By ‘Dimeji Ogedengbe
One whole year spent pursuing the license. Another spent on marketing. Then months of preparations, and endless weeks of auditions; before finally selecting 32 young men and women who have spent many weeks together under a round-the-clock training sessions for music, dancing and acting, by four high profile tutors; Kaffy (dance coach), Tarilla Thompson (director), Stella Damasus (voice coach) and Emmanuel Ayalogu (acting coach). History is now set to be made on Thursday May 27.
The members of the fourth realm of the estate present at the media unveiling of Troy and Gabrielle of the Disney High School Musical held at the Eko Hotel’s Abora Hall yesterday (Sunday 23rd) marvelled at the outstanding performance of the cast. The performance Kaffy described as a tip of the iceberg was jaw-dropping, coming from Nigerian talents – who, prior to auditioning for the project, had little or no experience in acting.
The organizers unveiled the lead characters after a long anticipation. Minjin Adewale Lawson as Troy and Theodora Odinenu as Gabrielle- two young youths in High School with separate clique mates, who admired each other and later became lovebirds.
It was more like an appetizer performance than a tip of the iceberg. It was classic and exciting; blending with the mood of the evening. Ladies and gentlemen clicked glasses and exchanged banters during the cocktail held at Eko Hotel, in Lagos.
Some the tutors expressed their challenges in perfecting the acting and choreography, ‘I took extraordinary measures I had to work with, they’re not like the usual professionals I work with, I had to teach them over and over again. It was really challenging’ Nollywood director, Tarilla noted.
CEO of KiDZ Trust, the exclusive License holder of the worldwide Disney hit production in Nigeria; Sheila Okonji Ashinze who flew in from New York that evening couldn’t hide her enthusiasm after the contestants displayed a brief of their seven weeks outcome. She recounted the rigorous process in securing the license to have the show staged in Nigeria.
‘When we were negotiating for the license it was really tough. Disney gave us a lot of problems coz they only knew Nigeria in bad light but we had to convince them over again before we finally got the license’, Sheila told NET.
‘When people call artistes like M.I, P Square and other big artistes for shows I want them to be able to call the High School Musical Band too. They are a band now and they will be together for one year, then we’ll have a fresh crew’, she added.
The Disney High School Musical show will be staged on Thursday, May 27, 2010 in Lagos and on May 30 in Abuja. Comedian Ayo Makun (AY) and ace rapper M.I have been penciled down to host the show respectively.
51 comments
i hear gabrielle doesnt sing to well
me,i like this
why is it dat some nigerians don't have a mind of their own.imagine dis pple used the real name and d names of d same casts. pple shuld think bhink4 they do things or what do u think
men gabriella is nt fyn 1 bit atleast troy tried
i wish i cud be a part of it.i.e hsm,or any thing dat wud bring me 2 limelight,though i am a jambite whose aspiration is to be a doctor.
u are ugly
OMO D 2 DUDE ARE LOOKING ELEGANT
Wow is all i can say….I LOVE HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL AND WALT DISNEY
i'd like to be in the next cast of H.S.M. Nigeria (i've never had a better dream since 2008)
i hat all of them they are so ugly and they can't sing,act and they can't dance
if my brother was there he will be troy the troy in this one is ugly,short,disgusting and stupiddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd
I don't like Sharpay she is not decent and doesn't behave like real Sharpay
@Kesley; there’s really no need to be so nasty! It appears u like the real High School Musical very much and ur jst sad to see these Nigerians producing a poor version of it. I’m also not thrilled by HSM Nigeria but there really nothing we can do abt it.So pls stop being so nasty.
Whatever!!! I love High School Musical.
i luv this i wish 2 join this. i wish 2 b d gabriella
I wish i culd join hsm nigeria
U guys r d bomb.Troy, my phone number is ……….. Pls cal me!
Guys lets be happy nigeria can try dis even if their casts are ugh i wish i was in dat crew dey wil knw d meanin of acting
Yes make it good, for Nigeria.
I wish to contest pls can u guys call me wit dis no 07060767625 pls am seriously waiting.
i luv disney hsm.i wish to be a part of it & nigers troy & gabriella are good looking.
I would like to watch nigeria high school musical.
The selection is cool they are all doing great.i would realy like to be part of the acting am good and cute.thank u sheila 4 bringing hsm to naija
Pls, i would love to be in the fresh crew of Nigeria HSM. Pls,keep me posted.
I would love to join music group
Nice job,wish i cud join but am a student so no time
this is nice becos it is trying to bring out stars good job. awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Every one did so well.i wish i could play a role there but hey that was cool.keep it up let them know what naija’s got
Believe me I could do a whole lot better than those two…….too bad I don’t have the confidence.
Pls we nigerians should try and invent our own things and stop copying. It brings down our integrity. Wt all this Naija Troy and Gabraille are cute
I Like d idea.wod ve luvd 2 join d cast but i did nt knw abt it.hp u guys do it wel i blv in nija talent.link me if i gat a space.lol:-)
i had rather they lend d concept but a Nigeria incept. Gosh! Troy shuld hav bn Temi, Gabriella should hav been, kafilat or rather Onyinye.
i dont like d idea we should create what people would be be proud not copyin them wel i feel jealos 4 them
wow i wish i was in dis film wow ma dream com tru………………
I av not rily watch dem perform bt after dis let dem shame all dis critics by creatin something else.u critics shuld know its nt easy..
well HSM Nigeria is nothing 2 talk about i am always thrilled anytime i Disney HSM DUT DIS IS DIFFERENT
D best 1 can b is 2 b himself
we can showcase our talent and still b real
we av 2 start 4rm somewhere i think dis is a great start. KUDOS!
I luv high school musical,i wish i could be part ,cos that is my dream,
Vanessa nd Zac are my fans but d effort wasn’t enuf 4 d Nija’s hsm,in short d Nigerians Troy nd Gabriella ‘ren’t eligible enuf.
TRY TO PUT MORE ZEAL
It will be cool.
I hope the cameras wont be local.
I just uploaded hsm videos at naijamobile
They really did great and who is this kelsey girl saying the characters aren’t cute?I’ll tell u something they are as cute and as perfectly fit for the characters..
Don‘t worry guys. It gets better..
Nigerians are good, they can create something better, if they try.Trying to re-do what sumpeople av done only make Nigerians inferior & dem superior. If we kip doing this we will neva grow.they’ve been copying 4 a long time, if not all but d titles:wen w u ar mine(mexico), save d last dance & now High School Musical. THEY SHUD STOP & B REAL!!!!!!!!!
u guys produced bunch of idiots!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I bet dey r nt as half as gud as d real Troy nd Gabreilla.so just luk 4 sumtin gud 2 do.
I love it, sincerely it’s “Never Say Never” which means its quite interestn. I’ll like to watch the nigeria H.S.M.
You guyz are great when will the competition begin
its rily a gud idea 2 produce d 9ja version of hsm coz i sooo love d original version nd av bin prayin 4 9jarianz 2 cum up wif sumfin lyk dis,seems my prayers av bin ansad……………gud job guyz!!!!kip d flag flyin!!!!!
its rily a gud idea 2 produce d 9ja version of hsm coz i sooo love d original version nd av bin prayin 4 9jarianz 2 cum up wif sumfin lyk dis,seems my prayers av bin ansad……………gud job guyz!!!!kip d flag flyin!!!!!wld rily luv 2 b part of d nxt cast……
It rily gud having disney in nigeria.bt we dnt act lyk dem.4 example go thru all cities,churches,schools nd choose those u want nd u wil b glad u did.u r rily doing gud
It rily gud having disney in nigeria.bt we dnt act lyk dem.4 example go thru all ities,churches,schools nd choose those u want nd u wil b glad u did.u r rily doing gud