RECOMMENDED
One of the biggest surprises of 2006 was the way that a sleepy little made-for-TV movie called “High School Musical” became such a cult teen phenomenon that its soundtrack became a triple-platinum album and the best-selling record of the year. What is gratifying about that statistic is that “High School Musical” is indeed a real musical that respects the form and uses song and dance to tell its angst-ridden tale of a high-school jock and a high-school brain who fall in love with each other and end up shattering all high-school stereotypes and convenient categorizations by wanting to star together in—gasp—the school musical. Emmy Award-winning singer/songwriter Drew Seeley, who penned the hit “Get’cha Head in the Game” from the score and sings on the soundtrack album, heads up this concert version of the show along with several of the multi-talented young stars reprising their roles from the film, including Corbin Bleu (“Chad”), Monique Coleman (“Taylor”), Lucas Grabeel (“Ryan”), Vanessa Hudgens (“Gabriella”) and Ashley Tisdale (“Sharpay”). (Dennis Polkow)
$38.50-$58.50. Allstate Arena, 6920 Mannheim, Rosemont, (312)559-1212.