The made-for-TV film High School Musical premiered Jan. 20, 2006, on Disney Channel. The plot is a modern version of Romeo and Juliet about high school juniors Troy and Gabriella from rival cliques. Troy, a basketball team captain, and Gabriella, a shy math geek, try out for the leads in their high school musical, but they are up against diva Sharpay and her twin brother Ryan, who not only want the leads themselves but also want to sabotage the budding romance between their rivals.
Principal photography took place in Utah at Salt Lake High School East and Murray High School with a creative team that included Peter Barsocchini (screenplay), Kenny Ortega (direction), David Lawrence (music), Gordon Lonsdale (cinematography), Seth Flaum (editing), Mark Hofeling (production design), Ken Kirchner (set decoration), and Tom McKinley (costumes). The cast included Zac Efron (Troy Bolton), Drew Seeley (Troy’s singing), Vanessa Hudgens (Gabriella Montez), Ashley Tisdale (Sharpay Evans), Lucas Grabeel (Ryan Evans), Corbin Bleu (Chad Danforth), and Monique Coleman (Taylor McKessie).
The production became the most successful Disney Channel Original Movie, seen by 7.7 million in its U.S. premiere broadcast, one of the largest TV audiences Disney has ever had. At the 2006 Emmys, the show won awards as outstanding children’s program and for its choreography (by Kenny Ortega, Charles Klapow, and Bonnie Story), in addition to seeing nominations for its directing, casting, and the songs “Get’cha Head in the Game” (by Ray Cham, Greg Cham, and Drew Seeley) and “Breaking Free” (by Jamie Houston). The soundtrack peaked at #1 on Billboard’s Top 200, while the lead single “Breaking Free” reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
This success has led to a media franchise of numerous sequels and spinoffs, including High School Musical: The Concert (2006), High School Musical on Stage! (2006), High School Musical: The Junior Novel (2006), High School Musical: The Ice Tour (2007), High School Musical 2 (2007), Stories from East High (2007), High School Musical: Sing It! (2007), High School Musical: Makin’ the Cut! (2007), High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008), High School Musical: Get in the Picture (2008), Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure (2011), High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019), and more.