2019-11-13 The Hollywood Reporter

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Memorable moments

from a storied history

90 Years of THR

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 96 NOVEMBER 13, 2019

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In foreground from left: Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens in a scene from the Kenny Ortega-directed High School Musical. Inset: THR’s review from Jan 20, 2006.

On Jan. 20, 2006, the Disney
Channel aired what might have
been the most financially suc-
cessful TV movie ever made.
Besides launching then-18-
year-old Zac Efron’s career and
drawing 7.7 million viewers,
High School Musical set in motion
two sequels (the second, made
on an $11 million budget, had a
theatrical release that grossed
$253 million worldwide); a 2011
spinoff TV movie called Sharpay’s
Fabulous Adventure; a soundtrack
that became the best-selling
album of 2006 with 7 million
copies sold; spinoff movies for
the Chinese, Argentine, Mexican
and Brazilian markets; a concert
tour with the original cast; two
stage musicals; a reality TV series

about tryouts for the show; and,

premiering Nov. 8 on Disney+,

High School Musical: The Musical:

The Series. All this from a telefilm

The Hollywood Reporter said “has

about as much personality as the

stale air that tries to inflate it and

pump up its volumes.” THR sum-

marized the plot as “two shy teens

meet, fight for a dream despite

their shyness and learn at the

end of it all that it’s what inside

of us that counts.” Maybe that

leaves out a few details, but it’s

the foundation of a billion-dollar

franchise. “High School Musical

nailed what kids were feeling at

the time,” says then-Disney/ABC

Television Group president Anne

Sweeney. “They wanted to sing

or dance or play basketball. That

was the genius of High School

Musical. It gave kids permission to

be whoever they are.” (Fun fact: It

was filmed at Salt Lake City’s East

High School — where Roseanne

Barr, later fired by Disney-owned

ABC over a racist tweet, was a

student in the 1960s.) “The film

spoke to a generation that didn’t

want to stick to the status quo if it

meant they couldn’t follow their

dreams,” says Disney Channels

Worldwide senior vp Jennifer

Rogers Doyle, who was involved

with Musical from its inception.

“Though the film might have felt

cheesy to critics, the story felt very

real to the kids.” — BILL HIGGINS

High School Musical Was an Instant Smash in 2006

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