Review: 'Disney's High School Musical, Jr.' at Amity MS-Bethany

Pictured: Michael Crisci, Forest Vandeflor, Fred Hulley (sponsor), Judy Primavera (sponsor), Dr. Keith Smolinski, Nina Carmeli, Spencer Fiske

Dedicated to the mission of the Jamie Hulley Arts Foundation and the memory of Jamie Hulley

Bethany, CT - Amity Middle School Bethany Spartan Players in collaboration with the Square Foot Theater Company are presenting Disney's HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, JR. this weekend only on the stage of the middle school gym in Bethany.

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, JR. features a book by David Simpatico that is based upon a Disney Channel Original Movie Written by Peter Barsocchini. The songs were written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil Ray Cham, Greg Cham and Andrew Seeley Randy Petersen and Kevin Quinn, Andy Dodd and Adam Watts, Bryan Louiselle, David N. Lawrence and Faye Greenberg and Jamie Houston.

This middle school production was directed and choreographed by Patrick Laffin of the Square Foot Theater Company in Wallingford. Music direction was by Amity MS science teacher and assistant director Keith Smolinski and the show was produced by Marissa Nall. This production was made possible with generous sponsorship from The Jamie Hulley Arts Foundation.

It's the first day back to school after winter break at East High and The Jocks, Brainiacs, Thespians, and Skater Dudes are all effectively existing in their respective cliques. Basketball team captain, Troy, discovers that the super-smart Gabriella, a girl he met while singing karaoke on his family ski trip, has just enrolled at East High. To the dismay of the egocentric drama twins Sharpay and Ryan, Troy and Gabriella decide to audition for the school musical. The audition sets in motion the main conflict over whether or not the school cliques will remain in place or the school dynamics will be changed moving forward.

So it is all quite fluffy and definitely appeals to tweens and teens more than adults, but it was better than I had expected from its reputation. I had little knowledge of the source material and I had only heard a couple of the musical numbers. I vaguely remember seeing a bit of the concept during a distant visit to Walt Disney World. There were some funny parts, especially during the audition (“Bop to the Top/What I’ve Been Looking For”) and the drama teacher, Sharpay and Ryan had some good one liners. For the most part, it was a fun vehicle for the youngest upcoming performers and the Amity kids seemed to be having a great time in what for many of them might have been their first time on the stage.

Music Director Dr. Keith Smolinski writes in his director's note:
This year's production of High School Musical, JR. was selected last spring by our current 8th grade students. Even though our middle school students are not quite in high school yet, the show's themes of embracing individuality and working together for the common good are deeply meaningful for all of us, especially in this turbulent world we are living. This show teaches us that popularity, peer pressure, and negativity cannot and should not stop us from being who we are.

Mr. Laffin and Dr. Smolinski worked with the students for almost two months to prepare them for opening night and the rehearsal time showed in all of their performances, especially the fun choreography. The performance featured a recorded musical track, so there were some limitations to the flow of the action, but the vocal harmonies were great and the voices were strong.

Spencer Fiske led the cast with confidence in the role of basketball team captain Troy Bolton and had a great singing voice. Nina Carmeli was equally strong in the role of Gabriella Montez, the new girl at East HS. Savannah Gallagher stood out as Kelsi Nielsen, the pianist for the drama club and composer of the winter musical.

The Jocks were played by Benjamin Avaid as Chad Danforth and David Edwards as Zeke Baylor. The Thespians that had their moment during the audition process were played by Jack Morrison as James, Lea Barber as Cyndra, Maya Haiday as Susan, and Anoushka Paul as Cathy. The Skater Dudes were led by Lily Parady as Ripper. Mingyue Zha played Mongo.

The Brainiacs were led by Grace Kennedy as Taylor McKessie, with Shreya Hebbar as Martha Cox, and Silas Turner as the ever-present news announcer Jack Scott, also known as "The Velvet Fog of East High." The adults at the high school were played by some strong character actors. Deven Huang played older as gym teacher Coach Bolton and Kassiani Nicolakis was chemistry teacher Ms. Tenny. Shreya Hebbar played the Science Decathlon moderator. Amara Santulli almost stole the show in the dramatic role of drama teacher Ms. Darbus.

Forest Vandeflor was perfectly cast in the big, villianous role of Sharpay Evans, the lead in every school musical since kindergarten, drama club president and most popular student. Ms. Vandeflor had a strong stage presence, great dance skills and could be seen in the wings singing along to the musical numbers in which her character did not appear. Sharpay’s brother Ryan was played by the very talented Michael Crisci, a young performer with a very strong singing voice. Kudos to both of these students on a great opening night performance.

Brainiacs were played by Liliana Esposito, Ginny Luciano, Deborah Luo, Claista Mack, and Aaruski Trivedi. The requisite cheerleaders included Camryn Brown, Sarah Fortin, Abigail Gordon, Victoria Pocwierz, Ava Shanbrom and Ava Swain. Skaters were CJ Brinton, Eddie Norton, Mischa Stacy and Anastasia Urbano. The Tech Crew that got a bow at the curtain call was made up of Sam Cassidy, Ben Harginson, Annie Lu, Rose Megyola, Luhai Tang, Jason Warner and Henry Yang.

The set featured a large, lighted HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL sign and the costumes and props coordinated by Ms. Edwards, Ms. Gordon, Ms. Luciano and Ms. Saunders. As Dr. Smolinski noted in his curtain speech, it takes a village to produce a middle school musical. To this point, the impressive lobby decorations were coordinated by Ms. Saunders, Ms. Shanbrom, and Ms. Urbano. Sound by Robert Fragione was impressive for a school gym and the plan is to raise enough funds with Jamie Hulley to purchase a cart of microphones to share with the middle school in Orange.

Despite opening night being a miserably raining evening, a large cohort of family members and fellow students came out to support the young thespians. Assistant principal Thayer Doyle was there and the school’s principal Dr. Richard Dellinger will be in attendance at the Sunday matinee. I also spotted Amity HS Robert Kennedy and his son Ryan on opening night, as well as the lovely family of Dr. Smolinski. I was happy to be invited to see all of the hard work put in by the Amity MS students and the dedicated adults who work with them. Remaining performances are Saturday at 6:30pm. Sunday at 2pm. Tickets $10 at the door. 190 LUKE HILL ROAD, BETHANY, CT 06524

Check out the color version of the show’s Playbill

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle.She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the NEW CCC Facebook page.