High School Musical

Lowry Theatre Salford - Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre

Interview with Caitlin Tippling (Sharpay) and Luke Bayer (Ryan)

It's the show that EVERYONE is talking about, and we're all in this together to make sure everyone gets tickets!

'High School Musical' is on its way back into audiences' hearts... 20 years later! Let that sink in. Starting at the Lowry Theatre in Salford this Saturday! Then, landing at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre from the 12th October. Starring Jason Donovan in Salford and Harry Judd in London. If you don't know the iconic 2000s Disney movie musical, then you need to get'cha head in the game. If you know the musical, the original 'Martha Cox', Kaycee Stroh, is going to be playing Ms Darbus

This production stars some incredible performers! Titanque's Caitlin Tipping and Luke Bayer will be playing the fabulous duo Sharpay Evans and Ryan Evans. This post is putting the pair in the spotlight and sharing what is on the way for audiences. This new immersive production will be quite the spectacle and will show 'High School Musical' in a new light, getting the audience involved. If you want to know what's to come... Keep reading, because all the scoop is BREAKING FREE!

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Rehearsal shot by Matt Crockett

Q: Tell us about the show? For those who don't know High School Musical

Caitlin: High School Musical is a coming-of-age musical. It's like the 2000s version of Grease, with all the Disney joy and iconic songs. It's about finding yourself, being unapologetically you, and there are love stories in there.

Luke: It's just joy and nostalgia!

Caitlin: It's the film of that era that inspired so many people.

Luke: So many other things were inspired by it, and for instance the movie musicals- I feel like a new generation of them stemmed from High School Musical! It was the start of something new...

Q: How will you put your personal stamp on these roles?

Luke: I think the key thing is just to have fun. We kind of laughed about this, because I do think there's like versions of us within these characters of like being the young performers that work so hard to get something, and you're like, I just really want to do that. Then when someone comes along and swoops in with their basketball and tries to take your part, you're like, hell no! You know?

Caitlin: I think also, with this musical version of the film, there are so many little bonus scenes that you don't see in the film that bring the musical together that allow us as the actors to really think, 'How would Ryan and Sharpay act in this moment?' because we don't have the film to reference. We really are developing our own version of what we think they would do in these moments. I think the musical as a whole gives Sharpay and Ryan like a whole new spotlight. You see them in a different light. They're slightly more heightened in some parts and have lots more to sing!

Photo credit to Matt Crockett

Q: You both worked together in 'Titanique'; has this helped with forming your brother and sister bond for the show?

Caitlin: Yes, I think it's massively helped. I think Titanique being the show that it is, which is so silly and funny, it gave us both like a really nice foundation within our friendship to be silly and funny together. We bring that into Ryan and Sharpay. I'm so grateful that Luke and I do already have this friendship, so that we can really like do Ryan and Sharpay proud!

Luke: Yeah, because there's so many like little moments where already, if you don't know someone and you start a rehearsal process, you have to get to know them. Along with getting to know how they work, how they perform, even little things like looking at someone. There are so many moments already that we'll do something for the 1st time, or we'll just kind of look at each other to be like, 'Is that ok?' and our understanding of each other and bond is already there and locked in!

Q: What has been your favourite memory from rehearsal so far?

Caitlin: I think yesterday was a big day. We blocked 'Status Quo' yesterday. You could literally see every single person in the room bubbling with excitement. It was a moment where so many of us were thinking, "as if we're actually doing this", "as if this is actually our job". All of us in the room have so much love for this film and like what it means to us individually. I think this is such an iconic ensemble moment where we're highlighting all these different characters, where we're seeing the incredible choreography SHINE. We were all buzzing with excitement yesterday. So that's probably been my thing!

Luke: I love watching all of it come together, because we obviously learn things in chunks. At the minute we're doing things at different times and in different rooms. Then when we get the opportunity to come back together and put it together, you realise how cool it looks! The formations of all the dances and the ensemble are unbelievable. I think we've got five or six graduates in the show as well. They are incredible!

Caitlin: We're all very, very grateful to be here and to do this job.

Photo credit to Matt Crockett

Q: What are your own personal 'High School Musical ' childhood memories?

Luke: Do you know what? I actually have played Ryan before. So I did a show when I was about 15/16, and we put on High School Musical in a week.

Caitlin: My staple memory that always comes to mind is sitting in my spare room at home, listening to the songs back-to-back on YouTube on my computer until I got them word-perfect, singing along. I had them posters in my bedroom; I'm sure I went to the cinema for the 2nd one. I was obsessed, and I fancied Zac Efron so much.

Q: Which one of the 3 films would you say was the most iconic?

Luke: I mean, High School Musical One is iconic in its own right, because it's the one that started the whole thing.

Caitlin: We all fell in love with the characters, and that's why we love the rest, but for me, I do think High School Musical Two. Is just insane. We all, like, fell in love with these characters, especially like at the age that I was.

I was just young enough for the 1st one, but to still love it. And then when the 2nd one came out, I was so invested. So, when we got to see all of these characters, I remember being obsessed with Sharpay and Fabulous. Getting to see more of her and her background and her story. But the 1st one is iconic.

Q: Why do you think that now is such a good time to bring back High School Musical?

Luke: It's been 20 years this year since it was released. I just think we need more joyful shows. I feel like High School Musical is kind of grown and evolved, but it's still so relevant, and kids now love it. Young kids love High School Musical, and because of Disney+ people watch it, and people know about it. It's huge on TikTok.

Caitlin: I feel like from the age that my kind of generation was, we grew up loving it so young; we still love it. It's that little sprinkle of nostalgia of getting to experience that again, on stage and see it in a format of a musical that we love is just something that we're all desperate to see. There's so much excitement to relive that joy just for like a couple of hours. The 2000s aesthetic is also coming back around. People can look on stage and see all these costumes that are the 2000s style, and they look fashionable. I think that nostalgia is going to be what drives so many people to want to come see the show.

Q: Have you got a favourite costume yet?

Luke: I actually think I've got a favourite shirt, and it's what I'm gonna wear in 'What I've Been Looking For'.

Caitlin: So a lot of our stuff is still, because we're still early in the process. A lot of it is still being made or elsewhere. So we've tried little bits on, but my costume for 'What I've Been Looking For' is my favourite so far as well. All I'll say is we, as a production, are definitely hitting all the marks of what people are expecting!

Q: What is your favourite number so far?

Caitlin: I love watching the boys do 'Get'cha Head In The Game'. They've been that since, like, day one because, you know, there's real basketballs and we also do have on-stage seating. So, we want to make sure that those boys are in control of their basketballs. They've been drilling it every single morning when we start rehearsals, and it's so cool to get them to see them doing that.

Luke: I actually think mine is 'Start of Something New'. I think that's really fun. I feel like it's kind of different to how I imagined it would be. It's very, VERY cool.

Q: What should audiences be excited for?

Luke: On-stage seating! I think you get closer to the characters. I don't feel like immersive theatre, normally, is done on such a big scale. I think Andrew Exeter's design of the show is so epic. You are fully immersed in the world of East High. Which I don't think necessarily is something people would have thought or thought was possible before. So, I think that's super cool. It's a huge cast. There are 28 people in the cast.

Caitlin: This production of the musical gives you just that little bit more of the characters and of the story. You can expect to see all your favourite moments and all your favourite characters, but with a little bit more from them! So, you get to see how we've put our own little spin on all of these really memorable choreography moments, and I think that'll be really exciting for audiences to see. This new version of the musical is so epic.

Q: What song gets stuck in your head the most?

Caitlin: So for me, there's a song in this version of the musical called 'Cellular Fusion'. It is a bop!

Luke: The characters are all calling each other to spread gossip.

Cailtlin: They're spreading the gossip on their phones, and Sharpay's moment is really high. Literally belting for my life! But it's just got a really catchy beat, and we all end up singing it round the corridor.

Luke: Yes, the Gabriella bit! It's a vocal stim for the whole cast!

Q: Why should people come and see the show in one sentence?

Luke: People should come and see the show because it's so nostalgic, it's so joyful, it's a whole new version of it, and people need that immense joy right now; it's a show for everyone!

Caitlin: It's nostalgia for our generation, and it's for the kids that haven't necessarily been introduced yet to the story, and there's something in there that everyone will be able to relate to, and the music is great!

Rehearsal shot by Matt Crockett