Cue screams, because Zac Efron has signed up for a High School Musical reunion
Zac Efron. (Rich Polk/Getty Images for IMDb)
Zac Efron is reuniting with the cast of High School Musical for a special Disney singalong this week.
The world might be in the throws of the coronavirus pandemic, but that won’t stop East High Wildcats from being in this together.
High School Musical director Kenny Ortega confirmed the cast will reunite for Disney’s Family Singalong, set to air in the US on ABC on Thursday (April 16) at 8pm (ET).
Among the cast to feature in the singalong is professional 2006 poster boy Zac Efron, and maybe the timeline we’re in isn’t the darkest after all.
Zac Efron ‘immediately jumped in’ for reunion idea, says director.
The High School Musical reunion comes after Vanessa Hudgens and other cast members held a virtual party on Zoom, the video app that has become the new norm in our dystopian times, over the weekend.
Hudgens, 31, took to Instagram to share a screen capture of the call with Corbin Bleu, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Monique Coleman, Ortega and more Wildcats.
Ortega explained that Efron couldn’t be reached “until late”.
“But when we did, he immediately jumped in, of course,” he told Deadline.
“Everyone we reached out to was quick — and you’ll see it in their spirit and the way they come together from their homes.
“They recognise this is an opportunity to strengthen spirits for those joining us for the broadcast.”
Ortega said that the singalong was at the request of Disney CEO Bob Iger.
“I wanted to find something I can do to participate and it was so great to be given the call and invited by ABC to join,” he said.
“It gave me a purpose to get up every morning. I feel really good that we have an opportunity to do something like this — it’s good medicine.”
High School Musical director stresses that celebrities lounging in sweatpants are ‘heroes’.
Ortega said the stars are well and truly “heroes” as “young people out there that look up to these people and have for a long time”.
“To see [celebrities] in their own living rooms and in their sweatpants hanging out with their families helps everyone realise there’s truth behind these words.
“We’re all in this together, in various circumstances.
Inspirational.
The High School Music cast are the latest pocket of the celeb universe to come together for a virtual singalong, a trend kick-started by Gal Gadot who belted out John Lennon’s “Imagine” with a number of high-profile pals to keep housebound fans entertained.
Such acts run in parallel to more tangible relief efforts by other high-profile figures such as Lady Gaga, who has opted not to wear sweatpants and is instead actively raising money for coronavirus relief programmes as well as research initiatives.
Gaga, who postponed her upcoming album to focus on helping both those impacted by the pandemic and those working to curb it, raised $35 million in just seven days for the World Health Organization.
