It has been an eventful time for the cast of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Not only has Olivia Rodrigo released her debut album Sour. Matt Cornett has been officially cast in Zombies 3 and some cast members were in attendance at the Cruella premiere. They’re all reaching new levels of fame and they have this incredible series to thank for that. Spoilers ahead for this week’s episode of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.

Typecasting

It’s a new year at East High and Mr Mazzara is giving the morning announcements. It is audition today for the Spring Musical which is Beauty and the Beast. In the cafeteria, Carlos gathers the drama club together and announces he will be auditioning to be on stage this year. Big Red is also auditioning for the first time and Ashlyn has her sights set on Mrs Potts. Everyone is discussing the auditions but Ricky is unsure about it.

In a flashback, we see Ricky and Nini hugging and sharing a heartfelt goodbye. They are going to attempt a long distance relationship. He gifts her a snow globe of Utah and she states that every time she misses Ricky she will shake the snow globe. Back in the cafeteria, a new student named Lily takes a selfie with the drama club and she shares her admiration for them.

At her locker, Ashlyn presents Kourtney and Gina with a “tercet”. Ashlyn wants to audition as a girl group but Gina wants to audition solo. Big Red shares his nerves with Ricky about the auditions but Ricky convinces him to go ahead with it. In the hallway, Ricky and Nini are facetiming and he shares with her he may not audition. Carlos asks Gina to co-choreograph the musical but she refuses. A nervous Kourtney is facetiming Nini and gets called away.

The students all gather in a circle and Miss Jenn bursts out into Beauty and the Beast to get the kids prepared. Ricky runs in and the group warm up begins. Everyone performs the song Belle and some do better than others. Ashlyn shines in this moment and steals this number. Lily attempts to have her moment but no one is here for it. The next stage is the individual auditions and Kourtney and Ashlyn are ready to take it.

In Denver, Nini is running lines with her roommate Emily. Emily shares that she is sick of the text and Nini proposes to modernise it. Five minutes to solo auditions, Lily compliments Gina on her vocals in the group warm up and by doing so insults everyone else. Gina sticks up for her friends and Lily walks away. At the Youth Actor’s Conservatory, Nini and Emily attempt to perform their modernised piece. The teacher shares his distain with Nini and calls her Nina. He also puts her on vocal rest .

Ashlyn and Kourtney are up to audition. As they are about to perform, Lily mutter “amateurs” under her breath and Gina decides to join them. They perform their epic girl group number 1-2-3 and it goes down a treat. Back in Denver, Nini temporarily breaks her vocal rest to talk to the principal. Nini wants to start a song writing club and the principal informs her the only song she should be focusing on is the school anthem.

Back in the auditorium, a student is butchering Wondering from Season One. Ricky is next to audition and poorly performs Bet On It. Miss Jenn is unsure if his head is in the game. Big Red is up and performs a tap routine before falling. Lily laughs and with Ricky’s help he gets back up and slays his audition. Nini is in her room and is reading through the lyrics of the YAC Alma Mater.

The cast list is up and Ashlyn cannot believe it. She has been cast as Belle. Much to Lily’s distain Miss Jenn informs her that they do not laugh at anyone when things go wrong. That evening at the pizza place, Ricky is facetiming with Nini and reveals he has been cast as the Beast. Kourtney is playing Mrs Potts, Carlos is playing Lumiere, Gina is the feather duster, EJ is Gaston and everyone got the part they wanted. As Ricky is saying goodbye, his phone dies and Nini gets back to learning the school song.

Outside the restaurant, Lily calls the North High Drama Department.

Tale As Old As Time

What an eventful week at East High. In pure High School Musical fashion we got great music, juicy drama, heartfelt moments and comedy. East High’s production of High School Musical may have been memorable but even Ms Darbus herself cannot deny how epic Beauty and the Beast is going to be.

The Belle warm up was nothing short of amazing. Ashlyn shines in this moment. This was Ashlyn’s number no one else came close to touching what she was doing in that moment. Lily tried but ultimately failed. We also got an epic new girl group. Kourtney, Ashlyn and Gina performing 1-2-3 was like Little Mix meets Destiny’s Child meets The Cheetah Girls. Beyoncé herself could not handle the epic vocals and looks being served by East High’s newest all female collective. It gave me life and I was tempted to join in with the choreography.

Someone who came out of his shell this episode was Big Red. I love seeing him being dorky and also killing it with tap shoes on. I am so excited to see how his relationship with Ashlyn progresses and hopefully his confidence continues to grow.

We get to see Nini at her new school and it reminded me of seeing Rachel at NYADA in Glee. It is a side plot that fits with the main plot of the show. I do not see Nini staying there for long and she will eventually find her way back to East High and run into Ricky’s arms.

The casting for this year’s Spring Musical could not be more perfect. Ashlyn is the perfect Belle, she’s beautiful and has the voice of an angel. EJ as the boorish and brainless Gaston is a great fit, he has the charm and the good looks to play this part so well. Kourtney is getting her time to shine this season playing Mrs Potts accompanied by her adorable son Chip played by Seb. Carlos is the perfect Lumiere and Gina has the beauty and grace of the feather duster. Although his audition was questionable Ricky is the Beast and he is already a Disney prince so it fits. If I could I would get a front row ticket to this production of Beauty and the Beast.

Someone who may threaten this would be the new girl Lily. Lily may resemble a Disney princess but shares the same qualities as the annoying Rachel Berry from Glee. By calling North High, a petty Lily has already done herself a disservice. Fans may see parallels with Lily and Gina in early Season One. Maybe Lily is on her Gina style journey but right now she is acting like an actual beast. Lily will prove to be a problem.

I adore this show and cannot wait to hear more original music as well as some covers of Disney classics. North High are putting on The Little Mermaid so we can prepare for an Alan Menken heavy season as well as romance and rivalry. Wildcats sing along and prepare for a beauty of a season.

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is now streaming on Disney+. Episode 3 drops Friday May 28th.