High School Musical

High School Musical film series
Current logo to the High School Musical film series
Directed by	Kenny Ortega (1-3) Jeffrey Hornaday (4)[1]
Produced by	Bill Borden Don Schain (1/3)
Written by	Peter Barsocchini
Starring	Zac Efron Vanessa Hudgens Ashley Tisdale Corbin Bleu Lucas Grabeel Monique Coleman
Music by	David Lawrence Adam Watts Drew Lane Eddie Galan Drew Seeley Matthew Gerrard Robbie Nevil Shankar Mahadevan Randy Petersen Antonia Amato Jamie Houston Tim James Kevin Quinn Faye Greenberg Andy Dodd Greg Cham Ray Cham
Cinematography	Gordon Lonsdale (1/2) Daniel Aranyò (3)
Editing by	Seth Flaum
Distributed by	Disney Channel Walt Disney Pictures
Release date(s)	2006-2010
Running time	97 min. (1) 111 min. (2) 112 min. (3)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$4.2 million (1) $7.0 million (2) $13.3 million (3)
Gross revenue	$246 million (3rd film only)

The High School Musical film series consists of three Disney musical films directed by Kenny Ortega and created by Peter Barsocchini. It stars Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, Lucas Grabeel, and Monique Coleman. The original film was released simply as a Disney Channel Original Movie, but after its huge success it was followed by a TV movie sequel. The third movie received a first theatrical release in movie theaters.

Film series

High School Musical (2006)

The first appearance of Troy and Gabriella.

Star athlete Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) and the shy, smart Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens) meet while vacationing at a ski lodge over Christmas Break and inadvertently participate in a karaoke contest together (Start of Something New). When school starts in January, it is discovered that Gabriella is the new student at East High and Troy's heart skips a beat. Later that day, the pair are seen talking at the sign-up sheet for the Spring Musical by the Drama Club's co-presidents, Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) and Ryan (Lucas Grabeel) Evans. Doing her research, Sharpay finds out that Gabriella was a top student at her old school and convinces Scholastic Decathlon captain Taylor McKessie (Monique Coleman) to invite Gabriella to the team as a distraction from auditioning. Troy's best friend, Chad Danforth (Corbin Bleu), is concerned that Troy's mind seems to have wandered away from basketball despite being team captain and struggles to keep his attention.

As the day of auditions quickly approaches, and Troy and Gabriella are too shy to come forward after watching Sharpay and Ryan perform an unfortunate arrangement of a love song (What I've Been Looking For). Following the audition, Mrs. Darbus (Alyson Reed) declares it too late to audition, and Troy and Luke are left devastated with only each other to comfort themselves. After helping Kelsi Nielsen (Olesya Rulin), the composer, pick up her fallen music and listen to her play the intended version of the performed song, Mrs. Darbus stands and listens as Troy and Gabriella sing the song like star crossed lovers and invites them to a call back.

When the school finds out that Troy and Luke have auditioned for the Spring Musical, everyone fears the status quo of the school is drastically changing (Stick to the Status Quo). Chad and Taylor are afraid that their respective teams will fall to pieces, so the pair stage individual interventions, but feel guilty about getting Troy and Gabriella to change their minds about the audition. When word comes that Troy and Luke are still interested in auditioning, Sharpay and Ryan convince Mrs. Darbus to change the date of the callbacks, and the pair go on as planned with their audition (Bop to the Top). Fearful that they will be unable to attend the callbacks, Chad and Taylor stage a school-wide computer glitch that forces the whole school to pack the auditorium. Without appearance, Mrs. Darbus considers cancelling Troy and Gabriella's callback however they arrive in the nick of time and sing (Breaking Free). In the end, Ms. Darbus decides to award the lead roles to Troy and Gabriella, making Sharpay and Ryan understudies.

The film ends with the entire school gathering in the gym to celebrate (We're All in This Together).

High School Musical 2 (2007)

Ryan and Sharpay sitting poolside at Lava Springs.

It's the end of the school year, and everyone's excited for summer vacation (What Time is It?), and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) is happy to finally be spending her summer vacation without having to move. When the whole gang gets hired at Lava Springs Country Club as summer help, resident drama queen, Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale), is concerned the Wildcats are once again marching in on her territory. While taking time out of her day to convince the club manager to intimdate the Wildcats into quitting, Sharpay schemes to win over Troy (Zac Efron) by offering him various luxuries, including a chance for a college scholarship. Although Troy says he's committed to his relationship with Gabriella, Gabriella grows concerned after hearing he's spending more time with Sharpay.

Meanwhile, the club is preparing for the end-of-summer talent show, and the piano-playing Kelsi (Olesya Rulin) has written a special ballad especially for Troy and Gabriella (You Are the Music in Me), one that Sharpay would like rearranged for just her and Troy. When Ryan (Lucas Grabeel) discovers that Sharpay no longer interested in his talent, he finds himself spending more time with the Wildcats, even playing against Chad (Corbin Bleu) at a baseball game (I Don't Dance), one that Troy skips to attend a college hoops practice. Ryan even goes as far as secretly preparing a special dance number for him and the Wildcats to perform at the talent show. When Sharpay stumbles upon the Wildcats' rehearsal, she orders Club Manager, Mr. Fulton (Mark L. Taylor), to disallow all Junior Staff to partake in the talent show, namely the Wildcats. Fulton draws up a quick memo and pushes Activities Director, Taylor (Monique Coleman), to notify the Junior Staff.

Troy's good mood suddenly turns sour when everyone starts ignoring him, and Kelsi quietly presents him with Mr. Fulton's memo. After a devastating rehearsal with Sharpay for the talent show, Troy loses Gabriella, who informs him of her frustration with Sharpay's scheme and quits her job at Lava Springs. An angry Troy then confronts Sharpay and tells her he has to break his promise and not sing with her. When Chad and the Wildcats find out he's no longer singing in the show, they push him to go back to Sharpay, and only moments before the show does Ryan tell Troy she picked a different song. When Troy announces his disappointment to Sharpay of the change, Sharpay is left surprised and confused. As the final act, Troy is spotted on stage singing solo and the rest of the Wildcats posing as the help (including Gabriella) slowly join him on stage to complete the musical number (Everyday).

The summer comes to a conclusion with a pool party, destroying the rule that staff are not allowed to swim during work hours (All For One).

High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008)

Chad and Taylor discussing yearbook options.

It's the end of the Wildcats' championship basketball game against the West High Knights, where team captain Troy (Zac Efron) immediately rallies their spirits (Now or Never). At Troy's after-party, Troy and his girlfriend, Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens), are seen sitting in Troy's treehouse reflecting about the past year and picturing how their last few months at East High would end (Right Here, Right Now).

The following week at East High, drama teacher, Ms. Darbus (Alyson Reed), is alarmed when few students sign up to audition for the Spring Musical, and Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) suggests that she perform a one-woman show. Quickly, the discouraged playwright, Kelsi (Olesya Rulin), scribbles on the sign up sheet everyone in her homeroom class, including Sharpay, Ryan, Troy, Gabriella, and the less than enthusiastic Chad (Corbin Bleu), Taylor (Monique Coleman), and other fellow Wildcats. Conclusively, Ms. Darbus announces that the play will reflect the students' final days at East High. Ms. Darbus also announces that she will select one student for a Juilliard scholarship with Sharpay, Ryan, Kelsi, and Troy under consideration. Desperate to win the scholarship and knowing Kelsi will give the lead roles to Troy and Gabriella, Sharpay tries to persuade Ryan to help her convince Kelsi to consider them instead by predicting their future in theater (I Want It All).

Prom is around the corner, and Chad asks Taylor to be his date. She declines because she feels him to be unenthused about the event. Subsequently, Chad jumps onto a table and announces to the entire cafeteria that he is interested in having Taylor be his date, and she accepts (A Night to Remember). Meanwhile, Gabriella finds out that she has a chance to attend college early, and Troy encourages her to go, convinced that he is the only reason holding her back. However, on Prom night, Troy drives out to pick up Gabriella as East High is not the same without her. Days later, the play finally goes on as planned (Spring Musical), and at the close of the evening, Ms. Darbus announces that both Kelsi and Ryan each received the scholarship to Juilliard. It is also revealed the outcome of the other student's college choices (We're All in This Together (Graduation Mix)).

The movie concludes just like a stage musical with closeups of the lead actors.

High School Musical 4: East Meets West (2010)

The film will be helmed by choreographer and director Jeffrey Hornaday, and will debut on Disney Channel in the fall of 2010. Casting is underway for the fourth installment, which will be a story set against the cross-town school rivalry between the East High Wildcats and West High Knights. It will be a made for TV movie and will not include the usual main characters from the previous installments. Bart Johnson annouced he will be joining the cast for the fourth installment and Jemma McKenzie-Brown is rumored to be joining the cast once again. Jason Abustan officially will play Ricky Ortiz, the lead bad boy, in the movie.

Cast members

Discography

Reception

Box office performance

High School Musical: El Desafío

"Novo Ano Começou" is the first song on the movie.

High School Musical: El Desafío (in Spanish, The Challenge) is a spin-off of the American movie High School Musical for the Latin American market, based on the book Battle of the Bands. The films were scripted for a theatrical release, and had eight new songs have produced exclusively for the movie. The film was first adapted in Argentina in February 2008 and then for Mexico in August 2008.

Plot: Over the summer, the team captain discovers that the girl next door has changed a lot over the summer. Meanwhile, the mean girl is still as vain as ever and overshadows her poor brother and his "invisible" friends. When the school year begins, the school announces a "Battle of the Bands" contest. Working against the clock and with limited resources, both cliques pull their respective forces together for the big day. However, in an effort to win, dreams are thwarted, and only one band will be the winner.

Stage Performances & Other Media

Concert Tour

The "High School Musical: The Concert" tour started on November 29, 2006 kicking off in San Diego, California. The tour continued until January 28, 2007 performing in major cities around the United States, Canada and Latin America. The concert featured all of the original cast members except for Zac Efron, who was shooting Hairspray. Efron was replaced by Drew Seeley (whose voice was blended with Efron's during the movie). The concert featured the original songs from the movie, as well as songs from Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, and Corbin Bleu.

High School Musical: On Stage!

Pacific Repertory Theatre's School of Dramatic Arts High School Musical Act 1 Finale.

High School Musical was adapted to a stage musical starting in early 2006 with two versions: a 70-minute One Act play and a full-length Two Act musical. On August 1, 2006, Playbill announced that the Stagedoor Manor summer theater camp, featured in the movie Camp, would be the first venue to produce High School Musical on-stage. Pacific Repertory Theatre School of Dramatic Arts staged the California premiere in 2007, which was revived in 2008.

From early 2007 though the end of July, North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, MA had a production of High School Musical that featured Broadway actor Andrew Keenan-Bolger as Ryan and Kate Rockwell, a semi-finalist on Grease: You're the One that I Want!, as Sharpay.

High School Musical 2 was later adpated to a stage musical starting in late 2008. Both theatrical versions includes "Hummuhummunukunukuapua'a", a song cut from the film but included on the DVD. Again, Pacific Repertory Theatre School of Dramatic Arts presented the West Coast premiere of High School Musical 2 in January 2009.^[3] The production was directed by PacRep founder Stephen Moorer, who previously directed the California premiere of the first High School Musical.^[4].

Reality series

During July and August 2008, ABC broadcast a reality competition based on the series, High School Musical: Get in the Picture ^[5] hosted by Nick Lachey. The winner of the show appeared in a music video during the credits of High School Musical 3.^[6] The series premiered to poor ratings, with the show coming in fourth place in its timeslot.^[7]

Ice tour

"Feld Entertainment" produced global tour titled, High School Musical: The Ice Tour which had its world premiere in New York city on September 29, 2007.^[8] The cast included 2004 World Junior Bronze Medalist Jordan Brauninger and 2004-2005 Australian national champion Bradley Santer. The show contained elements and songs from both the original movie and its sequel, High School Musical 2 and now features a special preview of High School Musical 3: Senior Year.

Book series

In June 2006, Disney Press published High School Musical: the Junior Novel, the novelization of the successful film. This novel hit number one on the New York Times best-selling list and remained on the list for sixteen weeks.^[9] As of August 2007, the novel has sold more than 4.5 million copies, with 1 million copies of the novel's follow-up, High School Musical 2: The Junior Novel, being shipped to American retailers.^[9] "High School Musical 3: Senior Year: The Junior Novel" came out on September 23, 2008. Shortly after the success of the original novel, Disney announced that a book series, entitled Stories From East High, would be published in February 2007 with a new book being published every 60 days until July 2008. It also came to England, at the O2.

Video games

Disney Interactive Studios has produced 6 video games based on the High School Musical series, all taking the guise of music video games incorporating songs and plots from the movies.

References

External links

• Disney's High School Musical official site