I’ve always been an extremely avid fan of the High School Musical movies. I had all the DVDs and CDs (including the karaoke discs), I had pictures of the characters hanging in my middle school locker and I had a watch party for all three movies with my friends a few days before high school graduation. (It was the last time we’d actually be able to relate to the characters! How could I not?) I wished I was Gabriella, dreamed of dating the Troy Bolton and I still get into arguments about who the real victim of HSM 2 was… So, being the crazy fan that I am, I had a long internal struggle about whether or not I was going to watch High School Musical: The Musical: The Series on Disney+. I mean, first of all, what a name. And second of all, how could the series possibly live up to the movies?
After finally giving the show a chance and watching the first few episodes, I have some opinions I need to share. I’m starting with my gripes about the series because I feel like long-time HSM fans that haven’t started the show need to be mentally prepared for the possible frustrations ahead.
*SPOILER WARNING*
My first big complaint might seem like a small detail (and I’m probably overly upset about it) but I think it’s a pretty big mess up. In the first episode, Ricky, one of the main characters and the guy who lands the role of Troy in the school musical, shows up late to his audition. He misses the reading for Troy and is told he will have to audition for Chad instead. When he asks if he can still be considered for Troy, the choreographer says, “Troy would’ve arrived on time,” to which I immediately thought, NO, HE WOULDN’T HAVE. HE DIDN’T! A huge plot point in the first film centered around the fact that Troy showed up after auditions were over! You know, he showed up late, sang the real version of “What I’ve Been Looking For” with Gabriella and Ms. Darbus popped up and gave them a second chance to audition. Remember the callbacks? Apparently, Disney doesn’t.
Another grievance I have about the show is with the character Gina. She’s manipulative, scheming, selfish and a great performer who had the lead stolen out from under her. She’s the perfect person to play Sharpay in the production, right? WRONG. She lands the role of Taylor. Sharpay, instead, goes to Seb, a gay male character. I see what Disney is doing here, but they haven’t shown enough of Seb yet for me to be convinced that he will do Sharpay justice. Meanwhile, Gina is all wrong for Taylor in my opinion. Sure, Taylor was a little conniving in the first film, but she had good intentions, unlike Gina.
Now, onto some things I appreciate about the show.
The actors are extremely talented. I mean, they can really sing, which is more than I can say for Zac Efron in the first movie (I’m sorry, I still love you so much). All the characters that have sung so far have belted out some amazing numbers, while a lot of the characters in the original film had mediocre singing voices at best. It’s refreshing to hear the songs we know and love, and some new ones, sung by these characters. Catch me buying the CD from the series ASAP.
I also appreciate the direction the series took. By this, I mean that I’m so glad it’s not a full-on remake of the films. The characters actually attend East High where the movie was filmed, and they are putting on a production of it through their drama department. So, the characters are only playing the original roles in the musical, and they are separate people outside of the theatre. (Thank God they didn’t give us a Great Value version of Ryan Evans because we don’t want it.) These new characters have some similar arcs as the original characters, but they also have their own complex relationships with each other, their parents, etc. I love that the guys playing Troy and Chad hate each other and are fighting for their Gabriella. I think it’s amazing that the actress who plays Ms. Darbus is a misunderstood girl coming out of her shell and displaying her incredible musical talent to her fellow students. And there are many other quirks to each character that make the show its own, surprisingly great, entity. Not to mention the fact that the cast is very diverse and the show deals with real issues without sugarcoating them.
Overall, the show is definitely a little cringy and there are some big things I disagree with, but I appreciate the fact that it’s not just a three-part remake of the movies we all know and love. The series is more of a continuation of the legacy and I’m shockingly here for it.
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