The reviews are in for Disney’s High School Musical, the first UK non-replica staging of the stage version of the 2006 film, which has moved from Salford to the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre with Harry Judd as Coach Bolton and KayCee Stroh, Martha in the original film, as Ms Darbus. The notices are warm rather than unanimous. Joseph Houston and William Whelton’s production, which turns the auditorium into an East High basketball court, is widely admired, and Caitlin Tipping’s Sharpay is the performance most critics reach for. Where they disagree is on Tobias Turley and Leonor Correia as Troy and Gabriella: a triumph for Theatre Weekly, a little reserved for City AM and LondonTheatre.co.uk, and vocally uneven for WhatsOnStage.
4.0 / 5 from 6 criticsThe verdict: seven reviews in so far, the morning after press night: one five-star notice, four four-star, one three-star, and one outlet that publishes no rating. Among those that score it, the average is 4.0 out of 5. The critics part company over the central pairing of Tobias Turley and Leonor Correia, but nearly all of them single out Caitlin Tipping’s Sharpay, KayCee Stroh’s Ms Darbus and Aaron Renfree’s choreography. More notices are expected and this roundup will be updated as they land.
What are critics saying about DISNEY’S HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL?
Theatre Weekly
“An absolute slam dunk”
Reviewer: Greg Stewart
The warmest notice of the night. Greg Stewart calls the book cheesy and saccharine and says that is part of its charm, and gives designer Andrew Exeter much of the credit for making a very large room feel like a school gym the audience is sitting in.
“…capturing everything audiences loved about the original while finding fresh energy of its own.”
Where others hedge on the leads, he does not: for him the evening belongs to Tobias Turley and Leonor Correia, whose chemistry he finds immediate, with Turley’s Breaking Free the vocal peak. His one reservation is that the handful of new songs cannot compete with the ones the audience has been singing for twenty years.
WhatsOnStage
“exactly what I’ve been looking for”
Reviewer: Hang Yuen
Hang Yuen calls the basketball-court staging a particular triumph, singling out the locker doors that turn into pop-up stages and the pace kept up between scenes.
“Electric, heart-racing and magnificently entertaining, this revival brings a beloved classic back to life with considerable flair.”
The reservations are specific: Yuen questions whether Turley reads convincingly as a high-school student, finds the Troy and Gabriella harmonies loose at times, and wants more support behind his vocals. Caitlin Tipping’s singing, by contrast, is called extraordinary, and the return of KayCee Stroh is the nostalgic bridge the production needs.
LondonTheatre.co.uk
“we're all in this together in a joyfully immersive production”
Reviewer: Lisa Martland
Lisa Martland praises the directors for not tampering with the film’s tone, and names Aaron Renfree’s choreography as the production’s major asset.
“A talented, enthusiastic cast is essential to a production so reliant on nostalgia, and this one delivers.”
She thinks some intimate moments get lost in the size of the set, and that Judd has little to work with as Coach Bolton. Stroh, Tipping and Luke Bayer are all praised, and she expects the central pairing to grow in confidence as the run goes on.
City AM
“autumn’s must-book sing-a-long”
Reviewer: Adam Bloodworth
Adam Bloodworth, writing from a preview, spends a good part of his notice on the venue itself, which he calls an astonishing gain for London theatre, before settling on a production he finds glistening and true to the film’s energy.
“I was glued to Caitlin Tipping’s Sharpay Evans, the majorly extroverted singer always trying to get Troy’s attention.”
He would like Troy and Gabriella to sparkle more, regrets that the script passes up the chance to let Ryan come out, and is unconvinced by a finale that brings the phones out. Stroh and Judd both win him over.
All That Dazzles
“…this non-replica production refuses to stick to the status quo, offering something new”
Reviewer: Daz Gale
Daz Gale calls Renfree’s choreography exceptional and picks the animal improv scene as the unexpected highlight of the evening.
“Caitlin Tipping is fittingly dominating as Sharpay, delivering a scene-stealing performance in a true star turn.”
His one sustained complaint is sightlines, with too many scenes played halfway into the auditorium where half the house has to crane to see. Stroh is scene-stealing as Ms Darbus for him too, and Judd is small but mighty as the coach.
The Spy in the Stalls
“…renewed sparkle delivers plenty of feel good charm”
Reviewer: Hannah Bothelton
The coolest of the rated notices. Hannah Bothelton likes the way the book fills out Sharpay and Ryan, and enjoys the game-day atmosphere of the set.
“‘High School Musical’ is a winning, feel-good night out even if some elements could get their head in the game.”
She is less sure of the two new numbers and of the reprises, which she feels leave the closing We’re All In This Together with less punch than it deserves, and finds the video screens too small and the sound balance uneven. She praises the leads’ voices but wants more emotional depth from both.
Read Hannah Bothelton’s full review at The Spy in the Stalls
London Theatre Direct
“Nostalgia, iconic songs and all the East High drama”
Reviewer: Hay Brunsdon
Hay Brunsdon comes to it as a self-declared devotee of teen-movie nostalgia and enjoys it on exactly those terms, as low-stakes, feel-good theatre.
“Beneath the jazz hands and high-school cliques, there's a lovely little message about not being neatly filed away.”
She spots a little of Grease, Clueless and Mean Girls in its make-up, likes the basketball choreography, and sums it up as a cheerfully cheesy night out. The outlet prints no star rating.
For more on the production, see our look at the first photos from Wembley and Harry Judd’s guests at the first London performance, or read what the critics made of Triumph at the Almeida and Murder in the Cathedral in Richmond.
Disney’s High School Musical is booking at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre until 3 January 2027.
