HSM News

The production hit it big right out of the box and hasn't let up since. Here are some of the highlights.

Bopping to the top -- "High School Musical" set audience records when it debuted on The Disney Channel in January 2006, the DVD broke sales records and the soundtrack became last year's top-selling album. More ways to enjoy Troy, Gabriella and their East High friends are in the works.

Disney Channel sequel -- "High School Musical 2," scheduled to premiere in mid-August, is set at a country club during summer vacation. More than 45 million fans worldwide voted in an online poll Jan. 12-31 to determine movie details such as Sharpay's favorite drink or the title of Ryan's summer read.

On stage -- A 60-city tour of the stage version, which debuted in Atlanta earlier this year, will be previewed June 26-July 8 at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit. (Groups of 15 or more call 313/871-1132. Individual tickets, $26-$71, go on sale later this month). The tour comes to East Lansing's Wharton Center Oct. 2-7. (Available now as part of a season subscription; individual tickets go on sale later.)

On ice -- "Disney's High School Musical: The Ice Tour" begins Sept. 29 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The tour comes to Grand Rapids' Van Andel Arena for performances at 7 p.m. March 21, 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. March 22 and 1 p.m. March 23. Tickets, $12-$55, are available at Van Andel and DeVos Place box offices, Ticketmaster outlets, 456-3333 or ticketmaster.com.

Stories from East High -- A series of paperback novels by various authors features new adventures for the familiar characters from the movie. The series began with "East High: Original Junior Novel" and continued with "Wildcat Spirit. " "Poetry in Motion" and "Crunch Time" will be released later this year. "All in this Together: The Unofficial Story of 'High School Musical'" was released last week.

On the big screen -- Walt Disney Motion Picture Group announced in February that "Haunted High School Musical" is in the works for 2008. No script has been written yet. Stay tuned.