Posted 23 minutes agoLucas Grabeel Talks "High School Musical" 20 Years Later, And Where Ryan Evans Would Be TodayLucas opens up about improvised jazz squares, his bond with Ashley Tisdale, and where he thinks Ryan Evans would be two decades later.by Andrew FirrioloBuzzFeed StaffFacebookPinterestLink 20 years ago, we saw Ryan and Sharpay bop to the top for the first time. Disney Channel / Via Everett Collection Before Ryan Evans perfected jazz squares, Lucas Grabeel walked into his High School Musical audition for the part of Troy Bolton.
Two decades later, we reflected on how he helped develop Ryan's character, his sibling-like bond with Ashley Tisdale, what he kept from set, and where he thinks Ryan would be today. Before he was Ryan Evans, Lucas auditioned for Troy Bolton. Disney Channel / Via Everett Collection Lucas: I went into the audition, and I sang "Lean On Me." I originally auditioned for Troy, so I also read one of the scenes between Troy and Gabriella. I got a callback, and I sang for [director] Kenny Ortega. He was like, "Oh, you're great, but you're no Troy, you're a Ryan! Can you learn the new sides for Ryan and come back in?" I got another callback a few weeks later, and this was a seven-hour-long Broadway-style audition. There were around 50 of us in a room going for Ryan, Sharpay, Troy, and Gabriella. We learned dances, we sang duets, we did scenes together - there was a lot of mix and matching. It was down to me and two other guys at the end for Ryan, and I didn't hear anything for maybe a month or so. I was thinking, "Okay, it's over. You didn't get it." Randomly, I got a call one night. They said, "You got the part. We'll send over the script, and you're gonna be recording the album next week." It was wild! Lucas and Ashley Tisdale initially didn't see eye to eye. Disney Channel / Via Everett Collection Lucas: Ashley is the reason I got the job. It started in the audition at that final callback, and the two of us were paired up. Ashley just immediately embodied Sharpay, and I didn't even realize how quickly that made me settle into Ryan. We went outside after they paired us up, and she said, "I want to rehearse." I was like, "No, I'm good. I'm prepared, I'm ready to go." And she was like, "Yeah, but I need to make sure that I'm good." We ran the scene, and she immediately gave me notes and told me how to say certain lines. At the time, I was thinking, "Who do you think you are?" But I walked into the audition with that "Ryan" vibe of just doing your best and keeping cool. So that Ryan/Sharpay energy happened immediately, and that's what you see in the movie. We didn't get along great in the beginning, and that's well known; we've talked about it. But once I really got to know Ashley, and I got to know her family and her story, and she learned mine - we became like siblings, and I really love her.
Casting was so important with High School Musical, and we had a very sibling-like relationship, just like Ryan and Sharpay. Looking back, I understand why they chose us for the roles. So thanks, Ash! Lucas and Ashley helped shape Ryan and Sharpay's memorable choreography. Disney Channel / Via Everett Collection Lucas: We developed the choreography for both "What I've Been Looking For" and "Bop To The Top" in a similar way. It was me, Ashley, and the three choreographers, Bonnie Story, Chucky Klapow, and Kenny Ortega, in the rehearsal space.
They said, "We're gonna play the song, and you guys just do whatever you think Ryan and Sharpay would do." We got into character and jumped around and did jazz squares and all that stuff. They would watch and be like, "I like this part, and that part - throw everything else away, and then let's do it again." We would run through the song maybe four or five times, and we were done for the day. The next day, they had the whole thing choreographed, including the bits we tried out. It was a beautiful gift to have that level of input, especially so early in our careers. We were able to showcase our strengths and our connection to the characters. Lucas improvised Ryan's love of jazz squares. Disney Channel Lucas: I had two choreographers throughout high school community theater, and my own high school musicals, who put jazz squares in every number.
When we were running through the choreography for "What I've Been Looking For," I kept just hamming it up, putting jazz squares every five seconds. I thought, "It would be really fun if Ryan had an obsession with jazz squares and wanted to put them in everything." Kenny said, "Great. Let's add a bit at the end!" Lucas and Kenny Ortega saw themselves in Ryan. Disney Channel / Via Everett Collection Lucas: There's so much on the cutting room floor that we did with Ryan and had so much fun with. Kenny Ortega was great. He told us, "On my sets, no one stops until I call cut. You might finish the scene, you might finish your lines, but I don't want you to leave the moment. That might be the magical moment that I'm looking for."