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120-479: The following article is a list of characters appearing in the High School Musical film series . Currently, the characters who appear in High School Musical , High School Musical 2 , and High School Musical 3: Senior Year are listed. The first three films focus on the six main characters . The first film chronicles events occurring over several weeks in their junior year of high school, with

240-407: A Stanford -bound Gabriella is uneasy about the fast pace her life has taken. Before graduation, Gabriella briefly considers taking classes at the local university for a year and going to Stanford when she is ready, much to the dismay of Taylor and Ms. Montez. Troy urges Gabriella to accept an early orientation. Gabriella goes to Stanford but must drop out of the school musical (allowing Sharpay to fill

360-450: A cult following . In November 2017, a television spin-off of the franchise was announced to be in development. In November 2019, a television series featuring a completely new cast, titled High School Musical: The Musical: The Series , was released on Disney+ . Filmed in Utah, High School Musical was released on January 20, 2006 as a Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM), and was

480-598: A Disney Channel Original Movie on May 22, 2011. Set a year after the events of Senior Year , the film looks at Sharpay's life after graduation as she attempts to land a role in a Broadway show. After performing at a local fundraiser event in Albuquerque, New Mexico , a talent scout offers Sharpay a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in New York City . Unsure if she is ready to take on the big city by herself, Sharpay's father tells her that she has one month to land

600-514: A billion-dollar hit across screens big and small thanks to a love of song, dance, and happy endings. And that's pure, old-fashioned showbiz." The original High School Musical sold 8   million DVD units, earning an operating income of $ 100 million . East High School was chosen as the Number 1 Top Five Best High Schools from Movies and TV by St. Petersburg Times . In June 2006, Disney Press published High School Musical: The Junior Novel ,

720-604: A concert tour titled High School Musical: The Concert . It started on November 29, 2006, kicking off in San Diego. 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

840-510: A different cast. The first release was for Argentina in February 2008, with the title High School Musical: El Desafío . The second film release was for Mexico in August 2008, with the same title. The third film was released for Brazil, with the title High School Musical: O Desafio in 2010. The plot includes: The high school team captain discovers that the girl next door has changed a lot over

960-494: A fourth season comprising eight episodes. During July and August 2008, ABC broadcast a reality competition based on the series, titled High School Musical: Get in the Picture , hosted by Nick Lachey . The winner of the show appeared in a music video during the credits of High School Musical 3 . The series premiered to poor ratings, with the show coming in fourth place in its timeslot. On January 20, 2016, to celebrate

1080-414: A job." Sharpay's family is very affluent; their wealth stems from the country club, Lava Springs, her parents own. In High School Musical , Sharpay is shown as being somewhat popular. Students on East High seem to fear her, as they scour to make room for her in the hallways or cafeteria. Fear also appears to be the reason why other students, such as Kelsi Nielsen, remain a part of Sharpay's posse . Sharpay

1200-526: A lack of effort in creating a culturally relevant adaptation of the original, stating that the film's setting made to look like "any college in Middle America, but full of Mandarin-speaking students", and calling the script "non-existent". The soundtrack was likewise not well-received. Despite this, a song that was written for the movie titled "Rainy Season" ( 梅雨季 ), received positive reception. In November 2010, Disney announced their intention to film

1320-399: A new apartment after she got thrown out of a penthouse for refusing to throw her dog out. After finding out that the agents really want her dog, not her, she befriends the star, Amber Lee Adams, who manipulates her into doing chores, being her manager in exchange for her dog's role, until she sees Amber Lee's true face. Roger, whose dog is on competition with Sharpay's, helps expose Amber Lee to

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1440-474: A new student, have auditioned for the school musical and have been called back for the lead roles. Hoping to keep Troy's head in the game, Chad and his teammates stage an intervention while Taylor McKessie and her friends, who want Gabriella to stay focused on the national decathlon team, do the same with Gabriella. The plan is successful, but Chad and Taylor soon realize that they hurt their close friends. After admitting their guilt, they help Troy and Gabriella make

1560-605: A role in the show, or she will have to return home and work at the Lava Springs Country Club. Upon arriving in New York City, Sharpay soon realizes that the theatre world is a lot more cut-throat than a high school musical. With the help of her new friend Peyton Leverett ( Austin Butler ), Sharpay sets out to realize her star-studded dreams. In early 2016, Disney announced that a fourth installment of

1680-456: A showcase in New York, directed by Peter Seidman , Parrish was offered professional representation and went on to guest star in several television shows and appeared in the film Sleepover (2004). Parrish gained recognition when he began starring in the hit Showtime series Weeds in 2005. The show ran for eight seasons, ending in 2012. Part of the main ensemble cast, Parrish portrayed

1800-406: A ski lodge karaoke party on New Year's Eve , however she quickly makes friends with Taylor McKessie, who finds out about Gabriella's various academic accomplishments and urges her to join the school's national academic decathlon team. Gabriella is hesitant, but eventually agrees. Having unearthed a passion for performing at the karaoke party, Gabriella decides to audition for the school musical, but

1920-404: A ski lodge karaoke party on New Year's Eve . When the school year resumes, Troy finds that Gabriella is a new student at East High. For fear of what his father, friends, and classmates would think, Troy asks Gabriella not to mention his singing performance to anybody else. However, the secret eventually gets out when Troy and Gabriella unintentionally audition for the winter musical after singing in

2040-408: A special dance number for them to perform at the talent show. Sharpay discovers this and orders Mr. Fulton to disallow all Junior Staff to partake in the talent show. Ignored by his friends, Troy has a devastating rehearsal with Sharpay and loses Gabriella, who quits her job at Lava Springs. Realizing Sharpay's scheme from Mr. Fulton's memo, Troy confronts Sharpay and refuses to sing with her. Chad and

2160-669: A stage musical starting in late 2008. Both theatrical versions include "Hummuhummunukunukuapua'a", a song cut from the film but included on the DVD. Pacific Repertory Theatre School of Dramatic Arts presented the West Coast premiere of High School Musical 2 in January 2009. The production was directed by PacRep founder Stephen Moorer , who had directed the California premiere of the first High School Musical . In 2006, Disney produced

2280-525: A star on Broadway to congratulate her. While Sharpay goes to chase Boi, Ryan enjoys her bed until it folds back into the closet, taking Ryan with it. Ryan is played by Lucas Grabeel in the first three installments of the franchise. Corbin Bleu , who was later cast as Chad Danforth, auditioned for the role of Ryan. Grabeel had previously appeared in Disney Channel's Halloweentown High . Only after

2400-582: A string of recurring roles on television. In 2013 and 2014, he guest starred on The Good Wife as Jeffrey Grant, a young man accused of murder. In 2015, he also had recurring roles in The Following and Hand of God . Parrish had a main role in the Amazon series Good Girls Revolt , which was released in 2016. In 2017, Parrish was cast in the recurring role of Clay Haas in the second season of ABC 's thriller series Quantico . In March 2019, it

2520-439: A surprise appearance, and Ms. Darbus announces that both Kelsi and Ryan have received a scholarship to Juilliard. The Wildcats reveal their college choices, with Troy deciding to stay not far from Gabriella, and the film concludes with a big celebratory graduation. Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure is a spin-off film starring Ashley Tisdale , and was released as a Blu-ray/DVD combination pack on April 19, 2011, and then broadcast as

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2640-403: A television spin-off of the film series entitled Madison High and began casting that same year. A pilot episode for the series was officially ordered in early 2011, which would star Luke Benward , G. Hannelius , Leah Lewis , Katherine McNamara , Mark Indelicato , and Nolan Sotillo . Alyson Reed also reprised her role as Ms. Darbus. In November 2017, a new television series spin-off of

2760-406: A theatrical release. Zac Efron , Vanessa Hudgens , Ashley Tisdale , Lucas Grabeel , Corbin Bleu , and Monique Coleman starred in the trilogy. Tisdale and Grabeel reprised their roles as Sharpay and Ryan Evans in a spin-off on the series titled Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure , ultimately released as both a direct-to-video film and a Disney Channel Original Movie. The franchise has developed

2880-412: Is Troy Bolton's best friend and teammate. Chad is known for wearing shirts with eccentric phrases and messages on them. In the third film , those messages are all environment-friendly. In High School Musical , Chad is gearing up for the district championship basketball game and assumes Troy, also the team captain, is doing the same. However, news soon spreads around school that Troy and Gabriella Montez,

3000-535: Is a member of the East High School boys' varsity basketball team and one of Troy Bolton, Chad Danforth, and Zeke Baylor's good friends. He tends to ask questions or make statements that make him come off as a kiss-up or unintelligent. In High School Musical 2 , he works as a bus boy at Lava Springs country club. He has a mutual love interest in Kelsi Nielsen, but never been shown a relationship. In

3120-403: Is a member on the East High School boys' varsity basketball team. In the final game of High School Musical 3: Senior Year , he is used as somewhat of a secret weapon and scores the winning basket. He looks up to Troy Bolton and has a small crush on Sharpay Evans. He is Troy's understudy for the spring musical and is able to perform with Sharpay on opening night. Matt Prokop portrays Jimmie in

3240-463: Is a player or an equipment manager or towel boy. Nevertheless, he looks up to Chad Danforth and evens asks to have Chad's gym locker after he graduates. His best friend is Jimmie Zara. Donny is portrayed by Justin Martin in High School Musical 3: Senior Year . Martin almost gave up on auditioning for the role because the casting directors told him he was too little. Susan is a girl who auditions for

3360-404: Is always sweet and kind to those around her, but that is only for her image. In truth, she is self-absorbed, demanding, mean, and manipulative , much like Sharpay in the previous films. High School Musical (film series) The first film was released simply as a Disney Channel Original Movie , but after its huge success, it was followed by a television sequel . The third film received

3480-700: Is an American actor and singer. He is known for playing the role of Silas Botwin in the Showtime series Weeds and for his performances in the Broadway productions of Godspell in the role of Jesus and Spring Awakening as Melchior. Parrish was born in Richmond, Virginia , to Annie Parrish, who works with children with autism, and Bruce Tharp, an engineer. Parrish has an older brother. He graduated from Plano Senior High School and Texas Tech University Independent School District . After being seen at

3600-419: Is careful not to upstage Sharpay. Due to her dedicated presence during rehearsals for the spring musical, Ms. Darbus casts Tiara as an understudy. Tiara later overhears Gabriella Montez talking to Taylor McKessie about an early orientation at Stanford University , which would make Gabriella unable to perform as the lead in the musical. Tiara informs Sharpay, who is impressed by her dedication. Gabriella leaves for

3720-437: Is changing and being pulled into Sharpay's world. She tries to convince Gabriella that Troy is no longer the nice guy she fell for. In High School Musical 3: Senior Year , Taylor is editor of the school yearbook. While she will attend Yale University and study political science (with the goal of becoming President of the United States ), she pushes Gabriella to accept an early orientation at Stanford University while joining

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3840-520: Is hired at Lava Springs Country Club, where Sharpay tries to convince manager Mr. Fulton (Mark L. Taylor) to intimidate the Wildcats into quitting. As the club prepares for the end-of-summer talent show, Sharpay schemes to win Troy over with various luxuries, including a chance for a college scholarship, worrying Gabriella. Ryan, abandoned by Sharpay, spends more time with the Wildcats and secretly prepares

3960-472: Is impressive, but it turns out to be a facade. On opening night of the spring musical, Tiara attempts to upstage Sharpay, but fails. Sharpay does not receive a scholarship to Juilliard and decides to pursue a "Performing Arts" degree at the University of Albuquerque . She has agreed to return to East High to assist Ms. Darbus with the drama department and to continue her reign over Tiara. Sharpay becomes

4080-403: Is one of several students to reveal a secret passion following Troy Bolton's audition for the school musical. Zeke's passion is baking, which impresses Sharpay at the end of the film. In High School Musical 2 , Zeke is one of many East High students to be hired to work at Sharpay's family's country club, Lava Springs. He assists Chef Michael in the kitchen. His crush on Sharpay still remains, but

4200-547: Is playing the piano in the dining room. She is also the rehearsal pianist for Sharpay. She has a mutual love interest in Jason Cross, but is ultimately never shown to be in a relationship. In the third film she attends prom with Ryan when he invites her to work together, but only as friends. Kelsi receives a scholarship to the Juilliard School , where she will study music. Kelsi is portrayed by Olesya Rulin in

4320-423: Is portrayed by Zac Efron , with Drew Seeley providing his singing voice in the first film. The reason for this dubbing is still somewhat unclear, although Efron has told Rolling Stone that the songs the first film were written prior to casting and since the role of Troy was a tenor, they were out of his vocal range as Efron was a baritone. Seeley, who auditioned for the role before Efron was cast, played Troy in

4440-421: Is set to attend the University of Albuquerque , he begins to have second thoughts about other schools he and his father talked about. Coach Bolton and Chad are both insistent on Troy attending the university, but he decides to attend University of California, Berkeley in order to pursue both basketball and theater and to be closer to Gabriella, who enrolls at Stanford University . In the first three films, Troy

4560-461: Is sometimes the victim of playful jokes and light teasing from the East High basketball team, despite the fact that one of their star players, Zeke Baylor, has a crush on Sharpay. Sharpay's talents are challenged for the first time when Gabriella Montez and Troy Bolton are called back for the lead roles in the musical. To ensure that she and Ryan remain in the spotlight, Sharpay convinces Ms. Darbus,

4680-545: Is the male protagonist and love interest of Sharpay Evans in Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure . He is a film student at New York University who is assigned by his mother to keep an eye on Sharpay while she's in town, and immediately finds her interesting and decides to make her his filming subject of "A special story in New York". He is the one who helps Sharpay locate a studio apartment, encourages her to pursue her dreams, adapt to her surroundings and reminds her of who she really

4800-410: Is the president of the science club at East High and a member of the school's national decathlon team. Taylor is a feminist and admires many important women in history. She is also shown to have a wide range of knowledge, including anything from computers to the daily lunch special in the school cafeteria. In the first film , she is shown as finding the school's athlete as tribal. She is also impressed at

4920-438: Is too late. It is only when the musical's director, Ms. Darbus, overhears Gabriella singing with Troy that she gives them both a callback. Gabriella is uncertain about pursuing the lead role, especially when Taylor and the other members of the decathlon team tell her that the musical will take her focus off the upcoming decathlon event. Taylor and her friends stage an intervention, which portrays Troy as not caring about Gabriella or

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5040-399: Is when she is about to lose herself. When Sharpay becomes Amber Lee Adam's secretary, she loses time to spend with Peyton. Peyton becomes frustrated with her ignorance to Amber Lee's ambitions, Boi and Countess's newfound relationship and lack of time to spend with him. The two have an argument and Peyton drops her from his project until she apologizes to him the next day. After Amber Lee quit

5160-536: The Disney Channel series " The Suite Life of Zack & Cody ", insists that she was not offered the role of Sharpay and had to audition, also claiming that she almost didn't get the role because the Disney executives did not think she could play the "mean girl" role based on her performance in "The Suite Life". Tisdale said that she went into the auditions at the last minute, but felt very comfortable in front of

5280-424: The third film he attends prom with Martha Cox, but only as good friends, when Kelsi goes with Ryan. While he joins his friends on a final musical before graduation, he also has to spend time to study for his finals. At the end of the movie, he finally earns enough scores to graduate. Jason is portrayed by Ryne Sanborn in the first three films of the series. Martha Cox is an East High School student and member of

5400-503: The California premiere in 2007, which was revived in 2008. From early 2007 through the end of July, North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, Massachusetts 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 adapted to

5520-492: The Decathlon. Chad and Taylor stage a school-wide computer glitch that forces the school to stop the game and the Decathlon, and lead all the students into the auditorium. Troy and Gabriella arrive in the nick of time and are awarded the lead roles, while Sharpay and Ryan are understudies . The film ends as the entire school gathers in the gym to celebrate East High's basketball victory. The first sequel to High School Musical

5640-466: The Disney executives, as she already knew them. To ensure that viewers loved to hate her character, Tisdale looked to Rachel McAdams ' performance in Mean Girls . Ryan Evans is the twin brother of Sharpay Evans. Like his sister, Ryan is very much involved with musical theater and performing. However, his interests do not end at theater, as he also enjoys playing baseball and was on a team that won

5760-419: The East High spring musical to determine who will be the recipient. Ryan is the choreographer of the show while Kelsi is the composer, and the two of them attend prom together. Ultimately, two Juilliard scholarships are awarded, to both Ryan and Kelsi. At the end of Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure , Ryan is on a break from his musical tour around the country and pays a visit to his sister Sharpay after she became

5880-472: The High School Musical concert as the latter had a scheduling conflict with the filming of Hairspray , and was thus, unable to join the tour. Efron, however, did all of his own singing in the next two films. Casting for the role was a multi-audition process, and candidates for the role included Hunter Parrish and Sterling Knight . Efron had previously audition for a Disney Channel pilot that

6000-485: The Midsummer Night Talent Show, abandoning plans to enter the show with Ryan. Ryan begins to step out of Sharpay's shadow and Troy eventually begins to free himself from Sharpay's grip. Sharpay is unable to perform at the talent show, but does join Troy and Gabriella's duet in the background, along with their other friends. Despite having little involvement in the show, the fixed competition's prize,

6120-483: The Scholastic Decathlon team. Troy's best friend Chad Danforth ( Corbin Bleu ) is concerned that Troy is distracted from basketball. After Sharpay and her twin brother Ryan ( Lucas Grabeel ) perform a flashy audition for the musical, Troy and Gabriella manage to give their own performance and receive a callback. When the school finds out Troy and Gabriella have auditioned, everyone fears the status quo of

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6240-514: The Star Dazzle Award, was going to be given to her, but she selflessly awards the prize to her brother, who arranged Troy and Gabriella's duet. By the third film , Sharpay's popularity seems to be limited among admiring boys and is no longer having an antagonistic role. In her senior year, Sharpay meets Tiara Gold, a British transfer student eager to learn the ropes at East High by becoming Sharpay's personal assistant. Tiara's dedication

6360-516: The Wildcats convince Troy to go back to Sharpay and the show. Ryan surprises Troy and Sharpay with a change in song – as the final act, Troy sings solo, when Gabriella unexpectedly joins him, along with the rest of the Wildcats. Sharpay learns her lesson in humility and is invited to join in; instead of awarding the Star Dazzle Trophy to herself as usual, she gives it to Ryan. Troy and Gabriella share their first kiss, and everyone celebrates

6480-556: The Wildcats to basketball championship victory, and he and Gabriella reflect on their time at East High and their uncertain future. With most of the Wildcats recruited to the Spring Musical, which will present 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, Sharpay tries to persuade Ryan to help her convince Kelsi to consider them as

6600-412: The auditorium. The news throws East High's social order out of balance. Troy finds himself having to choose between Gabriella and the musical callbacks or his team and the championship game. Although his friends initially try to thwart Troy's chances of being cast as the musical's lead, they help him make both the game and the callbacks, which had been scheduled on the same afternoon. Troy and Gabriella earn

6720-457: The callback dates. The plan falls through and Troy is cast in the lead role. In High School Musical 2 , Ryan plans on enjoying the summer at his family's country club, Lava Springs, and entering the Midsummer Night Talent Show with Sharpay. However, he begins to step out of his sister's shadow when she decides to enter the talent show with Troy instead. Ryan decides to help Gabriella and her friends, who have felt abandoned by Troy, stage an act for

6840-491: The callbacks, as well as the game and decathlon. At the end of the film, Chad asks Taylor on a date. In the second film , Chad and Taylor seem to have maintained a relationship. Hoping to save up for a car, Chad takes a job at the Lava Springs country club for the summer, alongside Troy, Gabriella, Taylor, and their friends. Chad reluctantly agrees to participate with the other employees in the Midsummer Night Talent Show at

6960-454: The club's Midsummer Night Talent Show. Troy gives into Sharpay's plot, causing Gabriella, Chad, and their friends to see Troy as a whole new person. Although Troy is being offered a college scholarship, he soon realizes he must not compromise his character while on the quest for his future, and returns to his old self. In the franchise's third film , Troy once again feels uncertain about his future as high school graduation draws near. While Troy

7080-478: The club. His friendship with Troy also hits a wall when Troy compromises himself for luxuries at the country club. The two, however, make up. In High School Musical 3: Senior Year , Chad is looking forward to playing basketball with Troy at the University of Albuquerque following high school graduation. He is initially upset when Troy decides to attend the University of California, Berkeley instead, but accepts

7200-428: The co-president of the East High drama department alongside her twin brother, Ryan, with whom she has starred in 17 school productions. Sharpay appears to have the most power in the drama department, leaving Ryan as her right-hand man. However, the sibling loyalty is not always mutual. Classmate Taylor McKessie suspects that if Sharpay "could figure out how to play both Romeo and Juliet, her own brother would be aced out of

7320-414: The couple, along with their friends, get jobs at the Lava Springs country club. Seeking revenge, Sharpay lures Troy away from Gabriella and his friends, showering him with various luxuries, including promising college opportunities. After Troy repeatedly breaks his promises and backs out of his commitments, Gabriella breaks up with him, only for the couple to reunite. In High School Musical 3: Senior Year ,

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7440-505: The daughter of High School Musical writer Peter Barsocchini but modeled after a girl Barsocchini met before his teenage years, is portrayed by Vanessa Hudgens in the first three films of the franchise. Hudgens had previously auditioned for other Disney Channel projects. During auditions, Hudgens was paired with Zac Efron , who landed the role of Troy, at each callback, with director Kenny Ortega saying "We tried to separate them and try them with other partners but it didn't work. The magic

7560-495: The director of the school's winter musical, allows Kelsi to compose the music. During the auditions, Sharpay and her brother, Ryan, perform one of Kelsi's original songs, "What I've Been Looking For", but with an upbeat arrangement. When Kelsi tells Sharpay that she imagined the song to be much slower, Sharpay belittles her and Kelsi retreats. After auditions, Kelsi is approached by Troy and Gabriella, who tell her she does not have to be intimidated by Sharpay. She offers to show them how

7680-539: The drama department and, undoubtedly, continue to upstage Tiara. Tiara is portrayed by Jemma McKenzie-Brown in High School Musical 3: Senior Year . Disney star Selena Gomez has admitted to turning down the role, while Ali Lohan reportedly auditioned for the role. Although Brown was originally set to star in High School Musical 4: East Meets West , it has since been confirmed that she will not reprise her role. Jimmie Zara, also known as "the Rocket" or "Rocketman",

7800-478: The end of the film series, David Simpatico, one of the writers, revealed Ryan's homosexuality , describing him as a "coded gay" – characters without revealed sexuality by the rules of the studios, a controversial topic when talking to children and teenagers. Ortega based the character on his own adolescence: "I see a lot of myself in Ryan. Yeah, I knew I was gay in high school, but I didn't tell anybody". Chad Danforth

7920-548: The end of the summer with a staff pool party. The third installment in the High School Musical franchise premiered in London on October 17, 2008 and was theatrically released in the United States on October 24, 2008. Receiving generally positive reviews, it set a record for largest opening weekend for a musical film and became the highest-grossing film in the franchise. Nearing the end of senior year, Troy rallies

8040-410: The fact that he and Troy cannot stay together forever. Chad also struggles with asking Taylor to prom, but finally succeeds after several tries. Corbin Bleu portrays Chad Danforth in the first three films of the franchise. Bleu originally auditioned for the role of Ryan Evans, but was suggested for the role of Chad instead. Bleu had auditioned for Disney Channel projects in the past. Taylor McKessie

8160-479: The fans. 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 film Camp , would be the first venue to produce High School Musical on-stage. Pacific Repertory Theatre School of Dramatic Arts staged

8280-492: The film). The concert featured the original songs from the film, as well as songs from Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, and Corbin Bleu. In 2007, Feld Entertainment produced a global tour titled High School Musical: The Ice Tour , which had its world premiere in New York City, on September 29, 2007. 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

8400-435: The films was announced to be in development. On September 6, 2018, Disney announced that it began casting for a reimagining of the film for its upcoming streaming service , titled High School Musical: The Musical . The 10-episode series would be structured as a single-camera mockumentary , and feature both music from the original film, as well as new songs. In October 2018, it was announced that Joshua Bassett would play

8520-419: The first three films in the franchise. Stroh took some of her dance students to audition for High School Musical as background dancers. Director Kenny Ortega pulled her aside and asked her to audition for the role of Martha, choosing her. Tiara Gold is a British transfer student who takes a job as Sharpay Evans' assistant to learn the ropes at East High. She shows some initial interest in musical theater, but

8640-449: The first three films of the series. Rulin, who had previously starred in Disney Channel's Halloweentown High alongside Lucas Grabeel , was cast in her High School Musical role immediately after her own high school graduation. Zeke Baylor is one of East High's most talented basketball players. He appears to be very close to Jason Cross, Troy Bolton, and Chad Danforth. He also is attracted to Sharpay Evans. In High School Musical , he

8760-592: The guise of music video games incorporating songs and plots from the films, High School Musical: Sing It! , High School Musical: Makin' the Cut! , High School Musical: Livin' the Dream , High School Musical 2: Work This Out! , High School Musical 3: Senior Year , High School Musical 3: Senior Year Dance! , and Disney Sing It! – High School Musical 3: Senior Year . [REDACTED] Category Hunter Parrish Hunter Parrish Tharp (born May 13, 1987)

8880-408: The highest-rated DCOM to that point, watched by 7.7 million viewers for its premiere broadcast in the United States, and by 789,000 viewers for its UK premiere. It was the first DCOM ever to be aired by BBC, broadcast on December 29, 2006, and has been viewed by over 225 million people worldwide. The first film's leads were Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel, who sang most of

9000-531: The intellect of new student Gabriella Montez. Articles of Gabriella's academic achievements at her old schools are placed in Taylor's locker. Although Gabriella did not slip the articles in the locker, she agrees to join the decathlon team at Taylor's suggestion. However, when Gabriella's interest begins to turn to the school musical and Troy Bolton, Taylor teams up with Troy's best friend, Chad, to make sure they can keep their friends away from one another and focused on

9120-494: The junior league world series sometime before the film series begins. Ryan is well known for wearing different styles of hats. In the first film , Ryan is depicted as being dim-witted and completely submissive to Sharpay, though this could be because he likes Troy and Gabriella. When Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez threaten Ryan and Sharpay's chances of being cast as the leads at East High's winter musical, Ryan assists Sharpay in making sure Troy and Gabriella's schedules conflict with

9240-597: The lead role of Ricky, while the show was given the official title of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series . In February 2019, the rest of the cast was officially announced with: Sofia Wylie as Gina, Kate Reinders as Miss Jenn, and Olivia Rodrigo as Nini. Before the series debuted, it was renewed by Disney+ for a second season of 12 episodes that premiered in May 2021. The third season consisting of eight episodes premiered in July 2022. The series ended August 9, 2023 with

9360-455: The lead role) and miss prom. Wanting his last dance at East High to be with Gabriella, Troy drives to Stanford and the two share an intimate prom of their own. He convinces Gabriella to return to East High for opening night of the musical and for graduation. Gabriella will attend Stanford and study law. She was referenced by Sharpay in Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure . Gabriella, who was named for

9480-529: The lead roles, somewhat angering the drama department's president, Sharpay Evans. In High School Musical 2 , Sharpay has her mind set on capturing Troy's affections and coming between him and Gabriella. Troy, Gabriella, and their friends are hired at a local country club, Lava Springs, but are weary of their new-found employment when they learn the club is owned by Sharpay's parents. Sharpay uses her wealth, power, and influence over Troy, tempting him with college opportunities in exchange for him singing with her at

9600-410: The leads. With prom around the corner, Taylor eventually agrees to be Chad's date, and Ryan asks Kelsi. Gabriella has an opportunity to attend Stanford early, and Sharpay manipulates Troy to encourage Gabriella to go. Conflicted about his own college choices and Gabriella's absence, Troy drives to meet Gabriella for their own prom night. The Wildcats prepare for the musical, where Troy and Gabriella make

9720-439: The main protagonist in her independent film, Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure , where she believes she is offered a role on Broadway and travels to New York with her dog, Boi. Her father agrees to give her a one-month limit to prove that she can stand on her own: if she fails, then she will work for him at the Lava Springs Country Club. While in New York, she meets Peyton Leverette, the son of her mom's college friend, who takes her to

9840-457: The manager of Lava Springs, Mr. Fulton, hire Troy to work at the country club, ordering him to do so, whatever it takes. The cost of Troy's employment is the employment of Gabriella and their friends. Realizing that she must now try to win Troy's affections with extreme measures, Sharpay brings Troy into the high class world of her family, which eventually leads to his promotion and college opportunities. Sharpay also convinces Troy to sing with her in

9960-403: The movie's tenth anniversary, the cast reunited and shared fond memories and photos from the past and present. The special aired on Disney Channel , with Vanessa Hudgens , Ashley Tisdale , Corbin Bleu , Lucas Grabeel and Monique Coleman in attendance. Zac Efron was absent due to promotional commitments for Dirty Grandpa , but sent in a video sharing his memories of the film and thanking

10080-424: The musical callbacks. Taylor's role in the plan is to set off a chemical reaction that would result in the evacuation of the national decathlon. At the end of the film, Taylor is asked out by Chad. In High School Musical 2 , Taylor, Gabriella, Chad, Troy, and their friends are hired at the Lava Springs country club, owned by the parents of Sharpay Evans, the school drama queen. Taylor is the first to notice that Troy

10200-493: The musical's director, to switch the date of the callbacks to the same day as Troy's district championship basketball game and Gabriella's national decathlon. However, Troy and Gabriella still manage to make the callbacks and are cast in the lead roles. In the second film , Sharpay seems to have gained more popularity, with adoring fans wanting her signature in their yearbooks at the end of the school year. Sharpay plans to lure Troy away from Gabriella during summer vacation. She has

10320-408: The musical. Heartbroken, Gabriella drops out of the running for the lead role. However, Taylor eventually confesses what she did and helps Gabriella make the decathlon and the musical auditions. Gabriella and Troy earn the lead roles, beating out Sharpay Evans, who had previously tried to thwart her chances of making the callbacks. In the second film , Gabriella has maintained her romance with Troy, and

10440-405: The national decathlon team. In wake of Troy's audition for the winter musical in High School Musical , Martha confesses that she enjoys hip-hop dancing. In High School Musical 2 , Martha works at the Lava Springs country club as part of the kitchen staff. She becomes a cheerleader in the third film and participates in a final musical with her friends. Martha is portrayed by Kaycee Stroh in

10560-515: 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. 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. "High School Musical 3: Senior Year: The Junior Novel" came out on September 23, 2008. Shortly after

10680-424: The only white student in a California high school class. The National Review Online wrote that Parrish had played the role with "unassuming humour". He had a handful of guest roles on TV and took part in the 2008 short "Cougar 101 with Hunter Parrish" for funnyordie.com . From 2007 to 2009, he hosted the web series Two Guys and a Girl with his friends Kyle Sherman and Allison Tyler. Since 2013, Parrish has had

10800-576: The orientation, allowing Sharpay to take over her part. Tiara, in turn, takes over Sharpay's former role. During opening night, Sharpay is embarrassed after having to perform with Jimmie Zara, Troy Bolton's understudy. When she goes back to her dressing room, she finds Tiara in her costume. Tiara tells Sharpay that she is the new queen of the drama department and that it is time for Sharpay to move aside. Sharpay, in retaliation, upstages Tiara onstage. Later, Tiara learns that Sharpay will be returning occasionally to East High after graduation to help Ms. Darbus with

10920-424: The original film and its sequel, High School Musical 2 , and now features a special preview of High School Musical 3: Senior Year . In 2009, Feld Entertainment also produced a touring music show featuring songs and dances from all three movies, titled High School Musical Summer Celebration . Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Call it children stuff. But HSM became

11040-400: The others for a last spring musicale. Taylor is portrayed by Monique Coleman in the first three films of the series. Coleman had previously auditioned for Disney Channel. Kelsi Nielsen is a songwriter and composer and student at East High. She is very introverted and is very intimidated by Sharpay Evans, the president of the school's drama department. In High School Musical , Ms. Darbus,

11160-411: The prize. While Chad and his basketball teammates explain to Troy that they will not win the district championship game if he is involved with the musical, they film him saying that the musical and Gabriella are not important. Taylor show Gabriella the footage and she is left heartbroken. Realizing the magnitude of what they have done, Taylor and Chad work together again to make sure Troy and Gabriella make

11280-460: The role for his dog, Countess, by cheating. Eventually, he and Sharpay find out that Amber Lee Adams has forced to producers to remove the dogs from the show, and both are forced to come together to reveal Amber Lee Adams' true image to the world. Although they manage to expose Amber Lee's true self to the world, this results in Amber Lee quitting the show, Sharpay getting fired and almost causing

11400-511: The role of the older Botwin son, Silas. Following filming of Weeds fourth season, Parrish joined the cast of the Tony Award -winning Broadway musical Spring Awakening at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre in New York City. He made his Broadway debut on August 11, 2008, as the replacement for the lead role of Melchior Gabor for which he received critical acclaim. He remained in the role until

11520-420: The school is drastically changing, frustrating Sharpay, Chad and Taylor, afraid their respective teams will fail, try to intervene, leading Gabriella to believe Troy does not care about her. While Sharpay is satisfied, Chad and Taylor's teams feel guilty and attempt to fix what they have done. Sharpay and Ryan convince drama teacher Ms. Darbus to change callbacks to the same date as the basketball championship and

11640-447: The second film taking place the following summer. The third film is set in the final semester of senior year. Classmates and parents of these characters, as well as various other characters, are also featured. Troy Bolton is the protagonist of the first three films. Depicted as one of East High's most popular students, Troy is also the captain of the school's varsity basketball team, a position he earned in his junior year after joining

11760-524: The series was "in the works", later announcing a casting call for the film, tentatively referred to as High School Musical 4 . In March 2016, details about the film's prospective principal characters were reported. A fictionalized High School Musical 4: The Reunion , featuring some members of the original High School Musical cast, was featured in the fourth season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series . This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in

11880-639: The series. High School Musical: The Challenge refers to the English name of a series of spin-off movies of the American film High School Musical for the Latin-American market. Based on the book Battle of the Bands , the films were produced for theatrical release, and had eight new songs produced for the film. With a script written by Pablo Lago and Susana Cardozo, the movie was filmed three times with

12000-536: The show closed on January 18, 2009. Parrish returned to Broadway two-and-a-half years later, to star in the 2011 Broadway revival of Godspell in which he starred as Jesus. Performances began October 13, 2011. He left the show on April 15, 2012, to film the final season of Weeds . During this period, Parrish had many other roles on screen. He has supporting parts in the films RV (2006), Freedom Writers (2007), 17 Again (2009), and It's Complicated (2009). In Freedom Writers , Parrish played Ben Samuels,

12120-512: The show starts. Peyton is portrayed by Austin Butler , who had also starred with Ashley Tisdale in Aliens in the Attic , where they played each other's paternal cousins. Roger Elliston is a young, wealthy boy who shares most of Sharpay's personality and appears in Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure , where he and Sharpay compete each other to win a role for their dogs. He continuously attempts to win

12240-420: The show to be cancelled. When the producers re-hire Sharpay, she demands that Boi and Countess share the role of Shelby equally, much to Roger's pleasure. Roger is portrayed by Bradley Steven Perry . Amber Lee Adams is a support character who appears in Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure . She is a famous film star who is about to hired as the main character on Broadway in a show called "A Girl's Best Friend". She

12360-410: The show, Peyton shows the agents and producers a video of Sharpay's secret rehearsal to prove that she can save the show. The producers are so impressed by her performance that they re-hire Sharpay as the lead of "A Girl's Best Friend". Sharpay expresses her worries and anxiety, but Peyton manages to help her maintain confidence and then kisses her. He is last seen greeting Sharpay's parents seconds before

12480-412: The song they sang is supposed to sound. Troy and Gabriella sing the duet ballad and Ms. Darbus, who had re-entered the auditorium, gives them a callback. Kelsi works with Troy and Gabriella to ensure that they beat out Sharpay and Ryan for the lead roles. The second film shows Kelsi, Troy, Gabriella, and their friends working at the Lava Springs country club, which is owned by Sharpay's family. Kelsi's job

12600-492: The songs. The film follows basketball star Troy Bolton ( Zac Efron ) and shy, smart Gabriella Montez ( Vanessa Hudgens ). After a chance meeting on winter break, Gabriella reconnects with Troy after transferring to East High School in Albuquerque . Drama queen Sharpay Evans ( Ashley Tisdale ), seeking to eliminate her competition for the Winter Musical, convinces Taylor McKessie ( Monique Coleman ) to invite Gabriella to

12720-585: 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. Between 2007 and 2010, Disney Italia produced and published a series of comics starring the characters of the movies in an official magazine. Some of the stories have been published abroad, such as in Finland and Greece . Disney Interactive Studios has produced seven High School Musical video games, all taking

12840-405: 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

12960-496: The talent show. This causes a rift in his relationship with Sharpay, who still expects him to be at her side. In the end, Ryan is awarded the Star Dazzle Award at the talent show for his directorial work. In the third film of the franchise, acting more independently of his sister, Ryan is a candidate for a single scholarship to the Juilliard School in competition with three fellow classmates: Sharpay, Troy, and shy composer Kelsi Nielsen. The school's scouts will attend opening night of

13080-406: The team as a sophomore. The majority of the student body, especially Troy's best friend, Chad Danforth, expects Troy to lead East High to victory. Troy is the only child of Jack and Lucille Bolton; Jack is also the coach of the East High basketball team and puts additional pressure on Troy to excel. Troy is also involved with the school's golf team. In the first film , Troy meets Gabriella Montez at

13200-407: The third film of the series. Disney star Tony Oller auditioned for this role. Prokop has stated that he signed on for three potential films, including High School Musical 3 . However, Prokop has since confirmed that he will not be in the fourth film, as Disney wanted to go in a new direction. Donny Dion is a member of the East High School boys' varsity basketball team. It is unclear whether or not he

13320-550: The two are not seen together until the end of the film. In High School Musical 3: Senior Year , Sharpay asks Zeke to prom and he joins his friends in a final musical, but also has to work hard to pass his Family Science Class. Chris Warren, Jr. portrays Zeke in the first three High School Musical films. Although his character graduates in the third film, Warren stated after High School Musical 2 that he planned to appear in two more sequels, indicating possible involvement in High School Musical 4: East Meets West . Jason Cross

13440-462: The two settle in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Gabriella's mother promises they will not relocate until she graduates high school. Gabriella begins attending East High mid-year in the first film . Hoping to escape the "freaky genius girl" reputation she had earned at her previous schools, she does not join any extracurricular activities. Her first friend at East High is Troy Bolton, whom she had met at

13560-624: The winner. High School Musical: China – College Dreams ( 歌舞青春 ), is a spin-off film of the original film series, produced for the Chinese market. Directed by Chen Shi-Zheng , it was released on September 6, 2011. The film was released in North America on DVD under the Disney World Cinema Brand. Film Business Asia critic Derek Elley rated the adaptation three points out of ten. He criticized what he perceived as

13680-430: The winter musical but did not get the role even though Ms. Darbus was impressed with some hand gestures she made. She is portrayed by Anne Kathryn Parma . Alan is a boy who auditions for the winter musical but did not get the role. He is portrayed by Nick Whitaker . Cyndra is a girl who auditions for the winter musical and is not happy when she does not get the role. She is portrayed by Falcon Grace . Peyton Leverett

13800-405: The world, almost causing the show to be cancelled. Peyton shows a video of Sharpay's secret performance to convince the agents that she can save the show by replacing Amber Lee Adams. Sharpay's performance turns her into a star on Broadway and she starts dating Peyton. Sharpay is portrayed by Ashley Tisdale in the four films of the series. Tisdale, who was previously known for her starring role on

13920-413: Was already there between them." Following Hudgens' 2007 nude photo scandal , reports claimed that Adrienne Bailon and other actresses would replace Hudgens in the third film of the franchise. However, Disney had denied the reports and Hudgens returned for High School Musical 3 . Hudgens did not reprise her role for the fourth film . Sharpay Evans is the main antagonist of the first two films and

14040-613: Was announced that Parrish would have one of the lead roles in the Jane the Virgin spin-off series Jane The Novela . Ultimately, the show was not picked up by The CW . Earlier, in January 2019, it was announced that Parrish would appear in the Netflix drama series Ratched . Produced by Ryan Murphy , Ratched was picked up for one season, which was filmed from January to July 2019 and released on September 18, 2020. In 2022, Parrish

14160-554: Was cast in the Hulu mystery thriller series The Other Black Girl , a television adaptation of the 2021 novel by Zakiya Dalila Harris . The series premiered on September 13, 2023. Parrish has been married to Kathryn Wahl since 2015. The couple have one child, a daughter born in September 2020. Parrish is a Christian. In 2012, Parrish recorded his first EP called Guessing Games , featuring six songs. At first, Guessing Games

14280-524: Was not picked up by the network a few years prior to casting for High School Musical . Although the franchise did continue with a fourth film , Efron and his character did not return. Efron reprised the role in the sketch "High School Musical 4" on Saturday Night Live . In Life with Archie: Archie Love Veronica: Lodge—A Complaint! , when Betty Cooper is talking about how all the men she has dated have all been nothing but " clone[s] of Archie ", she lists Troy Bolton as one of those she has dated. When

14400-407: Was released on August 17, 2007 as a Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM), breaking the previous film's record as the most successful DCOM ever produced, with 17 million viewers for its premiere broadcast in the United States. The cast of the original film returned for the sequel. At the end of the school year, Gabriella is happy to finally spend summer vacation without having to move. The whole gang

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