High School Musical: What's It All About
In case you've been living under a rock this year, here's a primer of all things "High School Musical"!
The movie
First of all, there was the original made-for-TV movie. The Emmy-winning feature was released in January 2006, and soon became the most successful Disney Channel movie produced. Set in fictional East High School, the story revolves around two juniors from separate cliques -- the jock Troy Bolton (played by Zac Efron) and the brainy transfer student Gabriella Martinez (Vanessa Hudgens). When the two decide to try out for the school musical, they challenge expectations and stereotypes throughout the school.
The characters, in addition to Troy and Gabriella, include: scheming, stage-struck twins Sharpay and Ryan Evans (played by Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel, respectively); Chad Danforth (Corbin Bleu), Troy's best friend and devoted basketball player; Taylor McKessie (Monique Coleman), a science-loving friend of Gabriella's; Miss Darbus (Alyson Reed), the drama teacher; coach Jack Bolton (Bart Johnson), Troy's father and the school's basketball coach; and Kelsi Neilsen (Olesya Rulin), pianist and composer.
The soundtrack
With the original movie came the original movie soundtrack. It hit the No. 1 spot on Billboard's album chart twice in March 2006 and was the top-selling album of the year. In 2007, the soundtrack made the "Guinness Book of World Records" for the most hits from a soundtrack simultaneously on the charts; nine tracks were on the Hot 100 chart at the same time.
DVDs
The first DVD, "High School Musical: Encore Edition," came out in May 2006, creating a DVD sales record when 1.2 million copies flew off the shelves in the first six days of its release. "The Remix Edition," a two-disc set with special features, followed in December of that year.
December 2007 saw the DVD release of the movie sequel; watch for a two-disc "deluxe dance edition" of the sequel, expected in September.
Books
Hungry for all things "HSM," fans quickly put "High School Musical: The Junior Novel," published by Disney Press in June 2006, at the top of the New York Times best-seller list, where it remained for 16 weeks. Disney followed in Feburary 2007 with a series of books, "Stories From East High," featuring a new book every two months.
The concert tour
The popularity of the movie and soundtrack prompted the launch in November 2006 of "High School Musical: The Concert," a performance tour featuring the original cast (except Zac Efron) singing a selection of "HSM" songs, along with some solo material from Hudgens, Bleu and Tisdale.
The stage musical
Professional and amateur theatrical companies as well as school theatre troupes began staging a theatrical production of the musical, titled "High School Musical on Stage."
Ice tour
That's right, "High School Musical: The Ice Tour" premiered in September 2007, featuring a cast of champion skaters. The show combined elements and songs from both the original movie and its sequel, "High School Musical 2."
Movie sequel
"High School Musical 2" premiered Aug. 17, 2007, to a reported audience of 17.3 million viewers, making it the toprated basic cable broadcast in U.S. history at the time.
Video games
"High School Musical: Sing It!" was released in November 2007 with versions for Nintendo DS, Wii and Playstation 2.
Reality series
Cincinnati native Nick Lachey is hosting a new reality series this summer, "High School Musical: Get in the Picture," which began last month on ABC. The winner will appear in a music video to be shown during the end credits of this fall's feature film "High School Musical 3: Senior Year."
Merchandise
"HSM"-themed school supplies, room decor, toys, clothing and accessories are available in abundance both online and in all major retail stores.
Web site
The source for more movie information, star background and even interactive games, is www.disney.com.
