Why Sharpay was Always a Better Character than Gabriella
Okay so maybe she wasn’t the protagonist of our beloved, middle school saga High School Musical, but Sharpay Evans, in my opinion, was always a better character than Gabriella Montez. This was sparked by a recent tweet (or retweet?) from Ashley Tisdale:
Tisdale and this “Judge Chaos” have a point. She was chasing her dreams. All we ever saw from her was putting in the work to make those dreams a reality, even if that included dressing up in a fish costume for her performance of Humuhumunukunukuapua’a.
I’ve always identified far more with Sharpay than Gabriella, potentially because she was fabulous in every sense of the word, and I too was a bit of a musical theater junkie in my high school days. Though they painted her in a stereo-typical, dumb-blonde light, she was an intelligent character who knew her craft better than anyone.
It seems totally unfair that Troy and Gabriella got to live out this fantasy, when Sharpay had been working towards it for years. She was a star in the making and wasn’t quite given the chance. Not only was she going after something she wanted so fiercely, she was doing it all with confidence. A confidence I hope every young girl can obtain.
She knew what she wanted. In fact, she wanted it ALL. Unfortunately, she was born into a rich family that allowed her to grow up with a sense of entitlement, but this also allowed her to have the training and experience to thrive in her field.
What’s more, the sassy, snarky characters are essential. they bring some dynamic energy to their environment that no one else can offer. Once again, she was portrayed as a mean, popular type, but her sass and dramatic reactions brought the East High a specific character, and the movies would have been totally different without those traits.
The goal here was not to discount the great character that Vanessa Hudgens played; she was pretty great too. But when it comes overall character development and relations, the Oscar goes to Sharpay Evans.
Afterall, that’s showbiz.