'High School Musical: Get in the Picture' premieres
Teen Kings and Queens
'High School Musical 2'
Unlike actual ones, cultural earthquakes rarely can be pinpointed.
A trend starts in London, Los Angeles or New York, and within a few months everyone is wearing low-rise sneakers without laces, or layered tank tops. But precisely when and where it started, no one knows. Given that the debate still rages over where baseball began, it's difficult to be sure of that which we cannot measure.
Then again, on Jan. 20, 2006, pop culture shifted seismically when "High School Musical" premiered. This was not a mere Disney movie. There have been scores of those, and some have been better, but none have touched a nerve the way this did.
Kids wear enough glitter-speckled "HSM" merchandise that school playgrounds assume the odd, sparkly aura of a wayward Broadway set. Millions of kids can sing and dance along with every last movement of the film. "High School Musical" is a mogul's fantasy - a relatable story that became the holy grail of marketing, a brand.
It spawned a billion-dollar industry. More than 400 million people have seen it worldwide, and more than 3,000 high schools have performed it. It's been an ice show and an international stage show mounted in more than 150 countries in 24 languages.
All of these facts come out in its latest incarnation: "High School Musical: Get in the Picture," a reality show premiering Sunday at 8 p.m. on ABC/7.
For fans of this franchise, the grand prize is amazing. The winner will sing and dance in a video shown in the closing credits of its first big-screen effort, "High School Musical 3," which hits theaters in October.
Thousands of hopefuls from all over the country auditioned to be on this show, hosted by Nick Lachey, the pop singer best known for being married to Jessica Simpson and co-starring in "Newlyweds," the MTV reality show based on their marriage. "'High School Musical' has captured the spirit of that age," Lachey says. "Don't grow up so fast. Enjoy being a teenager. Enjoy being that age because you will never get it back. You don't have to be into the performing arts to enjoy 'High School Musical.' The kids we have here who are competing, they look up to the Zac Efrons and Vanessa Hudgenses and Ashley Tisdales of the world. On a performing level, these are idols."
What they bring to the table
The dozen finalists spent weeks in Salt Lake City, honing their dancing, singing and acting skills under the tutelage of six teachers. The contestants all but collapsed in joy as they were led into the cafeteria with the red, shiny tables at East High School. One young woman reverentially touches the ground, much as a religious pilgrim would stroke a sacred object.
Then Kenny Ortega, the movie's director and choreographer, greets them. "The most important thing for me was the individual who walked into the room and immediately had a sense of themselves and brought their colors forward," he says.
Ortega invites the contestants to play fans in the stands in a scene of the sequel being filmed. "We are going to be extras on a stinkin' movie," one young woman says. "I was out-of-my-mind stoked."
The contestants, ages 16 to 21, call the 34-year-old Lachey "professor." "I wanted to act as a mentor and be a sounding board and support system to them as well," Lachey says. "And hopefully I represent a success story."
Plenty of music in store
The show puts the contestants through different paces, such as singing along to the "HSM" score while walking through a department store. It's a little silly, but sweet and blessedly free of humiliation, alliances and the nastier sides of humanity that often mark reality shows.
"Here's the weird thing," executive producer Jay Blumenfield says. "We do these shows and have a 100 to 150 person crew. These guys are cynical, rough, ragged. The amazing thing about this show is these hardened guys who do these reality shows, all they talk about after work is: 'Did you see this kid?' How great is that? Everybody is sucked into the moment on this one. It's a weird thing. I don't know if I could explain the 'High School Musical' phenomenon. These kids are archetypical high school kids, and what's happening here is high school kids coming to life, and watching that and getting sucked into the triumph and story of it all is pretty amazing."
Lachey says the encouraging atmosphere is critical for those trying to launch their careers. "No humiliation, especially when you are dealing with young people; it's important to have a positivity to it," he says. "Some are going to be better than others and some will grow more than others, and there will be a grand prize winner, but they are all talented.
"Whether they are the grand prize winner or not," Lachey adds, "everyone comes out of it having a great experience. In performing arts [it's important] learning to make the best of rejection and learn to be better prepared next time."
And next time could lead to the inevitable - "High School Musical 4."
