HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL SALFORD REVIEW
THE LOWRY THEATRE, SALFORD
WEDNESDAY 9TH SEPTEMBER 2026 @ 2.30PM
⭐⭐⭐ 3/5
Can you believe it’s been 20 years since the movie was released? Anyone else remember being glued to the Disney Channel in preparation for the movie premiering? As soon as I saw that they were reviving the musical, I had to go and see it. Here’s my High School Musical Salford review.
PRE-SHOW THOUGHTS
This was the movie that got me back into musicals growing up. I’d watched them all throughout childhood, but musicals aren’t exactly cool when you’re a teenager. However, waiting for the movie to debut on the Disney Channel was a huge event for me! I believe I recorded it on our DVD recorder and watched it multiple times that weekend. When I tell you I was obsessed, I must’ve watched it 100 times before the sequel was released. That means I know the film back to front and upside down, but I was even more excited to see an updated version on the stage.
THE CAST
Tobias Turley and Leonor Correia are our Troy and Gabriella for this production, and both play their roles perfectly. They have a lovely, sweet chemistry and both are great vocalists. I’d love to hear them both in a show that’s more vocally challenging.
Caitlin Tipping as Sharpay is a star turn; she really embodies the character of the ‘it’ girl on stage, and she looks fabulous doing so. Her duets with Luke Bayer as Ryan are a highlight for the audience for sure. If there was anyone made for a role, it’s Bayer as Ryan Evans. In fact, I’d say he’s underutilised, but I guess Ryan is until the third movie.
Char Burnett as Taylor and Jordan Benjamin as Chad get quite a bit more stage time than their counterparts on screen. Yet I still wanted to see them more! I actually like the change to introducing We’re All In This Together as they’re preparing to get to Troy and Gabriella. Both are amazing vocalists and dancers, and I can’t wait to see their future projects.
Of course, Kaycee Stroh as Mrs Darbus is the one we’re all waiting for. She is an even better Mrs Darbus than Alyson Reed was in the film. She’s also featured a lot more in this stage production, and she should definitely do more stage work! I just wish she’d gotten to sing a little more.
Now I have to say that casting Jason Donovan as Coach Bolton was not my favourite choice. He looks a little tired in the production, especially when there’s a lot of energy going on around him. He’s not bad, but I didn’t love him either. I’d be interested to see what Harry Judd is like in the London run, as an OG McFly girlie!
THE PRODUCTION
This is where the show is lacking in my opinion. First off, the erasure of Jason as a character for Jack Scott, the school radio DJ or something, is a strange one. Whilst Jason wasn’t exactly integral to any plot in the movies, I just didn’t think the radio DJ aspect worked at all. It was similar to using a narrator to move the plot along, yet it didn’t really do that well.
Aaron Renfree’s choreography was a perfect homage to the movie musical without being a copycat. However, I wasn’t sure there was a need to add dancers during the ballads, as it took a little away from Turley and Correia’s performances.
I loved Andrew Exeter’s set design and Rory Beaton’s lighting design, as they really enhance the show. The lighting, especially, was a special feature, with LED lights surrounding the stage as well as the Wildcats logo in the middle of the stage.
We did have a slightly longer-than-usual interval as well as a show stop right before Breaking Free (I assume it was a malfunction with the moon lift or something). It was fitting that the next two bits of dialogue were “Ready on stage” and “That’s showbusiness”, and it lightened the mood before the big number.
Once again, the ensemble really does carry this show. There are quite a few of them for the most part, with cheerleaders, basketballers, nerds and theatre geeks covered frequently. I really loved the A Chorus Line-inspired number as the auditions for the winter musicale.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I might be in the minority, but I’m not sure this show works on a stage. There needs to be more songs and better dialogue to work. Whilst I understand that it can’t be a carbon copy of the movie, there were too many reprises of the same songs throughout, rather than new additions. You know when a show is enjoyable enough to watch, but it feels a little flat? That was this new High School Musical production for me. Maybe I’ve got used to having musicals with lots of songs or more complex storylines?
I hate to sound rude, but it felt like the encore had a bit more to it than many other shows. There was much more energy to it, and the audience loved the megamix, but during the show, the arrangements didn’t go down as well with the audience as they did in the finale. Just a thought.
It’s showing in Salford until 18th September before heading to London in October. If you enjoyed this High School Musical Salford review, you can find my other theatre reviews here. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok too.
