The successful Disney TV movie “High School Musical” is being turned into a stage musical, but the show’s director/choreographer Jeff Calhoun says don’t expect to see it on the Great White Way.
”Disney has no plans to take this show to New York,” says Calhoun, who was most recently the musical stager of the hit Broadway musical, ”Grey Gardens.” ”The plan is to tour as many places in this country as possible and then launch an international tour.” . . .
The show is opening next week at the Philadelphia Academy of Music. When it premiered on the Disney Channel in 2006 it became an immediate hit, nationally and internationally. It not only won two Emmy Awards, but it had nine hit singles on Billboard’s Top 100 and its soundtrack received the Billboard Award as Soundtrack of the Year. This new show not only features songs from the original soundtrack but also includes two new songs.
”With the prices of Broadway tickets reaching astronomical heights, touring with its theater’s charging lower prices, makes it more affordable. And hopefully, more families and younger people will get the theater habit.”
The plot of ”High School Musical” revolves around a high school basketball captain and a computer genius who become friends when they audition for the lead roles in their high school musical. The twist is that their friendship threatens the school’s status quo as the school’s ”jocks,” ”brains” and ”drama club regulars” feel threatened and try to separate the pair.
