50 Fun Facts About HSMTMTS

Where is East High, the real school where the High School Musical films were shot and HSMTMTS is set?

Salt Lake City, Utah. The films pretended the school was in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but the series drops the disguise and lets East High play itself.

Before winning a lead in season 1 of HSMTMTS, where had Nini always been placed in East High's musicals?

In the chorus. She comes back from a summer at theatre camp ready to try for a starring part and gets it, only to land in chorus roles again in the season 2 show.

Which new part does Miss Jenn invent so that Nini can rejoin East High's Beauty and the Beast in season 2?

The enchanted rose. Nini comes home from her new school after the show is already cast, so Miss Jenn brings the flower to life for her, and Nini writes The Rose Song to sing in the part.

Where do the East High students spend the summer in season 3 of HSMTMTS?

Camp Shallow Lake. The Wildcats spend two weeks at the California sleep-away camp, where a documentary crew follows them as they rehearse the summer show.

Which Camp Rock 2 anthem do the HSMTMTS campers cover for the season 3 Color War sing-off?

It's On. The sing-off settles the camp's Color War, and Jet's riffing wins it for the yellow team, a victory that starts to mend his rift with his sister Maddox.

What do the East High students become when High School Musical 4: The Reunion films at their school in season 4?

Extras. Stars of the original films come back to shoot a reunion movie in the school's halls, and the Wildcats, busy staging their own High School Musical 3, end up as faces in its crowd scenes.

In season 1 of HSMTMTS, which High School Musical role does Nini win at the East High auditions?

Gabriella Montez. Nini auditions with Start of Something New and lands the lead, which leaves transfer student Gina as her understudy, scheming to make her quit.

Who plays Ricky Bowen in HSMTMTS?

Joshua Bassett. He was the first actor cast, four months before anyone else, and went on to write and produce songs of his own for the show.

In season 1 of HSMTMTS, Ricky wins the part of Troy Bolton despite what?

No interest in musicals. The skateboarder auditions only to win back his ex-girlfriend Nini, singing a song she once wrote for him, and walks off with the lead.

Which roles does Ricky play in the season 2 and season 3 productions of HSMTMTS?

The Beast and Kristoff. Miss Jenn gives him the season 2 lead to reward his commitment after Nini leaves town, and he is back as Troy by the time the series ends.

Who plays Gina Porter in HSMTMTS?

Sofia Wylie. She came from Disney Channel's Andi Mack to play a transfer student who refuses to be called an understudy and insists on 'wonderstudy' instead.

Which role does Gina play in East High's season 2 production of Beauty and the Beast?

Babette. The feather duster is only a supporting part for the club's most ambitious performer, but Gina goes on to win a leading role in each of the next two seasons.

In HSMTMTS, how is E.J. Caswell related to Ashlyn?

Cousin. Both are Caswells, and E.J. leans on the family tie early on, talking Ashlyn into stealing Nini's phone for him so that he can read her messages.

At the summer camp in season 3 of HSMTMTS, what job does E.J. take on besides playing Sven?

Directing the production. The camp's boss drafts him when the visiting celebrity turns out not to be running the show, and he then finds himself cast as a reindeer in his own production.

What is Big Red's hidden talent, revealed at the end of season 1 of HSMTMTS?

Tap dance. Ricky's skater friend drifts into the stage crew knowing nothing about theatre, then breaks into a tap routine in a surprise scene after the finale's credits.

In HSMTMTS, what business does Big Red's family run?

A pizzeria. Kourtney takes a job there as assistant manager in season 2 and falls for a co-worker, only to find out that he is starring in a rival school's show.

Which High School Musical role does Ashlyn play in season 1 of HSMTMTS?

Ms. Darbus. Playing the drama teacher leaves Ashlyn sure she will be typecast in older parts for good, so she is stunned a season later to be handed the leading lady's role.

Kourtney starts HSMTMTS working in which department of the East High musical?

Costuming. Miss Jenn only discovers that Kourtney can sing during a rehearsal late in season 1, and from the next show on she is out of the wardrobe room and in the cast.

Which Frozen role does Kourtney play in the camp show in season 3 of HSMTMTS?

Elsa. The part brings Kourtney's nerves to a head before opening night, a storyline Dara Reneé fed with Here I Come, a song she co-wrote about her own anxiety attacks.

What is Carlos's job on the first two East High productions in HSMTMTS?

Choreographer. Carlos runs the dance rehearsals as Miss Jenn's right hand, even standing in as director when she is suspended, and only steps on stage himself in season 2.

Which High School Musical role does Seb play in season 1 of HSMTMTS?

Sharpay Evans. Nobody at East High treats a boy playing the school diva as a big deal, and Joe Serafini made enough of the part to be promoted to the main cast for season 2.

Which HSMTMTS couple gets together after one asks the other to the dance in the episode 'Homecoming'?

Carlos Rodriguez and Seb. Carlos thinks he has been stood up and takes the floor alone, until Seb turns up late from a crisis on his family's farm: the franchise's first gay romance.

Miss Jenn appeared in the original High School Musical film in what capacity?

A background dancer. She lets East High believe the part was far bigger, and the lie nearly costs her the job once a suspicious colleague finds out how small it really was.

In HSMTMTS, what does Mr. Mazzara, the teacher who starts out hostile to the drama club, teach?

STEM. The by-the-book teacher thinks East High spends too much on performing arts, yet he ends up running the technical side of opening night and, by season 4, acting in the show himself.

What is the name of East High's rival school in season 2 of HSMTMTS?

North High. Its new drama teacher is Miss Jenn's old boyfriend and stage rival, and the feud grows until both schools are entering the same competition with the same musical.

Which Dancing with the Stars professional plays Zack, Miss Jenn's ex-boyfriend, in season 2 of HSMTMTS?

Derek Hough. His Zack is a charming but sneaky actor who comes home to teach drama at the rival school, and who turns out to have stolen a key piece of East High's costumes.

Andrew Barth Feldman, season 2's French exchange student Antoine in HSMTMTS, had played the title role in which Broadway musical?

Dear Evan Hansen. Feldman took over the Broadway lead a year after winning the Jimmy Award, the national prize for high school musical performers, while still a sophomore.

Which original High School Musical star hosts the documentary filmed at camp in season 3 of HSMTMTS?

Corbin Bleu. The films' Chad Danforth plays himself, turning up as the camp's mystery celebrity to announce that he will film the rehearsals for a streaming series.

Which Hannah Montana actor plays Dewey Wood, the camp director in season 3 of HSMTMTS?

Jason Earles. The actor who played Miley's brother Jackson comes back to Disney as the opposite of a teen sidekick: a stone-faced killjoy who runs the camp.

Who plays Marvin, revealed in season 3 of HSMTMTS to be Nini's biological father?

Jesse Tyler Ferguson. His Marvin is an old friend of Nini's two mothers who, she learns, once had a hit song with them in a band, a discovery that starts her writing again.

Which social media star plays Madison, Maddox's ex, at camp in season 3 of HSMTMTS?

JoJo Siwa. Jet has Madison come back for the camp prom, hoping to make peace with his sister, and the exes' reunion helps the feuding siblings patch things up at last.

Who plays Jamie Porter, Gina's music-producer brother, in season 2 of HSMTMTS?

Jordan Fisher. Jamie turns up backstage on opening night, and a careless remark to E.J. about being like a big brother to Gina throws her brand-new romance into doubt.

Which original High School Musical actor appears as himself in a dream sequence in season 1 of HSMTMTS?

Lucas Grabeel. The films' Ryan Evans appears to Miss Jenn after she is knocked out and duets with her on Role of a Lifetime, which persuades her to bring the show home to East High.

KayCee Stroh, Martha Cox in the High School Musical films, turns up in season 1 of HSMTMTS as what?

A school board member. She is on the panel when the students burst into its meeting and sing to save the suspended Miss Jenn's job, and she comes back for season 4.

Which song did Olivia Rodrigo write on her own for season 1 of HSMTMTS?

All I Want. Most of the show's new songs were picked blind from Los Angeles songwriters, but Rodrigo wrote this piano ballad herself for a scene in which Nini broods over two boys.

The ballad Olivia Rodrigo wrote for HSMTMTS gave her which career first in January 2020?

Hot 100 hit. The song only crept onto the Billboard chart at number 90, but a year later her debut single went straight in at number one.

Which Disney Channel series had Olivia Rodrigo starred in before HSMTMTS?

Bizaardvark. She starred in the Disney Channel comedy from 2016 to 2019, went straight from it into HSMTMTS, and gave up acting for music after her third season there.

Before HSMTMTS, Ricky's actor played Aidan Peters on which Disney Channel sitcom?

Stuck in the Middle. The recurring part in the sitcom's last season was his first substantial screen role after more than 30 stage musicals, and within months he had the lead in HSMTMTS.

Which Christopher Guest mockumentary does Tim Federle call his all-time favourite film and a model for HSMTMTS?

Waiting for Guffman. Federle loved the way it sends up amateur theatre while honouring the heart of people trying to make something, and pitched Disney a docu-style show in the same spirit.

The first showrunner of Disney+'s HSMTMTS reportedly left because he wanted what?

More adult themes. Oliver Goldstick, who came from Pretty Little Liars, ran only the first four episodes before leaving over 'creative differences', and creator Tim Federle took over.

In 2020 HSMTMTS tied with the animated series The Bravest Knight to win which award?

A GLAAD Media Award. The first-season win, in the kids' and family programming category, went to a Disney series whose heroine, Nini, is being raised by two mothers.

Before he created HSMTMTS, what had Tim Federle spent years doing on Broadway?

Dancing in musicals. He performed in shows including Gypsy and The Little Mermaid before turning to novels and scripts, and that theatre-kid past is what he drew on for the series.

What was unusual about how most musical numbers in season 1 of HSMTMTS were filmed?

Sung live. Tim Federle hired actors who were singers and songwriters themselves, believing a live voice touches an audience in a way that Auto-Tune can't.

What was the HSMTMTS cast's December 2020 programme of Christmas songs called?

The Holiday Special. With season 2 held up by the pandemic, the cast filled the gap by singing seasonal favourites, swapping childhood holiday memories and giving fans a first look at the new episodes.

How did Disney+ release the fourth and final season of HSMTMTS in August 2023?

All at once. Every earlier season had gone out an episode a week, but the eight farewell episodes all arrived together on 9 August.

Why did creator Tim Federle decide, midway through filming season 4, to end HSMTMTS there?

To go out on a high. Federle did not want to risk a cliffhanger that might never be resolved, asked how anyone could 'out-meta' a season with a film inside it, and told the cast over dinner.

Which two HSMTMTS characters are revealed as bisexual by the end of season 3?

Ashlyn Caswell and Big Red. The actors who play them had been asking the writers for the storyline since season 1, and the news slips out in the trailer for the camp documentary.

Which earlier TV series did critics compare HSMTMTS to for its music and themes?

Glee. The comparison was invited: creator Tim Federle pitched his series as 'The Office meets Glee', and he hired Zach Woodlee, the man who staged Glee's dance numbers, to do the same here.

Which actor, Coach Bolton in the High School Musical films, plays himself in season 4 of HSMTMTS?

Bart Johnson. He returns with five other stars of the films to shoot a reunion movie at East High, while on the school's own stage his old part is split between a teacher and a graduate.

In season 4 of HSMTMTS, who is the newcomer Mack Alana?

A sitcom actor cast opposite Gina. He plays her love interest in the reunion film, which puts her in a pretend romance on camera just as she and Ricky have finally got together.