By Jocelyn Buhlman
High School Musical fans, getcha head in the game! It’s time to return to East High School with High School Musical: The Musical, a 10-episode series that will debut on Disney’s upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming service.
Casting has just begun for this new series that explores the musical mishaps of a group of East High students in a stage performance of… none other than the original High School Musical! The show will be shot in a “documentary”-style format, chronicling the teenage drama of the cast, both on- and off-stage.
Characters include Ricky, the recently dumped class clown who decides to overcome his heartbreak by (what else?) auditioning for the school musical in an attempt to win back his lost love. Unfortunately for Ricky, his ex-girlfriend Nini is a natural performer who’s finally found the courage to also audition for the musical! If you thought that was already dramatic enough, wait until you meet no-nonsense E.J., the son of two lawyers (so that means twice the ambition!) who is not only Ricky’s rival for the big role, but also the rival for Nini’s heart!
The rest of the cast is just as spirited: What’s a High School Musical story without a drama queen? You can bet on “wonderstudy” Gina to channel Sharpay Evans’ flair for theatrics, but with less pink and more ruthlessness. Joining the cast will also be Ricky’s total skater dude BFF Big Red, new student and aspiring songwriter Ashlyn, overly-caffeinated student choreographer Vikram, and the mysterious new drama teacher Miss Jenn.
Start warming up your vocals because each episode will feature a new version of one of the classic songs from High School Musical (and we know you have them all memorized), along with a brand-new original song!
The series will be executive produced by Oliver Goldstick (Pretty Little Liars) and Oscar®- and Golden Globe®-nominated screenwriter Tim Federle (Ferdinand). There’s no premiere date announced yet, but we’ll bop any future news right to the top of your newsfeed as soon as it breaks!
