disney’s HSM 2 in July. Auditions will be held in Dubai in May. Those interested in auditioning can sign up at Hsm2dubai.com.”

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Miley Cyrus is attempting to teach an adult the Hoedown Throwdown, the big dance number from Hannah Montana: The Movie, and it's not going well.

"We did it in one day!" she gasps. "We kind of made it up as we went along."

It doesn't help that Cyrus offers this consolation and advice over the phone to a journalist who is trying to follow along on YouTube – and untangle herself from the phone cord.

"Well," Cyrus patiently explains, "you have to be semi-coordinated to do it."

This is exactly how Cyrus' legion of preteen female fans must be learning the dance: YouTube onscreen, phone to ear, someone on the phone offering encouragement amid peals of laughter.

Such is Cyrus' power. For the better part of five years, the 16-year-old has had a direct dial into the cerebral fun cortex of the brains of millions of tween girls.

Under the stewardship of the Walt Disney Co, Cyrus has starred in Hannah Montana, which remains one of the top-rated kids' TV shows; sold more than seven million albums; starred in Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour 3-D, which topped the box-office and earned more than $65 million (Dh239m), making it the top-grossing concert film; and helped sell a clothing factory's worth of merchandise. That all adds up. Billboard's Money Makers chart reveals Cyrus was the 15th-biggest earner last year, taking in $48.9m from sales of music, ringtones and concert tickets.

Now the franchise about the schoolgirl by day, pop star at night will get a narrative take on the big screen. In Hannah Montana: The Movie, which releases in the UAE next week, Cyrus' character from the show, Miley Stewart, gets a little too embroiled in some divalicious antics while in her Montana guise and winds up brawling with Tyra Banks in a posh boutique. Stewart's father – played by the actress's real-life dad, Billy Ray Cyrus – sends her back home to Tennessee to bring her down to earth.

The centrepiece of the film is the Hoedown Throwdown song-and-dance sequence. Mitchell Leib, president of music and soundtracks for Walt Disney Studios, approached songwriters with a dire-sounding task: Write a song that could be Miley's 'Macarena meets Achy Breaky Heart.'

Nikki Hassman and Adam Anders stepped up to the challenge and worked with choreographer Jamal Sims and director Peter Chelsom to create the sequence.

In the real world, once Cyrus sold 1.4 million copies of 2008's Breakout, her first CD without a Hannah connection, it seemed inevitable that she'd shed her blonde bewigged alter ego.

Not so fast, Cyrus says. This is Disney, after all, and (Bambi's mother notwithstanding) they're not in the habit of killing off major, and profitable, characters.

Cyrus has eight more episodes of the third season of Montana yet to film.

"This movie was never meant to be the end of Hannah Montana," she says. "A lot of people put where the show's future lays in my hands, but it's not up to me. It's up to Disney.

"It's just an honour for people to be able to relate to me and my music," she says. "But I can't be Hannah Montana forever. I have to have something after this. I can't do this when I'm 30."

And the scene that she loves the most in the Hannah Montana movie? The Hoedown Throwdown.

Of course. (Ann Donahue)


Wherefore art Thou Romeo?

Love-struck tweens, who identify with the star-crossed lovers in Shakespeare's tragic romance Romeo & Juliet, will be delighted to know a musical adaptation of the show will be staged on May 10 at the Cultural Palace, Sharjah. Two shows will be staged on the day – at 9am and at noon – with tickets priced at Dh50. Call: 06 524 1238 (Bindu Rai)

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