I Met the Cast of High School Musical! – Behind the Scenes with KidRated

One of Disney’s most loved franchises – High School Musical – is coming back to the stage. We sent 12-year-old KidRated ambassador Molly behind the scenes to get a sneak preview of the rehearsals…

I LOVE High School Musical – all three original films, of course, but also the recent TV series. So I couldn’t believe that KidRated had managed to get me access to the rehearsals.

We all gathered in a big rehearsal space and met the show’s two directors, Joseph Houston and William Whelton. They explained how they were putting together this new stage show – and that this was only the 10th day of rehearsals!

Then we got to watch a few scenes from the show and some of the songs, including ‘Get’cha Head in the Game’, ‘What I’ve Been Looking For’ – the Ryan and Sharpay duet – and then the big one that everyone knows, ‘We’re All In This Together’.

I honestly couldn’t believe this was only the 10th day of rehearsals because everyone was already so good. It was amazing to be this close to the performers who’ll soon be doing the show in huge theatres.

Then we were all told to find a space in the room and I got to meet and interview the cast!

First, I met one of the big stars of the show, Harry Judd – the drummer from the band McFly – who plays Coach Bolton. So I asked him if he was a good leader:

I also met another of the stars, KayCee Stroh, who you might know as Martha from the original High School Musical films and now plays drama teacher Ms Darbus. She was lovely, and I even asked her whether she ever gets tired of High School Musical:

And I met all the other actors playing the main roles: Troy, played by Tobias Turley, Gabriella (Leonor Correia), Ryan (Luke Bayer), Sharpay (Caitlin Tipping) – who was always my favourite character in the films – Taylor (Char Burnett) and Chad (Jordan Benjamin).

Of course, there was one question I HAD to ask all of them: what’s your favourite song in High School Musical?

I’m now really looking forward to seeing the finished show. It was such an incredible experience getting this close to such brilliant performers – and seeing it all come together behind the scenes.

High School Musical runs at The Lowry, Salford, from 22 August–19 September 2026, before transferring to Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre from 12 October 2026–3 January 2027.