'High School Musical 3' Reunites Ortega & Principal Cast in Feature Film

CentreDaily reports DGA Award-winning director and choreographer Kenny Ortega helm Walt Disney Pictures' upcoming film High School Musical: 3 for the big-screen, featuring all principal cast members from the two previous tween-phenomenon TV events; including Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman.

The feature film will begin production in spring 2008 with a screenplay by High School Musical alum, Peter Barsocchini.

"High School Musical 3: Senior Year finds high school seniors Troy and Gabriella facing the prospect of being separated from one another as they head off in different directions to college. Joined by the rest of the Wildcats, they stage an elaborate spring musical reflecting their experiences, hopes and fears about their future. With incredible new music and exciting dance numbers designed to take maximum advantage of the big screen, this motion picture extravaganza delivers plenty of high-energy entertainment from East High's talented ensemble," states the article.

High School Musical premiered on Disney Channel on January 20, 2006, and became the highest rated original movie up until that time. It won the Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Children's Programming, and received two Emmy Awards (of its total 6 nominations), a DGA Award, an Imagen Award for Best Children's Program, and a Humanitas Prize nomination. The soundtrack received a Billboard Music Award for Soundtrack of the Year, and was nominated for an American Music Award in the Favorite Album (Pop/Rock) category. The film even earned an entry in the Guinness World Record Book as the first TV movie to deliver nine concurrent singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

High School Musical 2, the sequel to Disney's smash TV hit, premiered on the Disney Channel on August 17, 2007 and drew an estimated 17.2 million viewers on Friday night, making it the most-watched basic cable telecast ever and garnered the most tween viewership ever.

BroadwayWorld Editor-in-Chief Robert Diamond's exclusive High School Musical 2 piece can be read at this link.  Charles Isherwood's New York Times review of the High School Musical tour can be accessed here.  Virginia Heffernan's New York Times TV review of High School Musical 2 can be read here. Craig Brockman's interview with High School Musical 2 star Lucas Grabeel can be viewed here.