High School Musical on Stage

[Wonderlicious]

I haven't seen much about this movie due to living in the UK (where it has yet to be shown on the Disney Channel, though apparently it will soon according to a promo on TV), but now it just happens to be being turned into a future stage musical for community theatre productions, if you click here. I think that it's easy to say that Disney are really trying to pimp out this movie as much as possible since it's such a hot cake at the moment.

And for the record, this isn't the only musical from Disney that you can get for amateur/school theatre groups. The MTI group who license out various stage musicals also have Beauty and the Beast, Aida as well as small scale kiddy-orientated versions of some of the animated classics available: http://www.mtidisneycollection.com/default_HOME.asp

[Kram Nebuer]

And for the record, this isn't the only musical from Disney that you can get for amateur/school theatre groups. The MTI group who license out various stage musicals also have Beauty and the Beast, Aida as well as small scale kiddy-orientated versions of some of the animated classics available: http://www.mtidisneycollection.com/default_HOME.asp

Funny you should mention this because my sister and I just saw Aida at our local community college. Mainstage is a summer theater program for high schoolers and some college kids and they put on Aida as one of their shows. I have to say that their performance as well as the costumes and sets and props were pretty spectacular! Also the great performance by the pit helped a lot too. It was a great show and a lot better than what I was expecting from a community theater. My mom's coworker's daughter was the lead and she and the other performers just left us speechless.

The only problem though with putting on Aida in our area was, well, it's a show about Egyptians and Nubians and...let's just say we had to pretend most of the cast wasn't white. That didn't matter too much though because it was still a terrific show!

[The Little Merman]

Wow. That would be so awesome if we did High School Musical at our school.

I'd definitely be going out for Ryan.

*tlm

[CurleysMartini]

Is anyone's local high school putting on High School Musical this upcoming year? My school has it set for March 17-19 and I'm already prepping to try out for Ryan. Looks like a pretty fun time.

[nachonaco]

I signed up my school to do it.

If we can't get the info packet from disney (I think I put the prod. dates wrong - was that supposed to include auditions and rehearsals too? am i allowed to re-sign up?), my teacher said I could just copy the script and get the songbook....

illegal, yes, but i live in a very small town.

[PixarFan]

My local community theater is set to put on this play next summer. I'll definitely try out, but I haven't even seen the movie yet, so I don't know what part I'm going to try out for...

[CurleysMartini]

If I'm correct my school is gonna be one of the first 100 actual high schools to put it on *we're probably way further down if you include community theaters* with our productions March 17-19. I'm definitely trying out for Ryan and this is a motivation for me to lose weight so I can get some cheers for doing all the hip swivels and things for Bop to the Top.

[JiminyCrick91]

I'm definitely trying out for Ryan and this is a motivation for me to lose weight .....

You and me both, brother. But before I can try out for the part I need to have my school put it on and want thouse super cool hats! (Wow. I'm geeky. lol)

[Kram Nebuer]

I wonder if this pop culture phenomenom will help more students get involved with the school theater programs. When our high school put on Footloose my freshman year, it was an ENORMOUS hit and the next year A LOT of people got involved (we did The Pajama Game the year after, btw), even the ones you wouldn't expect to do musicals.

I don't know if my former high school would do it. Our musical director (oddly enough, not the drama class teacher, but a guidance councilor) picks random shows and he claims he wants to do Peter Pan before he retires and he almost retired the year I graduated.

Good luck to everyone with their productions! Post pictures or Youtube videos if you can when the time comes!

[CurleysMartini]

We did Footloose too but it didn't go over nearly as well...since we're a Catholic high school supposedly our "standards are higher" and we had to cut out a few lines here and there and it almost got shut down. And our lead sucked

[nachonaco]

I'm pretty sure my teacher just requested info.

[candydog]

Well, it looks like Disney are well and truly pushing HSM into all corners of the entertainment industry. So far we've had or will soon be having:

High School Musical
High School Musical 2
Haunted High School Musical
High School Musical in Concert
High School Musical on Ice
Novels
Best-selling soundtracks

and now, we can expect to see the stage version, yes, the STAGE VERSION of the movie starting a US tour this summer. I'm not a huge fan of High School Musical, it was an OK movie, but they're really milking it now. Anyone happy about this, or do you think we need something new from Disney and more entertaining than a watered-down version of Grease?

The tour will be undoubtably successful, but seeing a made-for-TV-movie take the theatre world in a way that will probably lead it to Broadway is going a little too far

What next: HSM the ballet? HSM the Opera? Comics? TV series? (personally, I'm quite surprised it hasn't got a TV series already)

[Flanger-Hanger]

wait till Escapay hears about this (then again he probably already knows).

[Prudence]

I don't understand the popularity of High School Musical. I also don't understand why Olesya Rulin gets absolutely no attention whatsoever while the rest of the teenage cast appears all over Disney Channel.

*cough* The only character I liked was Kelsi. *cough*

[singerguy04]

What next: HSM the ballet? HSM the Opera? Comics? TV series? (personally, I'm quite surprised it hasn't got a TV series already)

I really would not be surprised if the Disney Channel took on a TV series, but please lets not give them any ideas!

Would it be possible to send Disney a petition to end more HSM projects?

[Ting Ting]

Disney is also leasing out rights to community theatres to perform HSM. Two of my local theatres performed it recently and a friend of mine played Gabriella. I'm not a fan of HSM, but I wanted to audition. Unfortunately, I was involved with another play at the time. Apparently after getting permission from Disney to do it, they send you an entire set (mainly backdrops), a script, and music. It wasn't half bad, though I wasn't big on the 2-dimensional sets.

[UmbrellaFish]

HSM not my favorite movie, but I do like a few songs. Actually I believe a church somewhere around where I live is doing it. Might be interesting. I'm sure my drama club at school will be doing it sooner or later.

[Prudence]

I'd love to audition for Kelsi in a community theater production, but I'd probably have to die my hair blond and play Sharpay instead. Unless I somehow come across as shorter and shy - now how is that possible?

[PixarFan2006]

This is getting WAY out of hand. First a theatrical movie, now a broadway show? This has seriously got to stop sooner or later.

[Flanger-Hanger]

What about a HSM direct to video film no Disney franchise is complete without one! and candydog you forgot about the HSM pep rally's at Disney's California Adventure and Disney's MGM Studios.

when I think of HSM I'm reminded of a line from Spaceballs: Merchandising! Merchandising!

HSM the lunch box
HSM the breakfast cereal
HSM the coloring book
HSM the flame thrower!