High School spectacular (From Oxford Mail)

High School spectacular

5:23pm Friday 3rd August 2007

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Hundreds of youngsters took part in performances of High School Musical in front of sell-out crowds at Oxford's New Theatre.

The New Theatre Stage Experience's version of the Emmy award-winning musical tells the tale of high school basketball star Troy and brainy Gabriella, who discover a shared love of singing on their winter holiday.

Gabriella ends up joining the same school as Troy and, still inspired by their vacation performance, they decide to audition for the school musical, but some of their rivals have other ideas.

Among the youngsters, aged between eight and 24, was Oxford's Howard Grater, who has been playing the part of Ryan Evans.

The 20-year-old has previously been in Me and My Girl in 2005 and Oliver! in 2006, but was still on edge about appearing in the show.

He said: "I'm pumped full of excitement, full of nerves, but I think you need that to put out a good performance.

"It is pretty scary to think that come Saturday evening we will have performed in front of thousands of people - but we are all attention seekers in this game!

"The character of Ryan is very theatrical, almost camp. Everything is quite big and flowery with him - nothing like me!"

The show, which has featured a record number of young people from across Oxfordshire, will have been performed in front of 9,000 people when it ends tomorrow.

Alexandra Demicoli,19, from Banbury, who plays Garbriella Montez,said she had come across the production "completely by chance".

She said: "My sister was performing at the New Theatre in April and I overheard someone asking for an audition form. I thought it sounded fun and the rest is history. I have had the best time - when it ends tonight I will feel like a part of my life has ended.

"The nerves are building up by the second and I feel sick, but nerves are good and I feed off them."

Tickets for the youth production, sponsored by the Oxford Mail, went on sale in April and within one month around 8,500 of the 9,000 tickets had already been sold.

The remaining 500 tickets were sold out by the beginning of July.

Theatre spokesman Joel Barnett said: "We are delighted. It is a terrific show. The youngsters, which have come from as far as Cardiff, have been working really hard."

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