107 Fun Facts About High School Musical

Who is Troy's best friend and basketball teammate in High School Musical?

Chad Danforth helps trick Gabriella into thinking Troy doesn't care, to keep Troy focused on basketball, then owns up and helps them make the callback.

The writer and many critics have called High School Musical a modern version of which Shakespeare play?

Romeo and Juliet ends in tragedy, but here the schemes to split the couple fail: Troy and Gabriella win the leads, and both their teams win too.

Where do Troy and Gabriella first meet, singing a karaoke duet on New Year's Eve?

A ski lodge: the two are pulled from the crowd to sing, and back home Troy discovers Gabriella has just transferred to his school.

What is Troy's surname in High School Musical?

Bolton: Troy's father Jack, the basketball coach, disapproves at first but comes around and supports Troy doing the musical.

Which High School Musical 2 song does Troy sing alone after his friends turn on him?

Bet on It: fed up with everyone steering his life, Troy realizes how he let his friends down and vows to make things right.

Which academic team does Gabriella join at East High?

Scholastic decathlon: jealous Sharpay secretly tips off captain Taylor McKessie about Gabriella's academic record, so Taylor will recruit her for the team.

Which East High student composes the songs for the school musical in the first High School Musical?

Kelsi Nielsen drops her sheet music, Troy and Gabriella sing her song as a slow ballad, and Ms. Darbus overhears and gives them a callback.

What two things does drama teacher Ms. Darbus dislike in High School Musical?

Sports and cell phones: she feuds with the basketball coach, yet she ends up casting his star player, Troy, as the musical's lead.

Who provided most of Troy's singing voice in the first High School Musical?

Drew Seeley's vocals were blended with Zac Efron's in post-production, but Efron insisted on singing his own parts in both sequels.

Which song has students confessing passions like hip-hop dancing and the cello in the cafeteria?

Stick to the Status Quo: Troy's audition inspires the confessions, which shock students who want every clique to stay in its place.

Which song do Sharpay and Ryan perform at their callback audition in High School Musical?

Bop to the Top: to stay in the spotlight, Sharpay and Ryan get the callbacks moved to clash with Troy's championship game and Gabriella's academic contest.

How is the championship game halted so Troy can reach the callback in High School Musical?

A computer hack stops the game, while a smelly chemical reaction clears Gabriella's academic contest, so the pair reach the callback in time.

What does Zeke give Sharpay in the post-credits scene of the first High School Musical?

A bag of cookies: Zeke's baking finally impresses Sharpay, and in the third film she asks him to the prom.

Which song from the first High School Musical peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100?

Breaking Free: Troy and Gabriella sing it at the callbacks in front of the entire student body, and it wins them the lead roles.

What is the name of the East High winter musical in the first High School Musical?

Twinkle Towne: Sharpay had starred in 17 school productions, but its auditions bring her first real rivals, Troy and Gabriella.

By 2007, roughly how many DVDs of the first High School Musical had sold worldwide?

8 million: Disney Channel airs no commercials, so the film's windfall came from DVDs, soundtracks and merchandise instead.

High School Musical was the first feature-length video sold on which digital service, in March 2006?

iTunes: Disney had just agreed to buy Pixar, in a deal that would give Apple boss Steve Jobs a seat on Disney's board.

Which Disney Channel show's musical episode did Gary Marsh credit for High School Musical getting made?

Even Stevens: in Influenza: The Musical, flu-stricken Ren, set on keeping her perfect attendance, dreams her school day turns into a musical.

What is Ryan Evans to Sharpay in High School Musical?

Twin brother: Ryan goes along with Sharpay's schemes until the sequel, when she swaps him for Troy in their talent-show act.

Where do the Wildcats take summer jobs in High School Musical 2?

A country club: Sharpay has the manager hire Troy, but Troy agrees only if Gabriella and their friends get jobs too.

What does a jealous Sharpay have turned on to spoil Troy and Gabriella's picnic in High School Musical 2?

The sprinklers: Troy and Gabriella's kiss has to wait until the fireworks after the talent show, when they finally manage one.

Which song opens High School Musical 2 on the last day of school?

What Time Is It?: school's out, and Troy is desperately hunting for a summer job to help pay for college.

Which song does Gabriella sing as she quits her summer job and leaves Troy in High School Musical 2?

Gotta Go My Own Way: she quits after Sharpay has junior staff banned from the talent show, and leaves a changed Troy.

Which song do Ryan and the Wildcats perform during the staff baseball game in High School Musical 2?

I Don't Dance: Ryan's baseball challenge turns into a dance number, and he talks the Wildcats into entering the talent show.

Which song does Ryan hand Troy moments before the talent show, which Troy then sings with Gabriella?

Everyday: the Wildcats join them onstage, and Sharpay, a regular winner of the talent-show award, hands it to Ryan instead.

Which Disney star makes a cameo as a pool-party guest at the end of High School Musical 2?

Miley Cyrus: at the staff party even Sharpay, who spent the summer trying to drive the Wildcats out, sings along with them.

What summer job does Gabriella take in High School Musical 2?

Lifeguard: Sharpay's summer is spoiled by finding Gabriella on staff, and try as she might, she can't get her fired.

Which animated series, with Ashley Tisdale's voice, previewed after High School Musical 2?

Phineas and Ferb: networks passed on it for years, and even Disney first said no, before picking up the show.

Which college basketball team does Troy get to practise with thanks to Sharpay's string-pulling?

Albuquerque: Sharpay's father uses his university connections to dangle a scholarship, and chasing it, Troy starts letting his friends down.

Which rival team do the Wildcats beat in the championship game that opens High School Musical 3?

The West High Knights: East High is badly behind at halftime until Troy's pep talk rallies his teammates to victory.

High School Musical 3's first-weekend US gross of $42,030,184 broke which box-office record?

It took the record from Enchanted and held it until Pitch Perfect 2 in 2015.

Which performing-arts school's scholarship do four East High seniors compete for in High School Musical 3?

Juilliard: only one scholarship is on offer, yet when the show ends, two of the four hopefuls win one.

Where does Gabriella leave early for a freshman honors program in High School Musical 3?

Stanford: Sharpay persuades Troy that he's the only thing holding Gabriella back, so he urges her to go.

Which college does Troy finally choose at the end of High School Musical 3?

UC Berkeley: rather than choose between basketball and theater, Troy finds a school where he can do both, close to Gabriella.

Which British transfer student befriends and then betrays Sharpay in High School Musical 3?

Tiara Gold: she was secretly scheming to take over the drama department, but Sharpay crashes her solo in revenge.

What nickname does freshman basketball player Jimmie Zara go by in High School Musical 3?

Rocket Man: standing in for a late Troy, he performs with Sharpay and embarrasses her, yet the audience applauds.

Which High School Musical 3 song do two Wildcats sing in a junkyard?

The Boys Are Back: in that junkyard, Troy and his best friend relive memories of when they were kids.

Where does Gabriella teach Troy to waltz in High School Musical 3?

The rooftop garden: up on East High's roof, Troy asks Gabriella to prom, and she teaches him to dance.

Which state gave High School Musical 3 the largest film tax break it had ever given at the time?

Utah: the first two films had been shot in the state, and it paid $2 million to keep the third one there.

Which original cast member skipped the 2006-07 High School Musical tour?

Zac Efron: he was committed to filming Hairspray, which clashed with the tour, so he couldn't take part.

Where does Sharpay move in Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure (2011), chasing a Broadway role?

It was the only Disney Channel Original Movie released on home video before it aired on the channel.

In the 2011 spin-off film, the Broadway producer wants to audition whom instead of the star?

Boi competes for the 'best friend' role in the show A Girl's Best Friend against a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Countess.

Who plays aspiring film director Peyton Leverett opposite Ashley Tisdale in Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure?

Austin Butler: his character films Sharpay for a school project, and after she's fired, his footage of her singing wins her the lead.

Who created High School Musical: The Musical: The Series for Disney+?

Tim Federle: he wrote the pilot, and when the first showrunner left four episodes into filming, Federle took over running the show.

Which future pop star played Nini Salazar-Roberts in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series?

Olivia Rodrigo: while starring in the series, she signed with Interscope Records and released her debut single, Drivers License, in 2021.

Which musical do East High's students stage in season two of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series?

Beauty and the Beast: rival North High puts on the same musical, and the two schools compete for a prestigious student theater prize.

Which original High School Musical actor appears as himself in season three of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series?

Corbin Bleu: he hosts a documentary about the camp's Frozen rehearsals and tries to stir up drama among the campers.

In High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, what is East High's drama teacher called?

Miss Jenn: she stages High School Musical at the real school where the films were shot, and in the final season plays Ms. Darbus herself.

What is High School Musical 4 subtitled in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series?

The Reunion: the movie shoots at East High while the drama club stages High School Musical 3, and the students end up as extras in it.

Which ABC Family drama did Lucas Grabeel star in from 2011 to 2017 after playing Ryan Evans?

Switched at Birth: in its almost all-sign-language episode, deaf students protest to stop their school from closing.

Which 2016 live television musical starred Vanessa Hudgens?

Grease Live!: her father died of cancer the day before the broadcast, but she went on as Rizzo anyway and dedicated the show to him.

In which Disney Channel movie does a High School Musical actor play a young boxer who secretly joins his neighbor's team?

Jump In!: the sport is double dutch, and after a rival plasters embarrassing photos around school, he must choose between it and boxing.

In High School Musical 3, what does Sharpay suggest when almost nobody signs up for the spring musical?

A one-woman show: instead, the whole homeroom gets signed up for the musical, despite the Wildcats' protests.

In High School Musical 3, how does Chad finally get Taylor to say yes to prom?

Asking again in public: Taylor rejected his first, unromantic attempt, so he tried again in the packed cafeteria at lunch.

In High School Musical 3, which subject does Taylor McKessie plan to study at college?

Political science: the yearbook editor has an even bigger job in mind for her future, President of the United States.

High School Musical's director made his feature directing debut with which 1992 Disney film?

Newsies: the musical flopped, earning under $3 million in theaters, but it was later adapted into a Tony-winning Broadway show.

The High School Musical soundtrack was the first TV soundtrack to top the Billboard 200 since which series?

Miami Vice: the album debuted outside the top 100, then climbed into the top 10 by its third week and on to No. 1.

Which High School Musical anthem did the original cast reunite to sing for the 2020 Disney Family Singalong?

"We're All in This Together" was picked to lift spirits during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the film, the whole school dances to it in the gym after the championship win.

High School Musical writer Peter Barsocchini named brainy transfer student Gabriella after which member of his family?

His daughter Gabriella was a preteen when he wrote the first draft for her and her friends. Several other characters got those friends' names.

The actor behind High School Musical's Troy played TV dancer Link Larkin in which 2007 movie musical?

Hairspray cast him as Link Larkin, a lead dancer on a Baltimore teen dance show. The film was adapted from the 2002 Broadway musical of the same name.

The actor who plays High School Musical's Troy sang as playwright Phillip Carlyle in which 2017 movie musical?

The Greatest Showman paired him with Hugh Jackman's P. T. Barnum and gave him a duet with Zendaya, Rewrite the Stars. Unlike Barnum, Carlyle is an invented character.

Before High School Musical, Ashley Tisdale was known on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody as which candy-counter girl?

Maddie Fitzpatrick sold sweets at the Tipton Hotel from 2005 to 2008, so Tisdale was juggling two Disney roles when the first film aired.

Before settling on a graduation story, Disney first planned the third High School Musical film around which holiday?

Halloween was the plan: the working title was Haunted High School Musical. The spooky theme was scrapped, and the film became a farewell to East High instead.

Vanessa Hudgens plays three lookalikes, including a Chicago baker, across which Netflix Christmas trilogy?

The Princess Switch gave her two roles in 2018, a duchess and a pastry chef, then added a third lookalike in the sequels. She also produced the later films.

A Variety review called High School Musical: The Musical: The Series a "sweet and very silly version" of which show?

Glee was the comparison several critics reached for, since both shows mix school drama with musical numbers. Variety's Caroline Framke supplied the "sweet and very silly" line.

High School Musical's director choreographed which 1980s dance film years before he turned to directing features?

Dirty Dancing was one of a run of choreography jobs that also took in Pretty in Pink and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. He did not direct a feature until 1992.

The third High School Musical film, the only one shown in cinemas, shares which subtitle with East High's spring show?

Senior Year is the title Ms. Darbus gives the spring musical, a show about the graduating class's own hopes and fears. The film got a bigger budget for its cinema run.

Which filmmaker directed all three High School Musical films before making Disney's first three Descendants movies?

Kenny Ortega learned to stage dance for the camera from Gene Kelly, his mentor on the 1980 musical Xanadu. Disney named him a Disney Legend in 2019.

High School Musical's director turned which pop superstar's final concert rehearsals into the 2009 film This Is It?

Michael Jackson had hired him to direct a 50-date residency at the O2 Arena. After the singer died, he assembled the film from footage of the rehearsals.

A Sharpay number cut from High School Musical 2 but restored on DVD is named after which US state's official fish?

Hawaii's state fish, the reef triggerfish, is known locally as the humuhumunukunukuapua'a, and that tongue-twister is the song's entire title.

Which 2003 Raven-Symoné film was Disney Channel's first musical original movie, three years before High School Musical?

The Cheetah Girls proved the format worked. Disney executives wanted to repeat its success when they backed a script about a singing basketball captain.

Troy's part in the first High School Musical was written for which voice type before its star was cast?

Tenor was the range the songwriters had in mind before casting, which is why another singer's voice was blended in for most of Troy's numbers.

Which High School Musical 3 solo does Troy sing alone at East High after arguing with his father about college?

"Scream" sends him storming through the school until he ends up shouting in the theater, where Ms. Darbus has been watching the whole thing.

Which Disney show do the Camp Shallow Lake campers stage in season 3 of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series?

Frozen took the story out of school altogether: season three is set at a California theater camp, with a documentary crew filming the rehearsals.

Which sitcom did the creator of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series cite as a model for its mockumentary style?

The Office and the film Waiting for Guffman were his templates, so the series is shot single-camera with handheld cameras, shaky footage and sudden zooms.

Which ballet-loving NFL star, once the screenwriter's school basketball teammate, inspired High School Musical's Troy?

Lynn Swann shared a school basketball team with writer Peter Barsocchini, who knew of his passion for ballet. The Steelers receiver later credited dance for his success on the field.

Which Lava Springs manager follows Sharpay's order to make the Wildcats' work miserable in High School Musical 2?

Mr. Fulton runs the club for Sharpay's parents and hires Troy in the first place on her instructions. Mark L. Taylor played the long-suffering manager.

Which golf-course job does Sharpay arrange for Troy in High School Musical 2 so he spends time with her father?

Caddy duty for Mr. Evans comes with dinner at the family table, which makes Troy late for a date with Gabriella and leaves his own friends serving him.

High School Musical 2's premiere took the record for most-watched basic-cable telecast from which ESPN programme?

Monday Night Football had set the mark in October 2006 with a Giants–Cowboys game. The Wildcats' summer sequel beat it less than a year later.

Which horror sequel did High School Musical 3 beat to number one in US cinemas on its opening weekend?

Saw V opened the same weekend in October 2008 and had to settle for second place. The East High film opened at number one overseas as well.

Which rock band's album stopped the High School Musical 3 soundtrack debuting at number one on the Billboard 200?

AC/DC's Black Ice held the top spot that week, leaving the Wildcats' final soundtrack at number two despite 297,000 first-week sales.

Vanessa Hudgens played Mimi at the Hollywood Bowl and Maureen on live television in which rock musical?

Rent gave her two different roles nine years apart: Mimi in a 2010 Hollywood Bowl staging, then Maureen Johnson in Fox's 2019 broadcast.

Alyson Reed, High School Musical's Ms. Darbus, starred as Cassie in the 1985 film of which Broadway musical?

A Chorus Line was filmed by Richard Attenborough with Reed as Cassie. Three years later she earned a Tony nomination for Cabaret on Broadway.

Bart Johnson, who plays Troy's father and coach in High School Musical, is the brother-in-law of which Gossip Girl star?

Blake Lively is the half-sister of his wife, Robyn Lively, the star of Teen Witch. Fittingly, Robyn's early credits include a film called Wildcats.

Which High School Musical actress finished fourth on Dancing with the Stars in 2006, months after the film premiered?

Monique Coleman, the Wildcats' brainy Taylor McKessie, danced with professional Louis van Amstel. In 2010 the United Nations appointed her a Youth Champion.

Which actor plays skateboarder Ricky Bowen, who is cast as Troy, in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series?

Joshua Bassett landed the part at 17, his first major role. His first taste of musical theater had come at eight, in a community production of the films' stage version.

Which 98 Degrees singer hosted High School Musical: Get in the Picture, ABC's 2008 talent contest?

Nick Lachey fronted the summer series, whose winner earned a music video shown over the end credits of the third film. Its ratings were surprisingly low.

High School Musical: The Challenge was filmed three times with local casts, for Argentina, Brazil and which country?

Mexico got the second version in 2008, after Argentina's. All three films follow a school battle of the bands, with eight new songs written for the story.

College Dreams, a 2010 High School Musical spin-off film, was produced for which country's audiences?

China's version moved the singing and dancing to a university campus. It later reached North America on DVD under the Disney World Cinema label.

Which gold-certified 2007 debut album did Ashley Tisdale release between the first two High School Musical films?

Headstrong mixed dance-pop with hip-hop and earned a gold certification in the US. She had promoted it on the cast's concert tour before its release.

After Troy and Gabriella win the lead roles in the first High School Musical, what do Sharpay and Ryan become?

Understudies is the consolation Ms. Darbus hands them after the callback. Sharpay then makes a truce with Gabriella before the whole school celebrates in the gym.

In High School Musical 2, Troy only accepts a summer job at Lava Springs on what condition?

His friends are hired too, Gabriella included. Sharpay, who wanted Troy to herself, responds by ordering the manager to drive the newcomers out.

Unlike every other Disney Channel Original Movie, Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure was first released in which way?

It came out on Blu-ray and DVD in April 2011, a month before its Disney Channel premiere. No other film in the line has reached shops before airing.

Which Dancing with the Stars champion plays rival drama teacher Zack in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series?

Derek Hough appears in season two as Zack, who teaches drama at North High and once dated East High's own drama teacher. He won the dance contest a record six times.

In the first High School Musical, what are Troy and Gabriella helping to pick up when Ms. Darbus overhears them sing?

Sheet music is what they are gathering for the show's composer when they try the audition song as a slow ballad. The overheard duet earns them a callback.

What does Sharpay do in High School Musical 2 that pushes Ryan to side with the Wildcats?

She cuts him from her act so she can sing with Troy instead, and a hurt Ryan ends up secretly preparing a dance number for the staff to perform.

On prom night in High School Musical 3, what does Troy do instead of going to East High's dance?

He drives to see Gabriella at her college, where the two have a prom dance of their own. The trip makes him late for the spring musical, so a teammate has to cover his part.

High School Musical was the first Disney Channel Original Movie ever aired by which British broadcaster?

BBC viewers saw it on 29 December 2006, eleven months after the American premiere. A widescreen high-definition version later ran on BBC One.

Which former Andi Mack star plays transfer student Gina Porter in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series?

Sofia Wylie began her career as a dancer and broke through as Buffy Driscoll on Andi Mack. Her character Gina is cast as Taylor McKessie in the first season's show.

Which actress, Martha Cox in the High School Musical films, played Ms. Darbus in the 2026 British stage production?

KayCee Stroh joined the first non-replica British staging, which opened in Salford twenty years after the original film. On screen she is the brainiac who loves hip-hop.

Bradley Steven Perry, Sharpay's young Broadway rival in Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure, played Gabe in which sitcom?

Good Luck Charlie has a second East High link: its series premiere followed the third film's first Disney Channel airing in April 2010.

Vanessa Hudgens made her Broadway debut in 2015 starring in a revival of which Lerner and Loewe musical?

Gigi opened at the Kennedy Center in January 2015 and transferred to Broadway that April, with Hudgens in the title role.

High School Musical's auditorium was really at Murray High School, the school of which American Idol runner-up?

David Archuleta attended Murray High before finishing second to David Cook on American Idol. Disney also shot Read It and Weep and Minutemen at the school.

High School Musical's director made which Bette Midler film in 1993, now regarded as a cult classic?

Hocus Pocus, in which a teenager accidentally revives three witches in Salem, was only his second feature as a director.

Which Dance Moms alum guest-stars as a former Camp Shallow Lake camper in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series?

JoJo Siwa appears in the third season as Madison, an ex-camper who used to date Maddox, the camp's tech-minded counselor-in-training.

Ashley Tisdale swapped East High for college cheerleading as Savannah Monroe in which 2010 CW drama?

Hellcats cast her as the head cheerleader of a college squad. Its creator praised her range, saying she can hold multiple colors in the same palette.

Which High School Musical 2 song has Troy rallying the Wildcats after the Lava Springs manager makes them miserable?

"Work This Out" turns the grumbling around: Troy persuades the new staff that they can stick out the summer as a team, despite one teammate's objections.