High School Musical is a 2006 American musical television film and the first installment in the High School Musical trilogy directed by Kenny Ortega. It was filmed in 2005 in Salt Lake City. Upon its release on January 20, 2006, it became the most successful film that Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) ever produced, with a television sequel, High School Musical 2, released in 2007 and the feature film, High School Musical 3: Senior Year, released theatrically in October 2008. It is the first and only DCOM to have a theatrical sequel. The film 's soundtrack was the best- selling album in the United States, reaching number 1 on the American charts for 2006.
High School Musical was Disney Channel 's most watched film that year with 7.7 million viewers in its premiere broadcast in the US, until August 's premiere of The Cheetah Girls 2, which achieved 8.1 million viewers. In the United Kingdom, it received 789,000 viewers for its premiere (and 1.2 million viewers overall during the first week ), making it the second most watched program for the Disney Channel (UK) of 2006. On December 29, 2006, it became the first DCOM to be broadcast on the BBC. Globally, High School Musical has been seen by over 225 million viewers.
With a plot described by the author and numerous critics as a modern adaptation of Romeo & Juliet, High School Musical is a story about two high school juniors from rival cliques – Troy Bolton ( Zac Efron ), captain of the basketball team, and Gabriella Montez ( Vanessa Hudgens ), a shy transfer student who excels in mathematics and science. Together, they try out for the lead parts in their high school musical, and this causes division among all the school 's students.
