XL Cover Story

'High School Musical'

Austin High School is among the first in the nation to get a shot at staging Disney's blockbuster movie

By Tommy O'Malley
Thursday, November 02, 2006

Like it or not — and the show attracts as many detractors as fans — "High School Musical" is here to stay.

After premiering on the Disney Channel to record ratings in January, "Musical" dominated every chart available: The original airing attracted 7.7 million viewers, the largest audience in the channel's history at the time.

The soundtrack topped the Billboard 200 twice and was certified triple platinum; the DVD, which premiered at No. 1 in May, has already sold more than 2 million copies.

Based on that success, Disney decided to adapt "Musical" for high school and regional productions (don't confuse this with the recently announced "High School Musical" concert tour, featuring most of the movie's cast).

In August, Stagedoor Manor summer camp (the setting for the movie "Camp") hosted the first official performance of the live show. A group of Disney representatives attended to see how it played. With the help of a handful of schools around the country, including Austin High School, Disney is working to smooth any rough edges before licensed productions begin in January 2007.

Why Austin High? In June, a group of its students had taken a one-act play called "The Speed of Darkness" to the International Thespian Festival in Lincoln, Neb., where Disney Theatricals happened to preview two songs from "Musical." After returning from the festival, the Austin High theater director received an e-mail from Musical Theater International (MTI) and Disney Theatricals, asking if the school was interested in "Musical."

"We think Disney saw our production in Lincoln, saw the work that our students do and thought that we would be a good school," said director Annie Dragoo. "We've been through three script revisions from MTI and Disney. We're changing with the revisions. That's part of the agreement. The kids don't mind. They're very flexible."

The 40 students in the Austin High production were selected from a group of more than 100 who auditioned. Dragoo said that she usually auditions between 50 and 60 kids for a show. Interest in "Musical" has been high, even among the school's upperclassmen.

"It definitely targets my generation," said 16 year-old Austin Kingsbery, a junior who plays the lead role of Troy. "The songs and the style of the dance and the energy — it's all really exciting."

Disney frequently infuses its musicals with a pop sensibility. Eighteen years ago, "Oliver and Company" — a rock 'n' roll retelling of "Oliver Twist" — revived the company's depressed animated musical department.

Over the next decade, movies such as "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin" cemented Disney's renewed status as the top provider of quality family entertainment. These films, modeled on traditional musicals, laid the groundwork for Disney's infiltration and eventual domination of the Broadway market.

The four Disney productions currently in New York, including "The Lion King" and "Tarzan," boast bright, Top-40 friendly scores. This style influenced other theatrical composers, evinced by post-Disney (and non-Disney) hits such as "Hairspray" and "Wicked." Had it not been for the success of its animated movies in the 1980s and 1990s, Disney probably wouldn't have moved to Broadway when it did.

Considering that a group of cartoons lies at the root of one industry's profound transformation, it's not entirely laughable to ponder the lasting effects of "High School Musical" on popular forms of entertainment.

For the moment, it's the biggest thing in the lives of some local performers. Just ask the teens in the Austin High School production of "High School Musical."

MEET THE STUDENTS (AND THEIR CHARACTERS)

Amy Craig

Age: 16

Class: Junior

Character: Gabriella Montez

Describe her: Gabriella is the quiet new girl, and she's very smart. She knows who she is, and she's kind of quiet and doesn't want attention.

How Amy compares to Gabriella: We're similar in that, when I'm around new people, I am kind of quiet. I'm not very outgoing at first. When I came as a freshman, I was home schooled, so I didn't know anyone except maybe one or two people. So I was new and shy, but since then, I know a lot more people. I'm comfortable with my group of friends — I hang out with my choir friends. I'm not really part of a clique. I know lots of different people.

Other extracurricular activities: I'm in choir, and I'm very involved in my church. I've taught Sunday school for past couple of years to first- and second-graders. Right now, I'm singing for the worship team. And I play piano.

What friends think of her involvement in musical: My friends are excited for me, because it's a premiere. They have mixed feelings about the movie.

How 'High School Musical' compares to actual high school: It's a little bit exaggerated, like the cliques and stuff. They did it to make a point, to make it more interesting.

What she thinks about the movie: I honestly don't like it very much. I actually think it targets a younger age range, more middle school.

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Austin Kingsbery

Age: 16

Class: Junior

Character: Troy Bolton

Describe him: Troy is a basketball guy who's just fun to hang out with. He's not, like, cocky and not, like, mean or anything. He's a real fun guy, and he talks to other people that aren't in his group.

How Austin compares to Troy: I don't play basketball, but I run cross country. And I have lots of friends in different groups. I don't have a group. My group, I guess you could say they're the nice, kind of creative kids.

Other extracurricular activities: Well, cross country. And I'm in PALs — Peer Assisted Leadership — we go to different schools and work with kids who have trouble or social problems. I'm also on student council.

What friends think of his involvement in this musical: They really think it's cool that I got the part. Everybody is really excited.

How 'High School Musical' compares to actual high school: Austin High is cool. You've got kids like me or a bunch of my friends, who just go from group to group. HSM is like: this group, this group, this group. And they don't even look at each other. Here, I think we mix it up a little bit.

What he thinks about the movie: I auditioned for the part, and then I saw the movie. I think it's fun for kids. I don't think it's like a great, great movie, but I think it's fun. It's what it's supposed to be.

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Alyssa Ramirez

Age: 16

Class: Junior

Character: Sharpay Evans

Describe her: Sharpay's the typical theater girl and popular girl who always gets what she wants. She always gets the lead in the play, and it would seem as though her life was perfect, but she doesn't have very much self-confidence.

How Alyssa compares to Sharpay: I'm very involved in theater. I don't feel that I need to have the lead role in every production. I like being part of the chorus because I know that the chorus makes the show. And you can't have a full production without the supporting roles in the chorus. I do like being part of the main group and not the star.

Other extracurricular activities: I'm a Fellowship of Christian Athletes leader for next year. I don't play any sports, but you don't have to be an athlete to do it.

What friends think of her involvement in this musical: They're really excited. Most of them have seen the movie. And they support me a bunch.

How 'High School Musical} compares to actual high school: It's similar in that we have cliques, and usually there's a separation of people based by their activities. Socio-economic status has a part in that, too, but usually it's what you do. At our school it's not as harsh; we do intermingle with other groups.

What she thinks about the movie: I really enjoyed it. I love cheesy kids' movies.

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Charlotte Mann

Age: 17

Class: Junior

Character: Taylor McKessie

Describe her: Taylor is very smart, cares a lot about school, very involved academically. She's the head of the Science Decathlon. She's obviously very bright and doesn't do a lot wrong. One of the things in the show is that she gets detention for the first time in her life.

How Charlotte compares to Taylor: I'm kind of a goody-goody. I haven't ever gotten detention. I'm different because I'm not obsessive over school. I do other things.

Other extracurricular activities: I'm in musicals, and I do dance outside of school. And I do voice lessons, all kinds of stuff. I do Ballet Austin's musical theater lab. And then I also do TexArts on Saturdays. I'm going to be a Fellowship of Christian Athletes leader next year. My religion is very important to me.

What friends think of her involvement in this musical: It's very time-consuming, so a lot of times it's hard to get together. But all my friends are very supportive.

How 'High School Musical' compares to actual high school: I think it actually is very similar. Especially in the theater department, where we have a lot of different people, and that's the whole message of the show — being able to mix.

What she thinks about the movie: I saw it and at first, I was like, 'OK, it's going to be another cheesy musical,' — which it is, very cheesy — but it also has such a good

meaning.

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Jarom Parsons

Age: 15

Class: Freshman

Character: Chad Danforth

Describe him: I think Chad's about 16 or 17. He's one of the biggest basketball dudes . . . He's sort of one of the cool guys at the school. He's Troy's best friend, and he sort of tells Troy what's cool.

How Jarom compares to Chad: I'm really freaky about sports. I love sports. Chad's not very smart. I like getting good grades.

Other extracurricular activities: Right now, I'm on the soccer team. I'm also in the Austin High concert orchestra. I play violin. I've played since I was 4.

What friends think of his involvement in this musical: They're really excited. They're like, 'Yo, Jarom, when's the date? I've got to come see it!'

How 'High School Musical' compares to actual high school: 'High School Musical' has a lot of truth and has a really good message to it, where you can just be yourself and express yourself. It's sort of corny, in a way.

What he thinks about the movie: For some reason, I don't really like what my sister watches — she's, like, 13 — but then I watched it and I was like, 'Whoa, that is one heck of a show.'

Kyle Housworth

Age: 16

Class: Junior

Character: Ryan Evans

Describe him: Ryan's living in his sister Taylor's shadow. He picks up on her rudeness to others, yet there's something behind his character where he really is genuine and nice. He's very flamboyant, if you will.

How Kyle compares to Ryan: I'm also very outgoing. I'm not afraid to talk to people, to meet new people. I'm an only child, so I'm not living under somebody else's shadow, and I try not to be rude to people.

Other extracurricular activities: Really nothing; I do theater. I've done some shows at Zachary Scott Theatre. Right now I'm training for the future. I'm doing more training and getting my résumé together and getting audition material together, so that when I graduate, I'll be prepared for college or New York or L.A.

What friends think of his involvement in this musical: It's always been, like, Kyle's at the theater, we're going to hang out when he's done with rehearsal.

How 'High School Musical' compares to actual high school: We have some jocks in this musical, and nowadays, it's not that big of a deal.

What he thinks about the movie: I hated it, but the more that I've studied and learned the music, it's grown on me.