Kenny Ortega’s musical film, released under the Disney banner, the first of the franchise, written by Peter Barsocchini, came out almost seventeen years ago. We are talking about the first installment of the High School Musical films, so let us refresh our memories and find out where the magic happened.
The entire franchise was such a phenomenon when it was happening, and one just had to be there to witness the impact it had on our childhood and teenage phases. The movie starred then-rookie actors like Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Alyson Reed, Monique Coleman, Corbin Bleu, and Lucas Grabeel.
Not very long after its release, the movie was declared a success as it had over seven million viewers who had tuned in to watch the movie during its first broadcast. Though the critics nitpicked over the details of the movie, it continued to be a hit, even receiving international recognition. Clearly, the target for this franchise was teens and not full-grown-ups.
The success was in no way limited to just the movie but was also enjoyed by the soundtracks that managed to enter the Billboard 100 and Billboard Hot 200 music charts. Following this success, the makers continued to release two more installments, High School Musical 2 and High School Musical 3: Senior Year, that came out in 2007 and 2008, respectively.
Though the makers wanted us to see in High School Musical a modern tale of Romeo & Juliet, the adult audience saw more of a fluffy romance story between two characters whose personalities combined together amounted to absolutely nothing. The story lacked the use of drugs and profanities, but the horrendous fashion and one-dimensional characters make up for it.
Even so, the franchise was popular enough to have spinoff versions being made in far-off countries, along with official merchandise being sold on television and stage adaptations being made. Let us move to the different locations where this first-of-a-kind high school romance was filmed.
High School Musical Filming Locations
Salt Lake City, Utah
This is not the only movie from the franchise that was shot in the state of Utah, but all of the High School Musical films have been shot in almost the same places as the first one. Located in Salt Lake City, the East High School that features in the movie is an actual school in the city that was used for the movies.
This high school is the place where most of the parts of the movie have been filmed, including the second and the third one. The double locker that was in the movie to the gymnasium that you must remember was actually a part of this school that actual high school students get to visit to live their High School Musical life.
Though most of the school scenes have been shot with East High’s interior, the iconic scene where Troy and Gabrielle auditioned for their school musical was actually shot in another school. You can find the stage where they danced at Murray High School.
One of the only scenes that was shot outside of Salt Lake was the string of opening scenes in the film, when Troy and Gabriella met for the first time, which was filmed at the Whistler Golf Club, Whistler, BC. Back in Salt Lake, fans can actually still spot Troy and Gabriella’s house, which was used in the films.
The scene where Troy and his father can be seen playing basketball was shot at their “home,” which continues to exist to this day on 2248 S Oneida Street, Salt Lake City, Utah. The theme song for the show was shot right in front of the East High School, at its entrance.
The scene where Sharpay Evans gives her all in hopes of stopping Troy and Gabriella from auditioning for their high school’s musical was also shot within the premise of East High. Fans can easily spot the similarities between the gymnasium that exists in the school right now and the one that was used for this particular scene in the film.
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