‘High School Musical’
earned an easy A+

Kids Stuff
By William Feldman

Welcome to Kids Stuff. Today’s column includes a review of Disney’s new production High School Musical, which was at the Academy of Music, located at Broad and Locust streets, from July 11 to 22. Also included is another insightful thought sent in by a reader, along with a cryptogram.
The original High School movie was an instant hit among kids when it premiered in the U.S. in 2006. No wonder why Disney decided to put this on Broadway. Basically, the moral of the story is do not fall under peer pressure. Just be whatever you want to be.
Anyway, the musical began with Gabriella Montez, a timid new student at East High School, and Troy Bolton, the captain of the school’s basketball team, singing independently of each other about a vacation. Kind of like Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in the movie Grease. Disney, known for its details and colors, came through 100 percent on its background scenery.
I am not sure how many people picked up on this small detail: The span of the High School Musical was over a one-week period. It began on a Monday at 7:45 a.m.. and ended Friday at 5 p.m. with the reprise of We’re All In This Together and a medley of songs from the play.
The gist is Troy and Gabriella love singing. They sign up to audition for the lead roles in the school’s musical, Juliet and Romeo (that is the real name). Their friends try to deter them. Troy’s basketball teammates, along with his dad, the coach, want him to stick to athletics and concentrate on winning the championship. Gabriella’s teammates on the academic science team, needed her to help them win the championship.
The ‘jocks’ and the ‘brainiacs’ go through one cycle to keep them apart. Next, realizing how they made a humongous mistake, attempt a plan so Troy and Gabriella can partake in all the school activities. Well, you know Disney, everything works out and everyone lives happily ever after.
Also I would like to mention two thumbs up for Chandra Lee Schwartz, who portrayed the stuck-up Sharpay Evans. She imitated Ashley Tisdale wonderfully.
Songs that many of the kids in the audience sang along with were: Wildcat Cheer, Start of Something New, I Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You, We’re All In This Together, Get’cha Head in the Game, Bop to the Top, What I’ve Been Looking For, Cellular Fusion, Counting on You, Stick to the Status Quo, When There Was Me and You and Breaking Free.
This production is great for parents who want to introduce younger kids to the world of theater productions. Literally, almost every kid had a smile on their faces.
B-B-B-P
Another insightful thought was sent in by a reader. Is it true? I really do not have the intention to go close enough to find out!
Buzzard:
If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top!
Bat:
The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkably nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.
Bumblebee:
A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.
People:
In many ways, there are lots of people like the buzzard, the bat and the bumblebee. They are struggling about with all their problems and frustrations, not ever realizing that all they have to do is LOOK UP!
CRYPTOGRAM
CJ HJK ZBDD LHCXS AXXS ASXTTLSX; MX NJLSTXDZ
Hints: A is P; C is D; D is L; Z is F
Columnist William Feldman can be contacted by e-mail at wmkidscolumn@aol.com