High School Musical Party

When it came time to plan Ally's birthday party, she knew exactly how she wanted to celebrate. She had been singing and dancing nonstop since the premiere of High School Musical 2 and chose to use the movie as the theme for her party.

But how could I, someone who has never danced before, pull off a musical?

I started with the invitations by printing "Admit One" tickets, listing the invitee's name and party details. I encouraged guests to come dressed as their favorite character from the movie and marked the invites with backstage access. Then I punched a hole on the top of the pass and made a necklace with ribbon so that invitees could wear them.

On party night, two plastic red tablecloths lined the hallway so each guest could walk the "red carpet" on their way to the movie. After snapping a quick headshot, I put the partygoers to work in the kitchen making individual pizzas and let them serve each other as if they were working at the country club, following the movie's storyline. We had the movie soundtrack playing in the background, which got the kids dancing and singing as they worked and ate.

Afterward, Ally taught her guests a short portion of her favorite dance from the movie while I readied the camcorder.

"I want fabulous, that is my simple request..." Ally sang as she danced in front of the crowd, in full Sharpay fashion. Ally had definitely picked the right character to mimic, as she loves to be center stage.

"I need fabulous!" she belted out like a drama queen in grand-finale mode.

After the performance, I pasted the headshots on the "backstage passes" and double-checked each one with a flashlight in the now-darkened hallway before giving them access "backstage" (basement) to watch a tape of their performance and eat cake before viewing the actual movie.

Who knew a woman who can't carry a tune could pull off a musical?