Directed and choreographed by Barry Ivan, the musical will officially open July 5 and play a limited engagement through July 29.
The New England premiere of the stage version of the Disney phenomenon features David Nathan Perlow as Troy Bolton, Addi McDaniel as Gabriella Montez, Andrew Keenan-Bolger as Ryan, Kate Rockwell (a finalist on NBC's "Grease: You're the One that I Want") as Sharpay, Matthew S. Morgan as Chad, Tallia Brinson as Taylor, Fred Inkley as Coach Bolton and Nancy Johnston as Ms. Darbus.
The student body of East High also includes Jessica Bircann (Ensemble), Danny Binstock (Ensemble), Michael Busillo (Ensemble), Bridie Carroll (Martha Cox), Michael Kadin Craig (Jack Scott), Kevin Curtis (James), Kelli Gautreau (Ensemble), Garett Hawe (Alan), Lisa Ho (Susan), Cajai Fellows Johnson (Ensemble), Lisa Kassay (Cyndra), Natalie Loftin (Kathy), Jihyen Park (Kelsi), Caitlin Reilly (Ensemble), Christopher Saunders (Ensemble), Brandon Taylor (Ensemble) and Franklyn Warfield (Ensemble).
The 37-member cast also boasts 12 local performers from 10 communities: Taylor Brown (Georgetown), Kelly Buck (North Andover), Ryan Cameron (Needham), Nick Christopher (Winchester), Alex DeLeo (North Reading), Jeffery Dinan (Boston), Samantha Goober (Burlington), Ben Martin (Brookline), Ashley Rose McCormack (Winthrop), Presilah M. Nuñez (Lynn), Jessica Starbard (Lynn) and Eric Stevens (North Andover).
Disney's High School Musical, according to press notes, "follows Gabriella, a shy, brainy new student and Troy, the captain of the basketball team as they discover a love for singing and audition for their high school musical. Their attempt to break out of their cliques turns their world and their school upside down!" The creative team also includes Stephen Purdy (musical director), Dex Edwards (scenic designer), Wade Laboissonniere (costume designer), Jack Mehler (lighting designer), John A. Stone (sound designer), Gerard Kelly (wig designer), Eric Alsford (assistant music director) and Chris Saunders (assistant choreographer).
Disney's High School Musical features a book by David Simpatico; songs by Matthew Gerrard, Robbie Nevil, Ray Cham, Greg Cham, Andrew Seeley, Randy Petersen, Kevin Quinn, Andy Dodd, Adam Watts, Bryan Louiselle, David N. Lawrence, Faye Greenberg and Jamie Houston; and music adapted, arranged and produced by Bryan Louiselle. The musical is based on a Disney Channel Original Movie written by Peter Barsocchini.
North Shore artistic director and executive producer Jon Kimbell said in a previous statement, "No one could have predicted the tremendous response we have received since we announced that we are producing Disney's High School Musical. This title has broken all our box office records. What's even more exciting is to see how many young people will be coming to the show with their parents and grandparents to experience live theatre together. We welcome this future generation of theatregoers to NSMT and we hope that it becomes a life long habit!"
Tickets, priced $50 and $65, are available by calling (978) 232-7200 or by visiting www.nsmt.org. The North Shore Music Theatre is located in Beverly, MA, at 62 Dunham Road.
