High School Musical 2 comes as a breath of fresh air in this scorching summer. Who knew Dubai nurtured such budding talent in its fold?
As someone who does not get the whole HSM tween mania (yes, I'm prepared to be lynched), the stage production may just have made a convert out of me. For all those little flaws in the musical – especially Chad Danforth's (played by?Dean Warren) incorrectly placed mic that had us straining in to hear him – the boys and girls more than made up with their energetic performances. They lived their characters and the audience did too.
Of the lead cast, Lucie Turner's Sharpay Evans was wickedly delightful. This daddy's little princess oozed drama with every little squeal, conniving scheme and body language. That she managed to do all that along with sing and dance in killer heels is commendable.
The production value of this musical is a far cry from what you see on New York's Broadway or London's West End, but even they started out small. Here's hoping shows such as HSM2, and its predecessor HSM1, have jumpstarted the underdeveloped theatre industry in Dubai.
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