High School Musical: The Musical: The Series continues the legacy of Disney musicals. In the second season of the Disney Plus original, the drama program at East High will be putting on a production of Beauty and the Beast. A preview video of the cast singing “Beauty and the Beast” (as in the particular song named “Beauty and the Beast”) served as the announcement. Which HSMTMTS character will play which Beauty and the Beast character? Let the fancasting begin.
The first season of the show focused on the East High drama program putting on a production of High School Musical, which in this universe was also a musical that premiered on Disney Channel. Delighting in self-referential jokes (at one point, drama teacher Miss Jenn dreams up a fabulous dance sequence where Lucas Grabeel from the original movie serenades her), High School Musical: The Musical: The Series didn’t just celebrate the nostalgia of the 2006 movie — it also reinvented it for a new generation of Disney watchers and subverted some of the original movie’s tropes. For instance, the characters originally positioned in the antagonistic roles were given well-rounded arcs and instead of treating cliques as the end-all-be-all of high school, all the characters had different hobbies and interests outside of “freaky math girl” and “basketball playmaker.”
The show, while still a loving tribute to High School Musical, gets to evolve and take on different Disney legacies. Some, however, may be disappointed that Seb (Joe Serafini), who played Sharpay in the first season, won’t get to belt out “Fabulous,” the iconic Sharpay song from High School Musical 2. But, hey, that could still very well be a plot point in the new season.
Season 2 of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series rolls into production soon. No release date has been announced.