High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “Showtime”
“Please, everyone, remain in the same role you started in.”
Season two, episode eleven of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, “Showtime,” was directed by Joanna Kerns and written by Zach Dodes.
Well, that was probably the best musical number ever put on by the cast and crew of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Yes, there have been more true-to-the-show songs (“Just for a Moment,” “All I Want”), better vocal performances (“Wondering,” “The Climb”), and more resonant, story-driven renditions (“Start of Something New,” “Breaking Free”). But in terms of show, spectacle, singing, and choreography, “Showtime’s” centerpiece performance of “Be Our Guest” is the musical pinnacle of HSM: TM: TS thus far.
Every element combined beautifully for a truly rousing rendition of the most memorable Beauty and the Beast song. Yes, it opens uncomfortably with a spotlight on the judge from the Menkies committee (mirroring Nina’s observant potential dean from last season’s finale as a notable figure to impress in the audience). No, Carlos’ singing is not on the par of Ewan McGregor’s (he’s right there with Jerry Orbach, but McGregor has the best voice in the world, so it’s hard to compete). Yes, it is funny that Olivia Rodrigo channels her kid-at-the-end-of-Love Actually energy to play a fork (which a friend of mine once did, too) during the number (it’s like if Greece had qualified a basketball team for the Olympics and then left Giannis Antetokounmpo on the bench). But the performance is so immaculately staged and magically ethereal that it feels like it captures, not only the spirit of Beauty and the Beast and the potential of High School Musical, but also the identity of what a showstopping Disney number can really make a viewer feel.
I was worried that something would go wrong at some point during the number, only giving us a verse or two to luxuriate in one of the staples of the Disney musical canon. Instead, Joanna Kerns’ expert direction allows the entire number to unfold without a hitch. No hesitation from a cast member when they see someone they care about in the audience, no broken stage equipment, no embarrassment in front of an awards committee. It’s just a truly well-choreographed, well-staged, perfect encapsulation of what musical theater can do, even at the amateur level.
And while Frankie Rodriguez and Dara Reneé deliver fully on what is asked of them vocally and the extra dancers on stage provide all the pomp and pizzazz of an ensemble performance like this (the more objects you throw out there, the better with “Be Our Guest”), I have to commend Julia Lester as Ashlyn. Belle is always the silent centerpiece of the song, but her reactions (in this case, in addition to the relatable off-stage awe of characters like E.J. and Big Red) felt so genuine and enchanting. She’s really a perfect Belle and this number proved that, as it culminates in her twirling in circles (there must be a name for this move; is it a pirouette?), giving it the bigness it deserves. Just an incredible job all around. We’ve been waiting all season for “Be Our Guest” and it did not disappoint; it delighted.
That was what I wanted to heap praise on the most, but as for the actual story of the episode, you can probably assume it’s opening night of the show. Just like last season, opening night is split into two episodes (with the intermission serving as the natural act break, to an extent). While last season’s cliffhanger was the embarrassingly electric uncertainty that came when E.J. donned the Troy Bolton jersey instead of Ricky, this season’s comes when we learn that Lily does not have affection for Ricky and is, instead, still working as a North High operative to sabotage the East High production. She’s stolen his vest for the Beast’s transformation scene and is hiding it by her side in the auditorium. It was always about manipulation for her (admittedly, I did think the show was setting her up as a new love interest for Ricky).
To back up a bit, though, that vest has a lot to do with where the show left us last week. The crew of East High nearly killed Ricky when the hoisted rope broke (my roommate, a stage veteran, has since informed me that this is not actually possible) and dropped Ricky onto the hard floor from about twenty feet up. He is not dead, though. He only broke his arm. And Ashlyn’s arm (he fell on her). But at least the two leads of the show have a matching arm brace. Without any understudies (whether that’s because of how seriously E.J. and Gina took the roles last year or because there was a real-world pandemic (though you wouldn’t know it from the audience, even though creator Tim Federle revealed ten of twelve episodes were filmed under protocols)), the show goes on with the braces, which hardly seem to hamper any element of the performance. This is not Devin Booker with a broken nose, y’all.
As we arrive at opening night with these injuries established, I couldn’t help but feel just how accurately the show had recreated the feelings and vibes of an opening night high school musical. From members of the show talking in darkened hallways to Nina running around the stage and passing out good luck cards (her and Ricky have yet to write anything to each other, though), I was taken back to my time as a stage crew member and stage manager for my own high school productions. Though, it certainly seems like these kids had a lot more pressure on them. (If my high school tried to stage that “Be Our Guest” number to the extent that East High pulled it off, it would’ve taken us the entire semester.)
That pressure results in E.J.’s makeup team doing him dirty, Big Red (referred to by Ashlyn as “Biggie,” which I cannot help but cringe for; like, seriously, what is this man’s name?) dry heaving (and using it as cover for a surprise), Gina speaking uncertainly over whether or not her and E.J. getting risotto together is a date date, and Carlos going catatonic after seeing North High’s Lumiere was actually on fire for the duration of the show. None of this is helped by the opening night speech delivered by Ms. Jenn, which she uses to remind them that fifty thousand dollars is on the line and scold them for nearly killing Ricky, rather than actually inspiring them.
It’s this moment that pushes Ms. Jenn right up to the edge of snapping, as we’ve felt throughout the duration of the season. She was already pretty manic and boundary-less during season one, but with the pressure of the Menkies and her former flame-turned-rival, Zack, Ms. Jenn had completely forgotten about the fun and community elements of the theater department. She was focused solely on winning (justifying it to herself as the kids wanting it, too) to the point that when Ricky cannot find the vest for the Beast, Ms. Jenn angrily exclaims, “Can’t you just jump off something high?”
This moment leaves the entire department in stunned, hurt silence, as Ms. Jenn recognizes she’s finally gone too far and removes herself from the situation entirely. Projecting her feelings of resentment and regret onto the students is something she will definitely need to work through before she is able to return to them as a teacher who is capable of teaching. And she’ll have to do it on her own, rather than relying on Mr. Mazzara or Ricky’s father to alternate shouldering emotional weight for her. Though, it’s still not that serious and I still fully expect her to become romantically involved with Mr. Mazzara in the early going of season three, if not by the end of season two. (I am done trying to figure out Ricky’s father’s role in all of this. The show would’ve been better off never even attempting to pair them together.)
Speaking of Mr. Mazzara, though, he gets so many fun things to do in this installment. First, he shares a brief heart-to-heart with E.J., when the latter reveals this is final opening night as a high schooler before thanking Mr. Mazzara for his assistance. I’m not sure exactly what Mr. Mazzara did for E.J. (unless he’s being thanked for the advice he provided earlier this arc), but the fact that Cash Caswell is in the audience to cheer on his son suggests that the Duke conversations progressed tolerably.
Plus, Mr. Mazzara also gets more involved in the actual story of the show for Beauty and the Beast (he helped Big Red with the lighting for High School Musical) by serving as the narrator! Obviously, those opening chords of Beauty and the Beast’s prologue are iconic, but hearing Mr. Mazzara’s voice chime in over them to tell the story of the beggar woman and the Beast (Mark St. Cyr enunciates perfectly) was just a fantastic touch by the show that continues to make the cutest characters comparably wholesome.
I do appreciate the structure of HSM: TM: TS this season, too, as it feels like everything has had a lot of room to breathe. For example, this episode gave us a full performance of “Be Our Guest” and “Something There,” which really helps to flesh out the production and let us see that there is a real stage show going on here and not just backstage drama. Plus, we get to here Ricky try out, “When we touched, she didn’t shudder at MY PAW!” twice. That’s the beauty of letting the production unfold naturally instead of cramming an obvious finale story into the actual finale.
This allowance for emotional moments to breathe is also a strong argument in favor of the twelve-episode season. If we hadn’t had the “Spring Break” episode, which allowed us to fully unravel all that Gina was feeling as we approached the season’s denouement, her hurt at her mother not appearing for the show would’ve felt obvious, rather than as impactful as it was. We can see that Gina really felt like she was due for a win that was just taken away from her when everything else seemed to be progressing well.
Although, even though E.J. and Gina are adorable together and they should just be allowed to be adorable without always having goddamn wrenches thrown into their dynamics, their risotto date might have some question marks attached to it. I may have buried the lede here by saving the episode’s special guest star for the end of the recap, but future Disney Legend Jordan Fisher turned up in “Showtime,” as the well-cast older brother/in-universe famous music producer of Gina, Jamie. (Fisher also sings on “Happily Ever After,” the Magic Kingdom’s nightly fireworks show that was announced to be permanently closing at the end of September, which is very sad for someone like me, who did the Disney College Program during 2018.)
On the one hand, it’s surprising that the show had not already found a way for Jordan Fisher to be on the show because it seems like the most obvious casting decision ever. On the other, it’s clear that Fisher has graduated a bit from this tier of Disney and instead can serve a legacy role on the show in a manner not unlike Lucas Grabeel’s cameo during season one.
He doesn’t have a whole lot to do in the episode besides provide emotional support to Gina when she needs it most and upend E.J.’s expectations for the risotto date by telling him that the entire Porter family is happy to see him acting as a “big brother” figure for Gina, which is just in the top ten percent of things you hate to hear. Now, Gina thinks it’s a date and E.J. thinks it’s platonic and the whole thing is just Andy and Erin on The Office with “Naughty” Nellie Nutmeg all over again. Please just let them date! They’re cute! You already took Ricky and Nini away and Seb and Carlos are fine and Big Red and Ashlyn seem very happy to be there. Just let Gina and E.J. be happy! They’re well past redemption!
There’s lots of dangling threads for next week’s season finale (where does the time go? We must ask Loki): Ms. Jenn’s outburst, the Menkies, Nina’s note to Ricky, Lily’s “betrayal,” Howie being starstruck by Kourtney. But we need something good happen to Gina and E.J. Let’s all spend the next week manifesting it, shall we? Or at least getting fine dining. That’s what the candelabra suggests when you’re stressed.
Read previous recaps:
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “New Year’s Eve”
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “Typecasting”
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “Valentine’s Day”
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “The Storm”
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “The Quinceañero”
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “Yes, And”
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “The Field Trip”
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “Most Likely To”
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “Spring Break”
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Recap: “The Transformation”
