High School Musical 2 Release

DISNEY'S "HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2," THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED SEQUEL TO THE SMASH HIT DISNEY CHANNEL ORIGINAL MOVIE, SET TO PREMIERE SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 ON DISNEY CHANNEL AUSTRALIA

"High School Musical 2," the sequel to the Emmy Award-winning Disney Channel Original Movie for kids, tweens and families, will premiere across Australia and New Zealand on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 at 6.30pm Australian time. This will be part of a "High School Musical" themed weekend of programming events which includes the "High School Musical" Concert, "High School Musical: Around the World" showcasing music videos produced internationally to celebrate the worldwide phenomenon of "High School Musical" and Disney Channel shows "Hannah Montana" and "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" featuring some of the "High School Musical" cast.

The announcement was made today by Michael Cairns, Vice President and Managing Director of Walt Disney Television (Australia/New Zealand/Philippines).

"We are thrilled to be premiering this highly anticipated sequel on Disney Channel. The original cast is back with new anthem songs and ground-breaking production numbers - fans in Australia will cheer for "High School Musical 2" as much as they did for "High School Musical", said Cairns.

For the new movie, Disney reassembled the entire creative team that made "High School Musical" a worldwide sensation. Emmy Award-winning Kenny Ortega returns to direct and, along with fellow Emmy Award-winning choreographers Charles Klapow and Bonnie Story, has created ground-breaking production numbers for the sequel. The story and screenplay was written by former rock music journalist Peter Barsocchini based on the characters he created for the original movie. A Humanitas Prize finalist, Barsocchini wrote the original movie and its sequel with his tween daughter in mind and drew inspiration for the characters and the storyline from his own childhood.

The world-class songwriters who wrote anthemic songs (spanning pop, rock, hip hop, swing) for the sequel are: Matthew Gerrard, Robbie Nevil, Jamie Houston, Tim James, Antonina Armato, Randy Petersen, Kevin Quinn, David Lawrence and Faye Greenberg. Lawrence also composed the score for the movie.

Reprising their singing and dancing roles are bona fide superstars in the kid and tween universe: Zac Efron as star athlete Troy Bolton, Vanessa Hudgens as brainy transfer student Gabriella Montez, Ashley Tisdale as drama club diva Sharpay Evans, Lucas Grabeel as drama club idol Ryan Evans, Corbin Bleu as teammate and best friend Chad Danforth and Monique Coleman as academic decathlete Taylor McKessie. Also returning are Alyson Reed ("A Chorus Line") as Ms. Darbus, Chris Warren, Jr. as Zeke, Olesya Rulin as Kelsi, KayCee Stroh as Martha, Ryne Sanborn as Jason and Bart Johnson as Coach Bolton. Mark Taylor (Disney Channel's "Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-Off") joins the cast as the country club manager, Mr. Fulton.

In the sequel, school's out for summer, and the East High Wildcats are ready to kick back and make it the time of their lives. If they can land decent summer jobs, all will be right with the world. Troy Bolton can barely believe his luck when he's offered a job at Albuquerque's posh country club, Lava Springs. What he doesn't know is that his newfound employment is part of club queen Sharpay's plot to lure him away from Gabriella. But that plan begins to unravel when Troy, unbeknownst to Sharpay, lands a lifeguard position at the club for Gabriella, as well as jobs for Chad, Taylor, Zeke, Martha, Kelsi, Jason and the rest of his Wildcat pals.

When she learns Kelsi has written what's sure to be a winning duet for Troy and Gabriella to perform at the club's annual Midsummer Night's Talent Show, an incensed Sharpay begins an all-out campaign to ensure these newcomers will not upstage her - forcing her to relive her humiliation over the school's winter musical.

Thus begins a duel of wits between the determined Sharpay, who seeks to always get what she wants, and Troy, who begins to experience a world of privilege he's never known. What will he be willing to sacrifice for the sake of his future? All questions are answered, musically, of course, on the night of the club's Talent Show.

Emmy Award winners Bill Borden and Barry Rosenbush ("High School Musical") are the executive producers. Emmy Award-winning Don Schain ("High School Musical") is the producer. Filmed on location in Salt Lake City and St. George, Utah, "High School Musical 2" is from First Street Films and Salty Pictures.

The first single from the highly anticipated High School Musical 2 official soundtrack, "What Time Is It" is released physically and digitally on Walt Disney Records on August 18, 2007. Featuring the entire cast of the film and set to become the sing-along classic of the summer, "What Time Is It" is written by Matthew Gerrard (Kelly Clarkson, Hilary Duff, Jessica Simpson) and Robbie Nevil (Destiny's Child, Melissa Etheridge, Stevie Wonder).

Having already written the now iconic "We're All in This Together" and "Start of Something New" for the original High School Musical, Gerrard and Nevil are a song writing tour de force. "High School Musical 2" - the official soundtrack