Bopping back to the top! Lucas Grabeel returned to his roots as Ryan Evans, appearing on High School Musical: The Musical – The Series 11 years after the film trilogy wrapped its run.
The actor, 35, made a cameo as a fictionalized version of himself during the Friday, December 27, episode of the Disney+ series, titled “The Tech Rehearsal.” Miss Jenn (Kate Reinders) found herself in quite the predicament after the East High theater burned down, forcing her to move the school’s production of High School Musical to a local venue that brought back bad memories for the drama teacher.
Miss Jenn, who had a small role in the Disney Channel films, recalled the Utah premiere of the first movie, from which her one line was cut. After hitting her head in the present, she had a “contractually obligated” dream sequence with Grabeel, who offered support and encouragement through song. The Switched at Birth alum belted out “Role of a Lifetime” with Miss Jenn, all while wearing Ryan’s signature hat. The musical number left the educator confident and ready to move forward with the show.
Grabeel made his debut as Ryan in the 2006 film alongside Zac Efron (Troy Bolton), Vanessa Hudgens (Gabriella Montez), Ashley Tisdale (Sharpay Evans), Corbin Bleu (Chad Danforth) and Monique Coleman (Taylor McKessie). He reprised his role in 2007’s High School Musical 2, 2008’s High School Musical 3: Senior Year and 2011’s Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure.
The Family Guy actor is not the first High School Musical star to appear in the reboot. KayCee Stroh (Martha Cox) made a cameo in the December 13 episode, showing off her signature dance moves as she advocated for the drama students at a school board meeting.
High School Musical: The Musical – The Series stars Olivia Rodrigo (Nini), Joshua Bassett (Ricky), Matt Cornett (EJ), Sofia Wylie (Gina), Frankie A. Rodriguez (Carlos), Julia Lester (Ashlyn), Larry Saperstein (Big Red) and Dara Renee (Kourtney). In the reboot, a group of students attempt to stage a production of the original movie at the school where it was filmed.
New episodes of High School Musical: The Musical – The Series are released on Disney+ every Friday.
