FAIRBANKS - Cheerful, energetic and, best of all, diverse — the cast of Fairbanks Light Opera Theatre’s “High School Musical” brings the Disney smash hit to life right here in Fairbanks with a wide-ranging and talented cast of local youth.

School spirit was alive and thriving on stage in the Hering Auditorium for the opening weekend, captivating audience members with the production’s bubblegum music, vibrant choreography and — in true Disney fashion — a happy ending.

The story centers around a jock named Troy and his new love interest Gabriella, the new girl in town, and their struggle to break away from the status quo of their respective “cliques.”

David Zody, a Lathrop graduate, nailed the leading role of a swoopy-haired basketball hunk struggling to fit in with his peers, get the girl and embrace his inner thespian — all the while trying to live up to the expectations of his balding, ornery basketball coach father, played excellently by Justin Harvey.

At the same time, new girl Gabriella, played by Monroe High School’s Emily Anderson, struggles to quietly fit in to her new school mid-way through the year, make new friends and date the untouchable basketball star. The voice range and chemistry of both Zody and Anderson worked perfectly, even during the puppy love scenes where they reminisce on the good old days of kindergarten when being unique, like everyone else, was acceptable among peers.

The biggest surprise in the production was easily the music. From the leading roles to the villainous and comical theater duo and company, every song was full of energy and demonstrated the impressive talents of Fairbanks youth of the 35-member cast.

The stage was filled with animated characters from jocks, preps, skaters, cheerleaders, whiz kids, drama kids and even quirky drama teachers and uptight balding basketball coaches who chew on their words as hard and fast as they chew their gum.

Theater villain Sharpay Evans, played by Lathrop sophomore Sydney Stone, plays a convincing high school diva with her dramatic eye rolls and witty sarcasm. Stone and her counterpart, UAF’s Paul Ri’os who plays Sharpay’s brother Ryan stole the show with their bantering and mischievous antics on stage.

The daily three-hour rehearsals paid dividends for the 35-member cast who made high school look like a blast, especially when they sang and danced with basketballs and pompoms down the war zone that is a high school hallway.

The production keeps a light-hearted tone and fresh perspective on the awkward adolescent stage from first loves, to the value of friendship, time management and the constant struggle to fight or adhere to the status quo. In just two acts, Troy and Gabriella manage to save high school. They find true, high school-style love, fight peer pressure, win the academic decathlon, win the big championship game, make friends with the bullies and of course, earn leading roles in the school play, fittingly, “Juliet and Romeo.”

Whether the story reflects the reality of high school is arguable but the peppy feel-good lyrics of the closing song, “We’re all in this together,” makes you feel like you can change the world, leaving you with a warm fuzzy feeling and the urge to shout “Go Wildcats!”

In a way, the production allows us to live vicariously through our local high school students, giving us a chance to relive the good old days before having to pay taxes, while making us feel young again.

••• “High School Musical,” continues tonight and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. in Hering Auditorium.

Tickets can be purchased at www.flot.org or at Hering Auditorium an hour before show time. Reserved seats are $25, while regular adult tickets are $20. For military members, senior citizens and those ages 13 to 18, the cost is $15. Kids under 13 are $10.

Contact features writer Rebecca George at 459-7504.