Director believes theater audiences ready for 'High School Musical'

These days, hit musicals are often based on movies - "Hairspray," "Legally Blonde," "The Wedding Singer." But a made-for-TV movie? Well, sure, if it's The Disney Channel's ubiquitous multimedia sensation "High School Musical."

The "Romeo & Juliet"-esque love story, where basketball stud Troy and surprisingly attractive math nerd Gabriella (played by Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens in the films) try out for the lead roles in their high school's musical, has spawned everything from video games to dolls to books, so a stage production, which started a national tour last August, only makes sense.

The tour comes to Tempe's Gammage Auditorium for a six-day engagement starting Tuesday. We talked to tour director Jeff Calhoun while he was in London working on the second United Kingdom production of "High School Musical."

Q: How unique is directing a show like this that's part of such a phenomenon?

A: The biggest difference is financial. It's no different than putting on any other show. I did the first revival of "Grease" on Broadway - it's the same thing, you're just trying to do the best work you can. I think what people might not realize before they see the show is that "High School Musical" is just a very well-crafted Broadway musical that's touring the country. The fact that it's a phenomenon has residual effects but it's still just putting together the best Broadway musical I can do.

Q: This show must be bringing a lot of people, especially kids, into a non-movie theater for the first time, right?

A: Normally, my answer to that is yes. But the more I think about it is that, though there's certainly a population of people who are only going because they're seeing the TV movie, I think that's overstated. I think it's a bit condescending that it's the uneducated theater audience that's the audience for the show. It's both successful with the families that enjoyed the TV movie, but also for the discerning theater audience who enjoy a very well-crafted musical.

Q: Is this a hard production to cast, given how recognizable the original actors are to "High School Musical" fans?

A: It's not that they have to look like the people in the movie, they have to deliver in the spirit of what the originals delivered in the movie. At first I was really nervous. I thought, "What's the audience going to think when the curtain draws and they don't see Zac Efron?" I think that was a really naive﷥ thought on my part. In the "Grease" revival, not one person complained that John Travolta or Olivia Newton-John weren't in our show,

Q: Other than the cast, what are some of the differences between the movie and the stage production? I know that a narrator character and two songs are added.

A: You're right on both fronts, but I can't speak as intelligently as you would want on that because I did not study the movie. I'm a big fan of Kenny Ortega (director of the original "High School Musical" and its 2007 sequel). I didn't want to study the movie too much because I would inadvertently rip them off. Ortega and Peter Barsocchini, who wrote the movie, saw the show, both of them were incredibly complimentary of the work we did to deepen the movie and transfer it to the stage.

Q: Are there theater snobs who say that shows based on a TV movie is dumbing down the medium?

A: I think there's no doubt about that and what I would say to that: No. 1, most of them have never seen the show. And secondly, I believe if they did, they would be hard-pressed to have the same opinion. It's nothing if not well-done theater.