It’s onerous to imagine that almost 20 years in the past, Excessive Faculty Musical premiered and made Disney Channel historical past.
Excessive Faculty Musical, which ran from 2006 to 2008, adopted Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens), two youngsters from utterly totally different cliques, who bond over their love of music. Their love story is the backdrop for the movie sequence as their mates participate within the faculty musical.
The Second
Who would have thought {that a} meet-cute between teen basketball participant Troy Bolton and studious switch Gabriella would end in 20 years of music, memes and reminiscences?
Premiering January 20, 2006, Excessive Faculty Musical began out as Disney Channel’s try to duplicate the success of The Cheetah Women however become a celebration of you-do-you nonconformism via the lens of youngsters getting ready to maturity.
And all of us have that one HSM tune we will’t get out of our head, whether or not it’s “Begin of One thing New,” “Get’cha Head within the Recreation” or “We’re All in This Collectively.”
Excessive Faculty Musical took over 7.7 million TV screens in america when it premiered in 2006, making it the highest-rated Disney Channel Authentic Film on the time. The movie adopted basketball star Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) and an clever switch pupil, Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens), as they break the established order of East Excessive […]
Who Was Concerned
HSM — shot at Salt Lake Metropolis’s East Excessive Faculty, which turned Albuquerque’s East Excessive Faculty on display screen — showcased each faculty clique conceivable. Along with Troy and Gabriella, whose need to star within the faculty musical led to all types of romantic obstacles, there was jock Chad (Corbin Bleu); the drama membership’s twin trendsetters, Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) and Ryan (Lucas Grabeel); and brainiac Taylor (Monique Coleman).
Because of HSM, the forged turned family names! In actual fact, Efron as soon as revealed on Jimmy Kimmel Reside! that Papua New Guinea tribesmen on his crocodile catching tour requested him to FaceTime their cousins and wives.
Why We Keep in mind It
Bart Johnson, a.okay.a. Efron’s onscreen dad, Coach Bolton, and host of the “Get Your Head within the Recreation” podcast (a “Magical Rewind” spinoff), credit the writers and director/choreographer extraordinaire Kenny Ortega for completely encapsulating the coming-of-age expertise.
“Every little thing is exaggerated and excessive, however the message may be very grounded and actual,” Johnson notes to Us. “It resonates with individuals. It’s a part of the magic.”
Key Particulars
Coleman — who was 25 when HSM made its debut, in contrast together with her castmates’ 17-22 — tells Us they appeared to her as a “large sister” determine.
“I’m not going to say who, what or the place, however I used to be within the automobile with individuals the primary time they received to drive with an grownup within the [vehicle]. I’d be the one. They’d be like, ‘Mo, you’re going,”” she remembers. “Individuals misplaced their virginities. All types of issues [were] taking place. And I used to be like, ‘Oh, my God, discuss to your dad and mom.’”
The Aftermath
HSM broke Disney Channel data, landed the soundtrack at No. 1 within the Billboard Prime 200 and ushered in sequels, spinoffs and even forged excursions. In 2007, Excessive Faculty Musical 2 provided a change of surroundings (summer season on the nation membership!) and a delicate cameo from Miley Cyrus, and in 2008, Excessive Faculty Musical 3: Senior Yr graduated to a theatrical launch.
In the meantime, Tisdale scored a 2011 spinoff movie, Sharpay’s Fabulous Journey, with future Golden Globe winner Austin Butler.
In accordance with Johnson, “I believe there are three Excessive Faculty Musical 4 scripts written. One was a West Facet Story sort of film the place it was East vs. West.”
And from 2019 to 2023, Excessive Faculty Musical: The Musical: The Series — sure, a few manufacturing of HSM – dominated Disney+ and served as a launching pad for singer Olivia Rodrigo.
Excessive Faculty Musical’s love story between Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez sparked an offscreen romance for the actors who performed them. Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, who portrayed Troy and Gabriella within the 2006 DCOM, notably began relationship shortly after filming the primary film. The pair known as it quits in 2010 after 5 years of […]
A New Perspective
The trilogy paved the best way for Disney Channel to take extra storytelling dangers, whereas HSM stars received the possibility to department out.
The query on everybody’s thoughts: What are the chances of an HSM revival? “I really feel like we’ve already finished that,” Tisdale tells Us, admitting she hasn’t seen most of her costars “shortly.” Nonetheless, as soon as a Wildcat, all the time a Wildcat?
The place Are They Now?
Efron’s profession led to raunchy comedies, a critically acclaimed efficiency in The Iron Claw and a latest viewers position supporting brother Dylan Efron on Dancing With the Stars. Hudgens turned a Netflix Christmas queen and simply welcomed her second little one in November as different former castmates, similar to Tisdale, expanded into parenthood. In January 2026, Tisdale made headlines after writing an essay a few falling out she had together with her mother group, which many suspected was in reference to Hilary Duff (whose personal Disney franchise Lizzie McGuire is celebrating 25 years this month).
