Play Review: ‘Law School Musical’

Law School Musical, directed by Tiara Thorley and produced by Shea Shindak and Alyssa Welz, was filled with law puns and a whole lot of heart. It was Law Show’s parody of the beloved High School Musical. Put on entirely by law students with a secret love for theatre and all the proceeds went to the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton (SACE).

Sure, the cast and crew aren’t professional singers, dancers, or actors, but don’t underestimate what these law students can do. 

The show was a mix of scenes recreated from the classic 2006 film, dance numbers, and songs. The writers reworked the story of High School Musical to be about a University of Alberta law student and a University of Calgary law student. Instead of basketball, Troy (Taryn Ghostkeeper-Dachuk) is a star member of the moot — a mock trail — team. But after Gabriella (Tessa Sautner) comes to the U of A, Troy is torn between his moot commitment and joining the Law Show for Gabriella. 

As it turns out, Gabriella is convincing Troy to do Law Show so the U of C team can win the moot. But Troy has to win the moot because his father and coach (Eli Ziff) got caught up in a bad bet. 

The writers did a really fantastic job reworking the story to be all about law students while maintaining the core of the original story. And they didn’t take themselves too seriously. A lot of the play was ridiculous and poked fun at law students and lawyers. That was half the fun.

The actors did a great job bringing the story to life. Sharpay (Ashfia Ahmed) and Ryan (Quinten Kieser) were highlights. They brought the camp and the evil in equal parts. Chad (Michelle Li) and Zeke (Sean Cuevas) also had great performances, adding more comedy and mischief to the play.

Saunter also brought a lot of humour to her role, often at the expense of Troy. Her facial expressions and reactions with her back turned to her cast mates got a lot of giggles from the crowd.

But the actors didn’t just do a good job acting — they did a great job playing off of the crowd. At the beginning of the play, the crowd was told participation was encouraged and the crowd did not hold back. They heckled, catcalled, and who knows what else. Ghostkeeper-Dachuk was a good sport as the crowd would not allow the show to go on unless he was shirtless — and later shoe and sock-less. 

There were also some special guests that popped up throughout, including current professors, alumni, and even the dean. 

The singers and the band, too many to name, did an incredible job with the music. They brought some of the film’s beloved songs to life, as well as some early 2000’s hits. 

Now the dancers absolutely blew it out of the water. Over two dozen dancers would take to the stage for big choreographed numbers, including a few rather risky ones. No, they weren’t perfectly on time, but they were clearly having a lot of fun and that fed the crowd.

The only real critique would be for the venue. The sound system was not up to the challenge. Mics were too quiet or turned on too late consistently throughout the show. It was oftentimes hard to hear the actors or singers above the music or the crowd. The acoustics of the Myer Horowitz Theatre did not help the matter either. 

If you missed the Law Show this year, you missed out. It was about three hours of song, dance, a parody of a beloved film, and a whole lot of ridiculousness. The good news is, Law Show will be back again next year.