It’s been over fourteen years since the very first High School Musical (HSM) changed the lives of children, preteens, and teenagers all around the world. It’s been approximately two months since 'High School Musical: The Musical: The Series' aired on Disney Plus, a show about teenagers who perform HSM as their high school musical. Oh, and the students also go to the high school where the entire HSM franchise was filmed.
Seriously, who came up with the title High School Musical: The Musical: The Series? Why not abbreviate it to HSM: The Series? It’s been over a decade since the original film released, everyone would know Zac Efron or Vanessa Hudgens aren’t going to come back to East High for this show. It’s not like the show is shot in Los Angeles where they could stop by for a quick cameo or a one-episode guest spot - it shoots in Utah. While the reviews and opinions are out on this new Disney Plus show, everyone can agree it doesn’t fill our hearts the same as High School Musical.
20 Ashley Tisdale Originally Auditioned for Gabriella
Ashley Tisdale auditioned for Gabriella. When Kenny Ortega, the director, saw her audition, he thought she would be more suited in the role of Sharpay Evans. Ashley came in and nailed her audition. Kenny, as usual, was right. Ironically in Suite Life of Zach and Cody, her character Maddy didn’t get the role of Sharpay because everyone thought she was too sweet. She should’ve auditioned for Gabriella.
19 It Took 24 Days to Film the Movie
High School Musical only took twenty-four days to shoot. Were they working more than twelve hours each day? The average movie takes eight to twelve weeks to film. This is for an average movie; this is not counting a musical. Musicals generally take longer to shoot because of the musical numbers. If one person messes up the dance usually, they have to start over.
18 Matthew Underwood Was Almost Troy Bolton
Yes, freaking Logan from Zoey 101 almost led the Wildcats to victory. Honestly, that’s a cross over our minds can’t handle. Matthew was offered the role, but he had to turn it down. His contract with Nickelodeon wouldn’t allow him to do it. Disney and Nickelodeon kind of have a Capulet and Montague rivalry going on. No one can switch sides. Sorry, Romeo.
17 The Falling Snow In The New Year's Eve Scene Was Potato Flakes
First of all, ew. Way to kill the romantic vibe. Why didn’t they use bubbles and soap like they do at Disney World? It’s got to be way cheaper too. Who wants to spend hours in the kitchen peeling potatoes and turning them into flakes? Poor Vanessa and Zac were probably finding potato flakes in their hair days later.
16 Corbin Bleu Came Up With Slogans On Chad's Shirts
We all remember his shirt that said, “I majored in vacation” right? It was in “What Time is It” in High School Musical 2. If Chad isn’t wearing his basketball jersey, then he’s wearing a shirt with a slogan on it. It isn’t until the third movie that he cuts back on slogan shirts for some regular graphic tees.
15 Zac Efron's Singing Voice Was Dubbed By Drew Seeley
It was scandalous news at the time and disappointed everyone who bought tickets to the tour, only to see Seeley instead of Efron. People are still pissed. Zac said in an interview with Orlando Sentinel, “In the first movie, after everything was recorded my voice was not on them. I was not really given an explanation.” Apparently, producers wanted a tenor for the role of Troy.
14 The Movie Was Filmed At East High School In Salt Lake City, Utah
Sharpay’s massive pink locker is still there. They apparently allow students to use it too. East High is also where they shoot the new High School Musical: The Musical: The Series for Disney Plus. They don’t address how the school decides who gets the pink locker either.
13 Zac Efron And Vanessa Hudgens Dated On And Off-Screen
Yes, everyone knows this fact. No one has brought it up in 2020 though or if someone has it’s not mentioned enough. No one should forget the fan who asked the two of them for a picture at an adult store. It’s the kind of confidence we want to take into this new decade.
12 A Duet Was Planned With Ms. Darbus And Coach Bolton
We are simultaneously glad and mad this didn’t happen. What would that song even sound like? What would it be about? We take it back. We wanted this song to be filmed and then cut out of the movie. It would be on the special features DVD and become an iconic treasure.
11 Zac Efron Went Through Intense Basketball Training
The High School Musical actor went through three hours of basketball training to prepare for his role as the basketball star and captain, Troy Bolton. It sounds like a lot, but then we have to add on the hours of dance and singing rehearsals. Plus, time to memorize his lines. It was a lot of work.
10 The Soundtrack Was Recorded In 5 Days
Before or after the extremely long shooting days, the cast was thrown into the recording booth. It’s crazy how short of time they had to record the album. It takes days just to record the orchestra and instrumental for the album before getting the singers in. How fast was Disney wanting the turnaround?
9 High School Musical Wasn't Supposed To Be The Title
High School Musical (aka HSM) was the place holder title. It was supposed to be temporary until the producers came up with the actual title. However, by the time the film was in post-production they couldn’t think of a title. They were forced to go with High School Musical.
8 One Wildcat Player had "Extra" On The Back Of His Jersey For The Championship Game
Honestly, that’s iconic. The costume department was too lazy to come up with a last name for this player. We want that jersey. Screw Troy’s 14 jersey. We want the extra one. If this extra didn’t keep it. Please send it to us. We will treasure it and pass it down to our grandchildren.
7 Over 600 Actors Auditioned For The Film
600 teens did audition for the movie. Most of them did not make it into the room to be seen by Kenny Ortega and the producers though. We estimate that eighty percent weren’t asked to come in physically to the audition after submitting their tape. After the singing and dancing auditions, the numbers were probably reduced until the remaining ten percent could audition for Kenny.
6 The Schools Mascot Was Going To Be A Leopard
The entire movie would have been completely different if Troy Bolton shouted, “what team” and everyone yelled back, “Leopards!” We don’t think it would’ve caught on. Actually, we don’t think anyone would have responded to Troy. They would’ve stared at him making him uncomfortable for several long seconds before pretending like it never happened.
5 Corbin Bleu Originally Was Going To Audition For Ryan Evans
Yeah that’s right. It would’ve been way harder to explain how Sharpay and Ryan were twins that’s for sure. When Corbin saw Lucas Grabeel dancing at the audition, he switched to auditioning for Chad. He knew Lucas’s dancing style matched the character more. It was a smart decision since he won the role of Chad.
4 Nearly The Entire Film Was Shot At East High Including The Ski Lodge
Even the very first scene of the movie where Troy and his dad are playing basketball at the ski lodge was shot at the high school. It was actually a dance studio. The set designers covered up all the mirrors in the room. The ballet bars can still be seen in the back.
3 Ashley Tisdale And Lucas Grabeel "Hated" Each Other
We are quoting Ashley’s own words here. In a YouTube video where the former twins sing a cover of “What I’ve Been Looking for” they discuss in the beginning how the two of them did not get along. It wasn’t until they toured together that they became friends.
2 Naya Rivera From Glee Auditioned for Gabriella
Santana could’ve been a student at East High. We can’t picture Naya as Gabriella. Gabriella doesn’t deliver killer one liners that cripple men and women emotionally. She’s a sweet cinnamon roll. What kind of range does Naya Rivera have? We are not going to lie; we’d love to see that audition tape.
1 Lucas Grabeel And Kenny Ortega Had Long Conversations About Ryan's Sexuality
It’s generally the first question Lucas Grabeel is asked about his character from the franchise. Over a decade later he revealed in an interview that both him and the director, Kenny Ortega believed Ryan should be gay, but Disney wouldn’t allow it in a family film. Instead, Grabeel tried to portray Ryan as someone who was still trying to figure out their sexuality by showing interest in Kelsey and in Zeke.