High School Musical is a 2006 American musical television film written by Peter Barsocchini and directed by Kenny Ortega. It is the first installment in the High School Musical franchise.
With a plot described by the author and numerous critics as a modern adaptation of Romeo & Juliet, High School Musical is a story about two high school juniors from rival stereotypical cliques. The protagonists are Troy Bolton (Zac Efron), a basketball team captain, and Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens), a shy transfer student excelling in math and science. Together, they try out for the lead parts in their high school musical, and this causes division among all the school's students. Despite other students' attempts to thwart their dreams, Troy and Gabriella aim to resist peer pressure and rivalry and wish to inspire others along the way not to "stick to the status quo." However, they have to battle high school diva Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale) and her twin brother Ryan (Lucas Grabeel). Sharpay and Ryan both seek to sabotage the friendship and romance between Troy and Gabriella and gain the leads in the school musical.
Principal photography for High School Musical took place in Utah, with East High School and Murray High School used as locations, as well as Salt Lake City. Additional scenes were filmed in Los Angeles.
Upon its release on January 20, 2006, as part of Disney Channel’s "Gotta Sing Gotta Dance Week" block, it became the most commercially successful Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) ever produced. In the U.S., High School Musical generated 7.7 million viewers in its premiere broadcast, which is one of the highest the network has generated. Internationally, the film has also seen considerable success; as of 2019, over 225 million viewers have watched High School Musical. The film's soundtrack was also successful as it peaked at number one in the United States, with "Breaking Free" reaching number four. The film received mixed reviews from critics, but was praised by TV audiences upon its debut.
The film's success spawned a media franchise and series of sequels, High School Musical 2 (2007) and High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008), with the latter being a theatrical release. It is the first DCOM to have a theatrical sequel.
Cast and characters[]
- Zac Efron - Troy Bolton
- Vanessa Hudgens - Gabriella Montez
- Ashley Tisdale - Sharpay Evans
- Lucas Grabeel - Ryan Evans
- Corbin Bleu - Chad Danforth
- Monique Coleman - Taylor McKessie
- Joey Miyashima - Dave Matsui
- Bart Johnson - Jack Bolton
- Olesya Rulin - Kelsi Nielsen
- Chris Warren Jr. - Zeke Baylor
- Ryne Sanborn - Jason Cross
- Kaycee Stroh - Martha Cox
- Alyson Reed - Ms. Darbus
- Irene Santiago-Baron - Ms. Tenny
- Socorro Herrera - Lisa Montez
- Leslie Wing Pomeroy - Lucille Bolton
- Joyce Cohen - Ms. Falstaff
- Dave Fox - Coach Kellogg
- Anne Kathryn Parma - Susan
- Nick Whitaker - Alan
- Falcon Grace - Cyndra
International broadcast[]
| Country | Network(s) | Date(s) | Local title |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Disney Channel | January 20, 2006 | High School Musical |
| Asia | Disney Channel | June 25, 2006 | |
| Latin America | Disney Channel | August 6, 2006 | |
| Scandinavia | Disney Channel | September 8, 2006 | |
| Argentina | Canal 13 | November 12, 2006 | |
| Australia | Disney Channel, Seven Network | June 10, 2006 | |
| Belgium (Dutch) | Eén | December 31, 2006 | |
| Brazil | Disney Channel | July 30, 2006 | |
| Rede Globo | December 3, 2006 | ||
| Canada (English) | Family Channel | January 20, 2006 | |
| Chile | Canal 13 | November 17, 2006 | |
| Germany | Disney Channel | September 6, 2006 | |
| ProSieben | September 17, 2006 | ||
| India | Disney Channel | September 24, 2006 | |
| Ireland | Disney Channel | September 22, 2006 | |
| RTÉ Two | December 27, 2006 | ||
| Italy | Disney Channel | September 30, 2006 | |
| Rai 2 | October 21, 2006 | ||
| Malaysia | TV3 | November 26, 2006 | |
| Mexico | Azteca 7 | January 3, 2013 | |
| Netherlands | Veronica | December 13, 2006 | |
| Jetix | December 25, 2006 | ||
| New Zealand | Disney Channel | June 10, 2006 | |
| Poland | Disney Channel | December 2, 2006 | |
| TVP1 | December 30, 2006 | ||
| Portugal | Disney Channel | December 30, 2006 | |
| SIC | December 25, 2006 | ||
| Spain | Disney Channel | September 30, 2006 | |
| South Africa | Disney Channel | October 2006 | |
| United Kingdom | Disney Channel | September 22, 2006 | |
| BBC One, BBC HD | December 29, 2006 | ||
| BBC Two | May 28, 2007 | ||
| BBC Three | November 4, 2007 | ||
| Belgium (French) | RTL-TVI | January 1, 2007 | High School Musical: Premiers pas sur scène |
| Club RTL | November 8, 2008 | ||
| Canada (French) | VRAK.TV | May 18, 2007 | |
| Canal Vie | June 9, 2008 | ||
| France | Disney Channel | September 19, 2006 | |
| M6 | October 30, 2006 | ||
| Hong Kong | TVB Pearl | December 25, 2006 | 歌舞青春 |
| Taiwan | Disney Channel | October 7, 2006 | |
| Arab World | Disney Channel | September 8, 2006 | هاي سكول ميوزيكال |
| Bulgaria | Nova TV | December 6, 2008 | Училищен мюзикъл |
| bTV | May 14, 2011 | ||
| Hungary | TV2 | January 1, 2007 | Szerelmes hangjegyek |
| Israel | Jetix | August 30, 2007 | היי סקול מיוזיקל |
| Japan | Disney Channel | August 19, 2006 | ハイスクール・ミュージカル |
| Russia | Channel One | May 24, 2008 | Классный мюзикл |