The Disney Channel’s hit movie High School Musical has been an unqualified success for the Disney Channel. It’s spawned DVDs, CDs, apparel, karaoke, fan clubs, been converted into a stage musical and boosted the careers of a half dozen teeny bopper stars. The latest vehicle is a concert tour designed to keep HSM fans happy while waiting for the sequel to be filmed and released.
Seems like a good idea, right? Here’s a little more on what the concert show involves and Reuters has a report on the San Diego show that launched the tour.
The concert featured songs more or less in order from the
original production, but it took detours to showcase the film’s
principals promoting current or upcoming albums and other Walt
Disney Co. projects. Backing singers and dancers also were
recruited from the movie, while short clips ran on a large
screen to help push numbers along.
But don’t go in expecting a stage version of the musical. Unfortunately it sounds like some parents and their kids were expecting exactly that.
In comments on a previous post two parents have expressed dismay at the way Disney has promoted this concert tour and how much of a vehicle it seemed for the stars who were participating.
I can’t believe what a waste of my time and money this horrible live event was. Some genius at Disney decided to use the popularity of High School Musical to sell tickets to this, 2 hour promotion of "new acts" and cd release dates.
This was not a live performance of High School Musical. This was a concert for these kids who used almost every second to promote themselves and remind us of the names of their new cd’s and the release dates.
I suspect she will not be the only parent who ends up disappointed. The fact that I haven’t seen a huge outcry about how cool the show is either, makes me wonder exactly what is going on with the tour. Has anyone seen the concert tour and wish to contradict the bad news?
I have two friends that went to the show tonight in San Jose… and they absolutely loved it! They really enjoyed watching all the musical numbers from HSM… as well as the new music from the different artists… They said it was VERY well done, and the audience loved it!
As for those who thought it was going to be a stage version of HSM… it was NEVER promoted that way by Disney. It was promoted as a “concert” where the music from the show would be performed.
I cant wait to see High School Musical in concert.I loved the movie so much and to see it live is going to be awesome.I am so excited
I have heard nothing but good things about the tour. It’s sparked some new interest in solo acts, of course, but it’s also a good opprutunity to go and really feel like a part of the HSM craze by dancing and singing along and having a really good time. It’s a shame the tour isn’t coming in minnesota, where i am, but it’s still very cool to hear about everyone else’s experience and how much they really enjoyed it.
My daughter and I saw the show last night in Glendale, Az.
It was plenty of fun, some recreations of songs and scenes from the movie, some fresh reinterpretations (“Stick to the Status Quo” was more beat-driven), and some solo pieces (Monique Coleman showed off her “Dancing With the Stars” chops to a Latin-driven song sung by Andrew Seely). It was a nice, full show that one should have expected, being produced itself by Kenny Ortega (we spotted him at the soundboards). But one quick look at any website would’ve let any parent or kid in on the secret that this wasn’t High School Musical: The Play. That’s for your high school to produce.
All the kids were cute and talented and had other product to promote (that’s been Disney’s modus operandi for a long time … Annette Funicello, anyone?), so that didn’t bother me. In fact, the crowd of tweens seemed to scream loudest for Vanessa Hudgens’ solo single, “Baby Come Back To Me.”
It was fun, even for this dad, and the best part of the entire event was spending the time with my daughter, laughing and singing.
Does anyone know where i can get my son an offical H,S,M basketball shirt “wildcats or Bolton 14”.
Cheers hope someone knows the answer.
I agree that it was one big advertisement for the young stars, but must say it was one of the best concerts I have seen as a stage show goes. I used to do security in college and saw over 100 concerts from top performers and this by far was better, even better than the good old too leguit to quit tour that was pumped up with dancing. The kids have talent and it showed. My daughter enjoyed the entire evening and it was worth my 200.00 plus dollars I spent on that one day.
It’s really sad how high school musical the concert is not coming to Minnesota. I absolutely love the songs and the movie and was looking forward to seeing it but it’s just a bummer I won’t be able to.
i am going to go see HSM in concert tomrrow in dallas tx! lyk omg i cant wait!!!!!!!
It was the worst waste of my money ever. My 8 year old wanted to leave early and go to bed, and it wasn’t even her bedtime yet! It was a shameless Disney plug on how we can spend yet MORE money on Disney Stars. One giant infomercial!
when is the next High School Musical live concert coming to Minnesota?
I just got back from the Orlando show. 10 tickets at $70 each = $700! Plus shirts and extra stuff another $100 to sit and watch the Disney Propoganda. I paid to see a show not to sit and listen to way too much MCing and other music that wasn’t part of the movie. If your kids want to go and sing the songs, keep them home and let them watch the movie over and over, and if you go to the show make sure you bring them a pillow to rest in between the songs they actually know. My kids were so excited to see and hear HSM but were very disappointed! Parents beware. Don’t waste your time and money on this show!
We attended the Orlando performance of “High School Musical-The Concert” last evening. My 10 year old daughter thoroughly enjoyed the entire evening. The show was billed as a concert, not a rehash of the movie. The special effects, elevated set, and live band made the show wonderful. The stars of the movie deserve to showcase their wonderful talents and did so amazingly well. If you are familiar with the Disney philosophy, you will know they are at the top of their game in marketing so expect the promos for the CD’s, next movie, etc. Bottom line—if you kids love the movie and the stars, they will LOVE the show.
We went to see HSM show last night in Charlotte. I was impressed by how well Drew Seely did in Zac Efron’s part. I missed the real Troy BUT Drew did an AWESOME job and it made me more intrested in his music. Enjoy!
i havent gone to the musical but i heard itsa great!!!!
I took my 12 year old daughter for her birthday. My 15 year old daughter went with friends. We were blessed to get really great seats and loved the show! It was very high energy and entertaining. Good, clean music. We enjoyed it.
We went to see the show in Charlotte and my 8 year old thought it ROCKED!!! Of course we missed Zac, but hopefully he will be at the next one. Yes they did promote up coming CD’s, but my daughter knew all the songs they sang. She really didn’t like the first act with Jordan Pruitt, but the rest of the show was excellant and we didn’t even have good seats. It was a truely worth the money and the “Mother/Daughter” time we had that night. It was an experience that my child will remember. To actually see the “real” people from the show she adores!!!!
Omg when i went to the hsm concert I was singing my head off omg and all people say “you sound just like vanessa anne hudgens” because I like to sing and they would also say “omg you look like vanessa anne hudgens to I wish I could look just like you” and say like “how come you get to dress up like vanessa anne hudgens and I dont”well I just got to say im the huggest fan of vanessa,zac,and drew seeley,corbin bleu, and lucus grabrial well lets put it this way im huggest fans to the hole hsm cast and just everyone, without them I wouldent be here now thank you very much I got to go wouch hsm now on dvd bye.
what a waste of money to see teenagers with no talent whatsoever either lipsynch or sounds horrible life, either way i sounds synthesized. People with actually talent should be up there, Vanessa Anne Hudgens is the worst of them all. And when you listen to the song “Breaking Free” the second time the main guy comes it it’s not even his voice. Good job disney, for coming out with another screwed up movie and tour. Whatever happened to Les Mis, and all the classic singers, movies, songs, voices, etc.
im going to see the concert tonight…is it true zac efrons not going to be there?
I attended the Toronto concert and it was amazing. it absolutely blew my mind. I was suprised at how much they had put into the show. It was definitly more geared to teenagers though, as it was definitly a concert. It was very clear from the beginning that that was what it was going to be. It was extremly energetic, entertaining, and gave the stars a good chance to show their talents. I respect them all a lot more after seeing the concert.
All you people who didn’t like it, it was geared towards preteens. It was never advertised as a play. I went to the concert in Albany, NY. It was the best concert ever. The singers were really talented and the extra songs were great. I would definately recommend any kids 9-14 years old to go.
I attended the Worcester, MA performance on January 10.
I guess I would be one of “all you people” that was not impressed by this show. It was entertaining but not in the way we expected.
To answer all the questions, Zach Efron is not in this concert.
First of all, they started late. Then they have the warm up, Jordan Pruitt. She sang for less than 30 minutes. As she walked off stage, the tv screens flashed “20 minute intermission”. We, and most of the audience, were quite surprised at that. 30 minutes later, the “show” started.
I have to give these stars a lot of credit. They are touring the country and working hard at every performance. My kids were thrilled to see them perform. The energy is high with fantastic dancing to back up the songs. The tv screens helped the entire arena get to see the performers close-up.
It was the set up….way too commercial…that bothered me. Yes, I really did think it was going to be more geared as a tribute to the fans who made HSM the phenomenal hit. In my defense, it is called HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: THE CONCERT. The tickets were very expensive (about $60 each from ticket master) and we were not on the floor. A t-shirt was $30. A hat was $35. The HSM-labeled glow sticks that the performers made sure to mention several times were the cheapest at $5. Save your money and buy one before you go for $1.
I did see many tweens screaming their heads off. I think if you asked most of the kids, they would have said they enjoyed it. My 12 year old did not. But, he was really just a HSM fan and not a Disney Channel fan.
This review is for parents who want an honest opinion of the show. It is a two and a half hour Disney commercial. It is a showcase for Vanessa, Corbin and Ashley’s new albums. Many of the performances were lip-sync with certain parts of the song that allowed for live vocals. I can honestly say that the lip-sync did not hurt the performance of the concert. The audience is bombarded with when the albums and movies are being released. The audience is asked to hold up the glowsticks repeatedly. In between performances, tv screens play Disney videos from Hannah Montana, the Jump In movie and many others. There are commercials for the new Disney Mobile phones.
You need to decide what your kids would like. It is a lot of money for a short evening. Maybe you could blow $300 to $1000 on something else for your family that will last longer. But, if you have kids who watch Disney Channel and know all the actors, performers and songs AND happen to like High School Musical, this could be for them. I think you should also be aware of how bombarded you will be with “buy this” and “watch this”. But, knowing Disney and the Disney Channel, we are all pretty used to it.
And, oh yes, they did mention a few times that High School Musical 2 is coming out this summer.
Enjoy the concert everyone!
I must say that I disagree with the majority who did not enjoy the show. However, to each is own and I believe as parent of an 8 year old girl, we had an excellent time.
We saw the show tonight January 11th in our hometown Phildelphia and did not expect anything less then what we saw. Lucas was an excellent host of the show and by far will go on to do great things as a performer as well as all of the cast they were all wonderful! I also do think that each Ashley, Corbin and Vanessa promoting a little taste of their albums was a great thing…it gave everyone just a lil sample of what they have to offer and that was great!
Yes, the tickets were costly, but aren’t all concert tickets these days! The shirts yes costly as are all concert shirts! But we buy them because thats what our kids want and to see them happy is all we want!
Myself, my daughter, my niece and my sister-in-law loved the high energy show and would see it again! THANKS DISNEY!!!!
I just saw High School Musical was really great! But the beginning was not that great, other that the whole show was AWESOME!
I too brought my daughter and niece to the HSM concert in Philadelphia on the 11th and I wasn’t initially sure of what to expect, but I was pleasantly suprised. It was high energy and it kept the kids out of their seats dancing. For most kids it was their first concert other than the Disney on Ice and I think it was a great experience for them. Yes everthing is costly…..What do you expect…..all items to be cheap? Come on folks, get with the times. All concerts boil down to profits and future profit ergo the plugs for the kids albums and upcoming movies. Bottom line, we went for our kids and if they had a good time, then it was worth every penny. If they didn’t have a good time, then they probably heard the parents complaining. Any kid should have enjoyed it.
Can someone tell me how long the concert is? I am dropping kids off and picking them up.
Well Honestly when I saw the commercial I was so wanted to go… but then… I attempted to go buy tickets, however I was awaken to find out that tickets were from $120-$600 for just one person to sit in the nose bleed section, what a rip off! So I was like screw Disney… probably not going to be that great anyways they only have a couple of songs to sing anyways. Although looking forward to watching it on TV as they promised, but yet to see when it plans to air.
OMG! I just went to the concert the 13th it rocked!!! It was awsome and Drew was just as good as Zac! iloved Ashley’s song He said She said way to go!!!!!!
I am personaly shocked to see that people didn’t like the show! I saw the 11th and i fell in love with it! :) It was so cool! Did anyone record ausio or video cause i really need it! thx
I just went to the tour on thursday and it was a lot of fun!! I can’t beleive people think it was horrible I really enjoyed the solo acts. It was tons of fun!!!
also when i went they’re was never any commercials for any thing except when we were waitng for the opening act to start.
My 11 year old daughter and I saw the show last night in KC, MO and we thought the show was fabulous!! I can see where people with smaller children could have been disappointed with the show because twelve to fourteen of the songs (which was the majority of the show)was not HSM related. However, older children, tweens and teens relate to the HSM cast outside of HSM-The Movie because they watch TV shows they are in or have seen them in movies or listen to their music. Smaller children only know the cast from the movie and know those songs and could become very bored very quickly. On the other hand if only the HSM songs were sung the show would have only been 30 minutes long and we wouldn’t have got to see the amazing talent these kids have.
It was extremely special to have our own, Lucas Grabeel, back “home” performing in the state he grew up in. As well last night was his mother’s birthday in which she was in the crowd and we all sang Happy Birthday to her. Lucas MC’d the event and you can tell he was born to be on stage. He did an awesome job and will go far in his career. Missouri is so proud of you, Lucas! The rest of the cast did outstanding jobs doing their own acts as well as the HSM songs. I won’t go into detail about them all but cannot leave without saying, Vanessa is absolutely gorgeous and I would be the first person in line buying a video if she put one out to teach us all to move like she does. The girl can dance!
For those that still have a little time to plan before their concert I would suggest saving a little extra money for the souvenirs. We knew about the concert 3 months in advance so I have been stashing money back since then. I only have one child and this was her first concert so I wanted to make it special for her. We ended up spending $100 on souvenirs in which she got a tshirt, a bag, a program, and a glow stick. The Tshirts range between $30-35. The programs are $20 and are very nice and would probably be your best buy. The glow sticks are $5 and won’t be working by the time you get home but the kids do have fun playing with them during the concert. There are also posters for $10.
I only have two complaints which neither has to do with the show. My hopes are that if someone who reads this that would do either of these things would consider being more respectful when you go to your event. The first is the teenager and/or mother in front of us did not wear any deo. There were times that it was hard to sit in our seats having to take in their stink. Please take a few extra moments and wear your deo. The second is my biggest pet peeve when attending an event. We do not go to venues like this but maybe once or twice a year so when we go we like to enjoy what we are there to see. However there are those that just can’t seem to manage to keep their rumps in their seats and we end up seeing more of their rumps passing by our faces than the actual event we came to see. Go to the conessission stands BEFORE you sit down and get all the items you are going to need. There really is no reason to buy nachos and then have to leave 15 minutes later to go get a soda and then 20 minutes later after that to go get some cotton candy, then 20 minutes later to go buy your tshirt…. get the picture? If know you are the type of person that can’t sit still do us all a favor and call Ticketmaster when you buy your tickets and request an aisle seat. It would be greatly appreciated.
Overall, the concert was a wonderful time and for us, special mother/daughter time. The concert runs about 2 1/2 hours long with a 20 minute intermission after the opening act. (The opening act is Jordan Pruitt and she was pretty good.) Both Jordan Pruitt and the HSM cast show an abundance of appreciation to their fans for putting them where they are today. I thought that was a very nice gesture. I have been to many popular music concerts where the artists never thanked the fans. I think these kids are speaking from their hearts.
Have a great time at your concert!
I liked the show but my daughter was a bit disappointed as I was because there was an “opening” act that she had never even heard of and then a 20 minute intermission. I thought this was RIDICULOUS! What was the intermission for????? There was no set change or anything! I know that there were LOTS of kids under 13 there and it was a stretch for us to be there with bedtime coming right at the beginning of the show but we went because she would love it. HOWEVER, with the intermission and the constant talking it was half concert and half commercial. The saving grace of the intermission was the Hannah Montana stuff on the big screens, otherwise my daughter whould have gone crazy–she is 5. Anyway, we enjoyed it but it could have been a bit better handled — that is my opinion.
Just to let every know why Zac Efron is there is 1. He is working on Hairspary his next movie thing. 2. He didn’t sing in the movie its called voiceover because his voice was too deep for the part so Drew Seely was the real person to sing but Zack’s
a good actor so he go the part for acting. :D And the concert was AWESOME!!!!! I saw the last one in L.A., CA
Hey. I just want to ask something. I’m a big High School Musical Fan and I looked at the tour date, noticing this is not coming to Connecticut. I really wish you would!! Even though I’m 15, I watch the movie atleast once a day and I would totally love to see A Live Concert of this. So please taking coming to Connecticut into consideration. Thanks.
Amber
I haven’t seen the concert but it sounds good, and if all you guys have been wondering why Drew Seely was as good as Zac Effron it is because Drew is Zac’s singing voice! Yeah, in the movie that was Zac singing to Vanessa on the balcony and it was horrible! Drew also co-wrote “Getcha Head in The Game” Sorry if I crushhed your Zac obsessions.
PS- Drew Seely is so cute! What is it with you guys and Zac?
i loved this concert the way it was done and the songs were awesome it is the best concert i have ever been to and i was only in section gold and i was at concerts in the first row centre, second row beside centre and platnum seats they were awesome but i was sad to leave at this concert because i wanted to see more!!!
i loved the concert. i love high school musical!!!!! they rock!!!!!
Hello! I am glad I found this forum. I bought tickets for my daughter (5) and I to see the concert in DC in a couple of weeks. I bought the tickets after seeing the first movie with her and she loved it. My daughter loves to sing and dance. However, I had not seen the second movie yet, and was a little disappointed by it. I have to say that I didn’t even want her to see the first one, but all of her friends had seen it and so we let her watch it which turned out to be great. I thought the second one wasn’t as appropriate for a 5 year old though. (More of a girl/boy story line rather than the “be true to yourself” storyline.) Anyway, I feel like I got sucked into the HSM hype and now wish I didn’t spend $200 on the concert. So, my quesiton is, is it appropriate for a 5 year old? From what I am reading here, it is mostly singing and dancing and not so much a story line of “girl chasing boy or boy chasing girl.” Is this right? If it is dancing and singing, then I am fine taking her but if you feel it isn’t for a 5 year old, please tell me so I can try to sell my tickets. Thank you!!!
From a mommy who got sucked into the HSM hype!! :)
didn’t see the concert but took my 7 yr old daughter to the ice show. i even enjoyed it. spent about $200.00. don’t have to explain why. a great show!!!!!!!!
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