“High School Musical” Turns Into A Reality Show
Disney recognized how popular “High School Musical” was when they released the first movie and since then they have been making more and more. The third installment for the movie will be hitting theatres shortly and now it is coming out with an ABC reality show based on it.
On ”High School Musical: Get in the Picture” - airing at 7 Sunday and Monday nights on WLS-Channel 7 - auditions are held for about a dozen slots in a summer music program at Murray High School, where the ”HSM” movies were filmed near Salt Lake City.
Nick Lachey will be the host for the new show and has said that the kids trying out for the show are chasing their dreams. The kids run from 16 to 22. ”Those movies did a great job of capturing the spirit of being a teenager and of youthful joy. All these kids have that,” Lachey said. ”I tried to tell them, ‘You can all sing and dance, but what sets you apart is you all have a personality unique unto yourselves and that personality makes you stand out. Don’t be afraid to be who you are.’”
Preview clips show the contestants in a ”Fame”-like school setting performing at Disney theme parks, landing roles as extras in ”High School Musical 3” and breaking into song in the middle of a store. The winner will receive a talent deal with ABC and a recording contract for two singles with Walt Disney Records, and star in a music video to air during the end credits of ”HSM3: Senior Year,” opening in theaters Oct. 24.
”At the end of every episode they put on a show and no one is eliminated; [contestants who fall out of the running] move to the chorus,” said executive producer Jay Blumenfield. ”It’s more of a character study of high-school kids, watching them learning, coming of age, their issues and resolving their issues on screen as opposed to who’s gonna backstab and who gets kicked off next week.”