‘High School Musical’
hits the road

By Rita Charleston
For the Times

Once, in a dream, a young Arielle Jacobs saw herself as older and singing on stage with the crowd going wild listening to her star-quality performance.
Later, Jacobs, a San Francisco native transplanted to Princeton, N.J., got to fulfill that dream — at least part of it.
So far, the performer has amassed film credits that include The Stepford Wives and Water Lilies. Her theater credits include Crazy For You, A Chorus Line, Cinderella, and now the touring company of High School Musical, based on the 2006 Emmy Award-winning Disney Channel original movie. It is playing at the Academy of Music through July 22.
The contemporary musical comedy centers around Troy Bolton, a popular high school basketball star, and Gabriella Montez (played by Jacobs) a shy, academically gifted newcomer to the school. Troy and Gabriella soon discover they share a secret passion for singing.
When they sign up together to audition for the lead roles in the school musical, it threatens East High’s rigid social order and sends their peers into an uproar.
In a desperate effort to maintain the status quo, the "jocks," the "brainiacs" and even the drama club regulars are soon hatching convoluted plots to separate the pair and keep them offstage. But by defying expectations and taking a chance on their dreams, the couple inspires other students to go public with some surprising hidden talents of their own.
"As Gabriella, I play a girl who’s really, really smart, a genius, but I’m trying not to let anyone in my new school know it because in my old school, people knew it and I was labeled. They put me in a box. And I don’t want that to happen again," Jacobs explained.
Philadelphia is the second stop on a 60-city tour. Jacobs said she’s never been on tour before, so everything that’s happening is new and very exciting. And she said she’s finding it very interesting, if not surprising, that this show appeals to audiences of all ages.
"Originally, I thought the show would only appeal to kids," she said, "but I was surprised at how many adults actually love the show, too. Maybe it’s because the music is so catchy, or the dancing is so great, or just the story itself is so much fun. The younger people in the audience get to see what they may experience once they get to high school. And for the adults, it’s possibly a look into their past, seeing all the things they had to deal with as they were growing up. I think that’s what makes it fun for everyone."
For Jacobs, one of the most enjoyable parts of being in the show is just being up there on stage, bringing back memories of her own youth when her parents enrolled her in voice lessons with a teacher who ran a song-and-dance troupe for kids.
"I got involved with that troupe and performed shows all around the Bay area," she said. "We started out dong mainly Christmas shows, and I would look out at the audience, which consisted mainly of children, and they would be so happy and excited to see the show. Then I saw their parents sitting next to them and realized this was a great bonding experience I was witnessing.
"And now," she added, "I feel I get to do that all over again in High School Musical as the kids are clapping their hands, standing up on their chairs and dancing in the aisles. Watching them and their parents makes me very, very happy."
One day, Jacobs sees herself on Broadway, with TV and film roles definitely on the horizon. "I also am a painter, a photographer. I need a lot of artistic outlets," she said. "So I’ll just wait and see how it all turns out." ••
For more information, call 215-893-1955. ••