Characters and Cast of High School Musical

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Across
  1. 3. President of East High’s science club and member of the academic decathlon team. An extremely smart and witty character, she quickly becomes best friends with Gabriella but later becomes involved in the intervention intended to stop Gabriella and Troy from participating in the winter musical. She begins dating Chad at the end of the first film. With dreams of becoming the President of the United States, she chooses to attend Yale University.
  2. 6. Central protagonist of the original three films. He is the captain and star of the varsity basketball team and one of the most popular students at East High. His romance with Gabriella, a girl he meets at a ski lodge during winter break, becomes the driving force behind the events of the films. After singing karaoke with Gabriella at the ski lodge, he realizes he has a talent and love for singing, leading him to unintentionally audition for East High’s winter musical. This subsequently leads to the collapse of East High’s social order, and he is ashamed because the culture at East High has forced him to believe “jocks” can only be “jocks” and could never participate in a musical. During his senior year, he decides to attend the University of California, Berkeley, choosing to pursue both basketball and theater while also staying close to Gabriella.
  3. 8. Director of musical theater at East High. She is extremely dramatic and has a rivalry with Coach Bolton. She hates cell phones.
  4. 10. Portrays Sharpay Evans. This was her breakthrough role, and she claims she was a perfect fit for the role at the time of filming. “I think at that moment in time, I was unaware of myself and my surroundings, and I feel like that’s a big part of Sharpay.” She adds that, because of this, she would not be able to play the character in a sequel. “I would hate to ruin something that is perfect for that moment. I don’t think I could go back to it.”
  5. 12. Portrays Ryan Evans. Prior to taking the role, he had been in Halloweentown High, but it was High School Musical that truly set his career in motion. He guest-starred in the spin-off series, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
  6. 15. Portrays Kelsi Nielsen. Her other acting credits include Disney Channel original films Halloweentown High and Hounded.
  7. 16. Sharpay’s twin brother. The choreographer for East High’s musicals, he loves musical theater. His character develops from being completely under the influence of his sister to standing up to her for his friends at East High. He becomes a Juilliard scholarship recipient at the end of the third film. David Simpatico, one of the franchise’s writers, revealed him to be gay after the films were over, sparking controversy among fans.
  8. 17. A talented member of East High’s basketball team. He has a crush on Sharpay and is good friends with Troy, Chad, and others on the team. After Troy’s audition, he reveals his secret love for baking to the disapproval of other students at East High.
  9. 18. Troy’s best friend. He is the co-captain of the basketball team with dreams of playing for the University of Albuquerque. At first, he is appalled by Troy auditioning for the musical but eventually becomes supportive. He and Taylor date throughout all three films.
  10. 19. Student at East High. She is the pianist, composer, and songwriter for the musicals. Although she allows Sharpay to intimidate her, she ends up working with Troy and Gabriella for their callback, both of whom encourage her to stand up to Sharpay. She eventually receives a Juilliard scholarship.
  11. 20. Portrays Gabriella Montez. She had previously auditioned for other Disney Channel roles prior to getting this one and was thrilled to work on the project. From a young age, she developed a passion for singing, acting, and dancing.
Down
  1. 1. Portrays Zeke Baylor. His other well-known acting credits include The Fosters, Grand Hotel, and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.
  2. 2. Portrays Taylor McKessie. She had previously auditioned for various roles at Disney Channel.
  3. 4. Portrays Chad Danforth. After High School Musical, he went on to star in Jump In!, another Disney Channel Original film.
  4. 5. Portrays Coach Bolton. He made minor appearances in Little Women (2018) and Hawaii Five-O and starred in a Hallmark movie titled The Christmas Spirit.
  5. 7. Portrays Troy Bolton. The hit franchise launched his career, but he was very unhappy with the image it gave him. In the years following, he took many more mature roles in an attempt to distance himself from the movie series. He infamously did not record vocals for his character in the first film as the directors felt his voice was not strong enough. Instead, Drew Seeley provided vocals for Troy.
  6. 9. Primary antagonist of the films. Popular yet feared by the student body, she is the president of East High’s drama department and hails from a wealthy and influential family. Although she has a crush on Troy, Troy and Gabriella’s callback challenges her talents and status for the very first time. She takes extreme measures throughout the films in an attempt to secure her role in the musical, earn Troy’s affection, and upstage everyone else at East High. Despite wanting to receive a scholarship to the Juilliard School, she chooses to study drama at the University of Albuquerque and stay to help Ms. Darbus with the drama department.
  7. 11. Portrays Ms. Darbus. She played minor roles in shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Mad Men, and Modern Family and previously received a Tony Award nomination for her role in Cabaret.
  8. 13. Secondary main character. A shy, “freaky genius girl,” she moves to Albuquerque with her mom during her junior year and begins attending East High. Members of the academic decathlon team recruit her to join shortly after she arrives. Singing with Troy at the ski lodge unearths her passion for singing, and she accidentally gets a callback with him for the school musical, eventually earning the leading role alongside Troy. In the third film, she enrolls at Stanford University to study law and maintains her relationship with Troy.
  9. 14. Coach of East High’s basketball team and Troy’s father. He is unhappy with Troy when he finds out he has auditioned for the musical and pushes him to “keep his head in the game,” changing his mind when he sees his son’s talent.