And that's what you really missed with Jenna and Kevin an iHeartRadio podcast.
Welcome to you, and that's what you really missed podcasts. Today, we've got another high school musical and the podcast friend bar Johnson's her coach Bolton, coach Bolton, the basketball dad of our generation.
Yes, of course, the sweet parent. You know what we love in a musical is a great parent.
That's right, that's right, you know.
And he is sweet and great and also comes up. He's like, find out he's from Hollywood.
Royalty, basically grew up on sets.
Yes, and hearing him talk about high school musical is illuminating and it makes so much sense as to why it became the beast that it became.
And he's got a new podcast, so let's get into it.
Thank you so much for like coming on here and doing this with us. Thanks for having me our podcast brother.
Yeah, I like that. I like that.
Now we're part of a family.
Yeah, I'll see at the Christmas party.
I guess that's right. Probably is there a Christmas party?
We need to have one there there are some Kevin, we just really are bad at I'm really bad at attending things.
How long have you guys been doing together.
Oh my gosh, since before twenty.
Years three years? Wow? Yeah, okay, no longer.
You know when we started with Our Heart three years My Heart three years.
Probably longer than that. I think twenty eighteen we started doing the other one. So yeah, yeah, okay, and he excused to hang out.
Yeah, you know, but you just started your podcast, right, just started.
Yeah. I've just been a guest on so many and I was like, you know, I kind of like this stuff, like this is pretty fun, I want to do it.
Yeah.
So I'm glad it worked out. And it's like kind of perfect timing. You know, it's a twenty nniversary on on January, amazing, lots to talk about so things. Yeah, it's been you know, it's like it's not like you do anything, you know, just cash those two dollars checks all day.
Yes, How has it been so far? Have you enjoyed doing it?
Oh? It's that great. Yeah, I'm a super I'm so brand new. I don't know yeah yet, but it's been great. Yeah, Like everybody's been awesome, and like it's providing opportunities to meet people like you guys, So it's uh.
Yeah, I like people likewise you're a.
Very iconic Disney dad to us.
Oh yeah, and.
We just watched High School Musical and of course along you know, our Holy Journey. In every press event, media event, it's always you know, did do you feel like high School Musical paved the way for you? How are you different than high School Musical? Are you? Guys?
Like?
It was just it was crazy to be compared so deeply to you guys, And it was such an honor because high school really did pave the way for Glee in a lot of ways, and so it was such
a huge phenomenon. And I'm curious, like when you were in the trenches, we know that you guys, that was such a fast The first one was such a you know, fast filming and kind of like makes your head spin a little bit, like did you know or could you tell uh when you were filming this that this was going to be something so much bigger than it?
You know?
Well it was. It's kind of interesting because I remember when Glee was being cast and it was already like so much buzz, Like everybody was like, there's a big show. There's going to be a big, important musical show. And it was of course, but yeah, this.
Was we knew that.
Did you not feel that we were?
Now?
No?
Really yeah really no?
Well when did you guys know, like when.
It aired in the pilot air But even after the pilot aired and it did really well, were like, well we'll see. Yeah, yeah, you know, things got canceled so quickly back then that you just never.
Knewally, did you guys do a pilot and then wait for the pickup?
Yeah, yes, gold.
Yes man where they would go to upfronts and the whole.
Thing here, Like it was pretty quick.
I mean I think we got picked We finished filming in October thirty first, and we got picked up like mid December, so it was pretty quick. We didn't have to wait too long, which was nice. But we aired the pilot and we were supposed to be a mid season uh drop in, and they wanted to wait until the fall to launch us and do a proper launch, and so they aired the pilot and then it was months and months and months before we actually aired the whole.
Yeah oh interesting, wow, But it was right after High School Musical, Like I think, you know, we filmed the pilot a year after Hih School Musical came out, and so first one after the first one, and like we all auditioned for I auditioned for a high school musical and we're watching it because it was like we all grew up doing you know, I did music and TV genit did musical theater, and it was like, there's not many opportunities to be able to join those things together.
So high school musical was sort of it for like people in our age range. And I remember when that came out and it blew up. It was just sort of shocking. And I know when people ask us all the time, like, oh, do you know Glee was going to be successful? Like no, but we we enjoyed the experience. The experience to us was special.
Yeah. Yeah.
And we talked to Lucas last week and he was, you know, he was saying, how you know, you guys they were rehearsing and you're shooting in Utah and you all became a family and you bonded and you had that special experience. But like then it's sort of you don't you don't know, you have no idea.
Yeah, yeah, no, that's I'm to answer your question. Like nobody knew. Everybody was just excited to have a job. I mean, it was a small budget, four week shoot. It was like a little to see movie. Now. I knew Kenny Ortega from a long time ago. I met him on the set of Newsies, which was a big Disney movie, one.
Of the best, one of our favorites.
Yeah. You of course, you guys would have really appreciate that.
Oh my god, yes, yeah, I know.
I was just get my It was funny because my mom was actually the hairstylist on Newsy's. So I was like hanging out. But then I got to be you know, got to know Christa Bale and Dave Moscow and Ellie Keats and like, the guys became my friends and they were my age. Was the whole reason. It is the reason I became an actor, because I was like, wait, well, you guys, you're it's amazing, Like you're doing this for
a living, like I'm I'm dropping out of college. Which yeah, to my parents, you know, alright, he's.
Done, all right, it's okay.
It's take a long time before they thought it was okay. But yeah, but uh, so I knew Kenny had done something really amazing and uh and then he did, of course hocus Pocus after that, so I know, he's he's got this big, huge vision and he's choreographed Michael Jackson's Tourist for fourteen years, choreographed so many amazing dirty dancing and Xander due by all these big, amazing, iconic movies.
So I knew it was like something really special. That's why when when he called me and said, Disney's casting this this uh this movie. It's a Disney Channel movie. But they're giving me my selects, Like here's the people that have worked in the Disney Channel world. We want you to pick from this group of people. Went through all of them, and he's like, this is not this is not my coach. Like, I got to find my coach. And so he called me and he said you were
the coach. You're my coach. So I was like, okay, and he's.
Like, look at the DEALA just calling you.
I know it's amazing, but you know it was I had to go audition for the thing. And he said, uh, you know, it's a little movie. It's it's it's a Disney it's just a Disney Channel movie. Not a lot of people are going to see it. There's no money involved, there's no name. We're just calling it high school musical until we come up with a name, but we're going to go to you U Tom or have a blast, come be my coach. And I was like okay, So
I went into audition for it. I didn't get it, and then like a few days later, he goes, well, happy you didn't get the part, and he's like, well, I don't know, I don't know, and he's like what did you wear? And I'm like it's like a T shirt. And I'd never played his dad before and played a coach, like I was always like.
Playing for you, and when you auditioned for this.
That's a good question, I bet I was like, uh, thirty thirty, early thirties. I was early thirty. So like, well, he goes, you can't go in like dressed, like you know, you got to Payn's dad, And I'm like, who's that Gfron? Like at that point, like nobody knew who the this soon to be superstar was. You know, you've done one little show before summer Land, a.
Little Summerland I love, Yeah, yeah.
Yeah yeah. But uh so he got me a screen test after that and he had me put Gray in like I don't really have great still and my fake heavens it's common. It's kind of I know, it's kind of. I think it's kin of. But you put me gray in my hair, like put on like a snow back and he goes go in there and actor age. I'm like, okay, but like I had to be like sixteen years old
to have a son that age of the time. So it was like, you know, I tried so hard to get that move and then it got the part, and then I said, I'm not too young to play this role, you know. After Yeah, but I don't think there was any really any indication that it was going to be as big as it, Like, there no idea. There was this moment though, when we were shooting you know, the song stick to the Status quote was like in the
cat it's so good. And I remember sitting there like watching that and I was sitting a video village and I was watching Kenny's monitors and I was like, this is this doesn't feel I mean, I'm still didn't think it was a big, big deal, but I was like, this doesn't feel small. Right. Y was pretty special and he had just uh, he just directed the opening closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. And like, you know that was.
Like his vis world.
Yeah, he's like this big and he's like, I'm going to make it a little dizzy channel. But so, you know, I think that the success can be uh you know, sort of followed back right right to Kenny Otakea's door.
Yeah.
But then but still then what was interesting about it is, uh, there was no special press. They didn't like promote it any different than any other shows. Really no indication. We had a little premiere on the you know, the little movie theater on the Disney lot. It's a tiny, little, yeah theater, little that was our premiere. I remember it was raining, like we're all clothes are wet, and you know, it's like, yeah, whatever, I drove by motorcycle of the
raid excided. I don't know why, but uh, I think choices. Well, I'm like my shirts all wet in the premiere photos and it was like a big deal. And then out of nowhere, the movie premiered and the next day the reports came in. It was the most watched cable show ever of all time, eighteen million people. Just staggering numbers, crazy numbers. Yeah.
Wow, we were both we were both one of those people. Yeah, yeah, oh yeah, really, yeah, yeah, it's amazing.
It's amazing to me that it resonated so much just in the promo material that it would have such a not only did it have like the growth that it did, but what was it like while the movie is promoted that got you guys like, oh this is we're stoked to watch this? Like I don't, I don't still, you know.
I think like the perfect combination of like the sort of cliche high school aesthetic of it all and then having a musical that that never happens like at that at that time, you know, like Chicago had come out several years before Mulan Rouge, like those things are in the zeitgeist, but there was that's for like older people, right, like there was nothing for teens, and like Disney Channel had a new movie every single month on Disney Channel, and it was they were always so different, but there
was also a formula to it. And so I feel like they broke their formula a bit with it. And then, like you said, the Kenny Ortega of it all, where it feels and looks different when you have someone of that expertise level, yeah doing it and somehow it's like one of those magical things where like you can't ever plan for a hit, but everything aligned, like that's what the people wanted, and you had the right people in it.
You had the right people doing it behind the scenes, right, And I mean it struck a chord clearly, not just with us, but millions and millions of people. And you know, we were talking about when we were doing a TV show and you're locked away on the stages and you're able to film it and if it's like you know, we were food film an episode and it'd be on air in three weeks, but you were never in public. When you do a movie, it's a very different experience.
And so and I imagine for you, like with our show, where there were like quote unquote the adults and then us, even though sometimes we were only a few years apart, those are different experiences within the show. And so I'm wondering how for you, like when that show, when that movie came out and blew up, all of you became immediately recognizable to everyone, because it's like, if you're famous with kids, you're then famous with the parents, you're famous
with an entire household. And so what did that feel like? Because like you shot this thing. You don't hear anything for months, it's not out comes out and literally for you, overnight it became this gigantic wild thing. Yeah, what was that like you going in public after that?
Well, it was actually for me. I think my experience is probably totally different than everyone else because when that shoot, when that show blew up, everybody was after Zach, Vanessa and Ashley Corp Like they're all like the you know, they were hunting them down, like this is the new crop. Like these guys resonate, they're the superstars. We want them like old guys stepped to the back. And the whole time it was a little bit of like there's a little
uh dose of humility there the whole time. You know, at that point in my career, I'd done you know, I don't know, fifty movies or something like that before I did this one. And this is the first one where it's like, Okay, now everybody's gonna play basketball. You go stand over there, and I was like, what, like, yeah, I used to play basketball in the movies that I the stand of the side, So that was a little different.
And I think when like when the movie blew up, like nobody really cared about me, Like, like I think, to be honest, I think it like kind of hurt my career a little bit for like ten years because it's like you're not going to go get on like a cool HBO show, like you guys know how it is, Like, especially back then, it's like that's not the guy they're looking for, or who played the dad in the Disney Channel. It was like this, that's not that's not cool. There's
nothing cool about that. So uh, just the success that a Disney channel is different than when it becomes like an iconic global phenomenon that that becomes a little different. So for me from my experience, like the first I don't know, several years, I couldn't go to like an elementary school. The parents didn't know who I was, Like no one had a clue, Like nobody could hire me knew who I was. But like I got a video of being like sworn by like hundreds of kids in
elementary school. I did take my kids elementary. It was crazy. But then I go to junior high. Nobody knew who I was. And then a couple of years later my kids are all like in this eight like the same age of like the target demographic. So you're high, and then it's like this is crazy to your high and then a few years later, now it's crazy in high school. And now it's like now it's like for some reason, it's almost like elementary school, junior high, heavy in college
and in high school. So it's like the demographics got older, and then I get now I've got I got a couple of jobs, like on TV, Like I did a show I did All American and the showrunner I was working on show as a guest. I was cool, it was great, great job. And then the show when I came from Wondering, it's like I'm a big wildcat. I was like, oh, let's go have jobs. I love it, and she was students could be. But yeah, that war
is pretty nice. So now now that it's like global, it's different and like I feel like I get recognized more now, Like just the last month, I mean I was stopped in the airport maybe twenty five times for photos. Wow, more way more now than it was twenty years ago. Yeah.
Right, set streaming and it's like new crop of kids, like we have kids who are too young to watch Glee when it was on, but now are those teenagers now that are re you know, they're rediscovering this new show. And you went and did High School Musical the TV show in the last season, right, yeah, yeah wow for.
The final season. Yeah that was fun.
Wild? Is that to like come back and it still lives on like that?
That was wild? That was wild. I mean it's been so funs but it's like the greatest gift ever. You know, I've done I've been working for like like three decades now in Hollywood, and it's like I've done one movie that has like touches people's souls where they come up to you and they say things like and you guys probably get this too, because like I don't know something from musicals they like they yes, they go deep with people. And then you, guys, you had a pretty young audience too, right,
like a lot of people. So then they come up to you and say things like you don't understand, like how many people like the sentence starts like that, right, you don't understand. I needed this, Like this helped me. This is they all got a story and it's like this is the greatest gift ever. I love it. I love it best.
So happy you feel that way because you're you keep saying you're like, you know, I've done a bunch of movies. I've been doing this for three decades. But it's like, how lucky are we to be in something just like one thing that affects people like that. It's such a tough no.
I totally like a lot of people, like, I mean, sure you guys interview people are like they don't want to talk about that thing. They've moved on. I want to focus on, you know, like I'm doing something. You know, I've been. I'm on Landman, I'm recurrent on Landman right now, I'm not. But you know, like it's not special like this one, you know, and people tell me like I do tiktoks and throwbacks and the comments are always so
nice on social media. I swear I've got the nicest followers, the nicest comments, and then every once a while someone will be nasty and they're like, move on, bro, come on, dude, move on. Why why it makes people happy? I love it, like I think it so I fully embrace it and I'm not I'm not trying to shy away from it. Ever. Yeah, it's a gift. I think it's such a gift to be a part of something like that.
So I heard that on your podcast. You said there was supposed to be a musical number Coach Balton and Missus Darvis. What happened?
Oh, I'm so mad about you just gets so upset about this. I like, I think about just dreaming about like going to battle with miss Darvus and Kenny Ortega's directing like this amazing, funny, comical relief number of anything you could do, I could do better, you know any get your gun type of song. And it was so bummed he did that, and and Disney just said, you know, you know how they do. It's always like, oh, let's cut the script down, let's get it down, get the
minutes down. What's the first thing to go the old people, get rid of the old door. What's the old people dancing? I'm like, yeah, they do, Yes, they do. Look at my TikTok. They like to see they like to see old people dance.
So it was it was just.
A little I love about like thirty years old, you're the old people.
Right right? That is exactly. It's just mean. It's a mean and cruel Did.
You grow up do?
Like?
Are you musical? Did you grow up doing I did.
I did. Uh. I did musical theater growing up. Yeah, I started at this. Uh well, I did all the shows in high school, Like I did all the shows here and and in high school I did I played action Who got the Officer krup Key song in West Side Story? And that was like and I wasn't like I really wasn't pursuing it all. I just liked it. It
was fun. I was in choir and I was, you know, doing the shows and just I was in a school where you kind of do every You can do the sports and you could do the like I was a semi professional skier at the mobile skier at the time. Like I was trying to like do to play soccer.
And you went a real Troy Bolton kind of.
Yeah. I was kind of where it was like really easy to do everything like just which is kind of a bumber because like you can't really do that now. You gotta like pick your lane, you know, stick there and just like obsessed with as one. But like back then you could do it all. So I did West Side Story and uh and there's this guy, Alan Bluth, he was the local physical therapist, and he said he took me backstage. She said, hey, man, you could do this,
You could do this for a living. And I was like, Okay, whatever, fuddy. Even though I grew up with it, like I grew up on the set like my mom did hair for Mork and Mini and Brady Bunch, Charlie's Angels like all this. Yeah, she's done like hair forever and all. So I was always there and saw it, but I didn't really see a lot of people in my age until Newsy's, and I didn't really see it seemed too even though I was present. I was like, you know, I was in
the hair makeup trailer. I was a kid in the corner where right, And now it's like, uh, I do Newsies And it's like, oh, it's a little bit more.
You know, you're laying I'm like those are those guys are? Yeah?
Yeah, a cool house of the Hollywood Hills and like you don't live with your parents, like this is pretty.
You're like maybe that's amazing.
And then and then I went back to After Newsies, I went back to college and I was doing show after ship. I just kind of got the bug. That's where I really got the bug, and I was trying to do school and I was trying to do theater all the same time. Well I was. I was going show to show show, so as soon as one was clothes, I was rehearsals or another. So and I loved it
so much fun. And then one night I rolled my car because I wasn't getting any sleep, and I was like, that's my little reminder of this little scar right there. O can you see it? Catch my little looks for a small camera when it looks small small in real life. Lets be honest, but that's a little that's my little reminder of like, you know, like you gotta pick. Sometimes
you gotta pick, and you gotta sleep. I fell asleep hold my car, my brother's Straco, sorry Adam, And uh yeah, it was as a bummer, and I was at that point I was like I better pick one. And then I just did it. I just happened to get somebody asked me to get an agent, and and I did a little guest spot on a show called Crossroads. I still didn't like, I didn't want to be an like I wasn't pursuing it being an actor. Like it was like I just got having to get this audition.
It just happened to be really good at it.
I don't know. I don't think so. Actually I don't belink it was all that good. Like I felt like I was an acting class for like the next ten years, trying to like become a decent actor. But I got I don't know, I fit the costume or something. I don't know what it was, but I got the part. And then and then anyway, it's like I got sucked in.
See all it takes one car role and then.
Sometimes you see a little little gentler wake up call, and.
Then luckily for us, you you know, ended up being like I feel like those roles where you play like this dad that everybody loves right, where like you're sort of like the aspirational dad, where like if people come up to you, like me seeing you, I automatically have all this like goodwill towards you, because like your presence on screen and in those movies is always just like so warm. You're like, oh, I wish my parent was
this accepting sort of thing. And I feel like that's also such a gift to be able to, like, you know, play a role that is liked and valued by so many people like that, and a you know, and a cast of like all these young people who all of a sudden were like Oliver tabloids and things like that, Like you get to be the steady force behind all of it.
No, seriously, like that's one of the best compliments you could you could possibly give me. You know, usually in these movies you either play like the hard nose coach or the loving support of dad or you know, usually not both. So that's like, that's like by far my favorite part of like the acting side of this is first of all all my scenes or was Zach. Zach was like took the job very serious, and he always wanted to do something really meaningful with those scenes. You know,
he didn't phone anything in. He's like he really wanted to do great work here. He's always had like aspirations of being a really great actor, and he took his series and so did Kenny. So I got to like, you know, kind of walk that line between like being the coach is like listen, son, you got it, you know, get your love at home. But it's like, you know, I am the home too, So yeah, you know, so I tried to like have humanity with every kind of you know scene I approached with him.
And it's like, no, it showed you guys, definitely it was. It was dynamic, and it's like, yes, it's Disney, of course, but like everybody we were talking about the movie after
we watched it, and so everybody is so committed. And I don't know if that was Kenny being like, let's just like dig in or you know, just these actors and all of you guys just being like, we're just going to do it, But there was something in the water that was like, you guys just bought in so deeply that there was no other option but for the audience to buy in as well.
You know. Yeah, yeah, I think it all started with Kenny for sure, Like he he was like this, you know, he was so big, it's done so many great things, but he took I mean, this was just as serious as he took. It felt like to me as he was on New Seas, which was you know, I don't know what was one hundred million dollars big Disney music, Like that's a lot of money back then. That's like a yeah, a huge movie. But he kind of approached it the same way, like there's no off switch on there.
We go to sushi at night and he's like, Okay, listen on this scene. Hear think about this dialogue? What do you think about this? You know, he's just bump bump, just always. He rewrote the music, he wrote the lyrics, the dialogue. Like he was so invested always, and you feel extensive and on set it's like, we're we're gonna make something amazing here. So I think it's a yeah, he was the captain of the ship man. He really is responsible for all that.
I feel like that sort of answers you know, the thing we were talking about when we first started talking about, what was that thing that made it just work? You know? It was a Disney Channel movie that they advertised the same as everybody else. And I think maybe it is having someone like Kenny at the helm who is that invested of every facet of it, especially when you don't have the budget right where like he can sort of fill in all those blanks because he has the experience
of working on the bigger budget things. And I think that also makes sense as to why your scenes with Zach and all of you in that movie it felt it did feel different as someone who grew up watching you know, the movie of the month on Disney Channels.
Something about that movie inherently did feel different and elevated and really good way when you had all those levels, you had like the crazy campness of a musical and of theater kids in high school who can be a little unbearable, no offense, Jenna, and then then to have like the really moving scenes between you guys and everybody
taking it really seriously. That's so that is like I feel like when people get hired for like something that might be a Disney Channel movie, it'd be easy to sort of like roll your eyes at it maybe or be like, Okay, well, this isn't going to be my career defining thing that I hope to get when I moved to La to do this sort of thing, right, But when you have someone like Kenny who is a really serious filmmaker, and all of you who take it really seriously, it's just yeah, that comes across in every
single scene.
Definitely. Let's talk about your podcast for a second. So you said you're really enjoying doing it. What is the hope of this podcast for you to have hopes and dreams for your podcast?
Well, yes, I really have been I don't know, spoiled rotten, with the fans over the last twenty years, and I've been thinking for the last year, what can I do, What can I do to celebrate and say thank you? Like just what's a big thank you to the fans? What can I do for them? And I've got a couple of things cooking. They're kind of still like a little secrets coming out, but I want to do some
really fun things to celebrate with them. And I thought, man if I could, I know, everybody's been interviewed to death, but you know, not by me, not by a guy that was there. So like since I was like the adult on the set, like I could go and I know really special things about all of them that people don't really know, you know, like miss Darbus was in Cabaret on Broadway with Kenny, Like people don't realize she's not you know, she's not Darbus. She's like a big
Broadway start. Like there's really super interesting things about these people I want to talk about and say, you know, they were great in high school musical because they were already great and they like what was so good to you know, to the to the film. So yeah, that's kind of I mean, really that's only my only goal is like just to entertain everybody and say thank you and give back. And if there's any way I can do it, I'm in. I'm in. If this podcast could
do it, then it's awesome. So I don't almost, you know, we'll see. As long as it's great a lot of the wildcats are out there and they want it, then then I'll yeah, dish it up.
No, I think I think you're going to achieve that more. I think that was our intention with you know exactly our podcast, and it's really been me yeah, and it's been like so the best part has been interviewing the people that we know so well and worked with for so long.
Yeah.
Yeah, there is that that lack of barrier that is so great that you can't talk about things that you won't get anywhere else, and it is like such a joy and a gift. And I'm so excited for you to be able to like do that for all of us who can listen to it and hear those conversations, because I think they'll be really meaningful, not just for us, but like for you and whoever you know you end up having on the show.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's awesome. That's so cool. Yeah, we are. We are kindred spirits. We are lucky, the lucky few. You know, I talked to uh sometimes talking to film people. I'm sure you guys have too, have plenty of you know, it's like our whole careers. You go to a TV show or a movie and it's like it's kind of all the same. Like you show up whatever the scene is, you're shooting the master. Then you go into your you know, your coverage, your singles or whatever, then your inserts and okay,
we got now we move on. Okay, next master covered singles, move on. And then it's like then you do a musical, and it's like you do this this Okay, everybody stop, it's the musical number time, and you just like I get my bag of popcorn out, and I'm like, oh heck, yeah.
Man, enjoy the show exactly.
I love the b I love that. It's like it's so unique and so interesting that way. I guess maybe equivalent to like, you know, like working on a Tom Cruise movie where you're like shooting the seezes and then it's like huge production to watch the show the big stunts.
Yeah, yeah, I think that's probably that's probably a good comparison. You know, we're all basically Tom Cruise, We're basically Tom.
We're living. Yeah, did you guys have that kind of experience where it's like you're just kind of shoot your you know, you're shooting shoes, shoot and then it's like, oh, it's musical time. It's like a musical number, and like, did you take a day to shoot a music? Like? Guse, how many day I'm just gonna say, you don't have because how many days it is production for you guys?
Ten? We never made it, so it was supposed to be eight.
It was scheduled for eight, but it was never eight.
Okay, I say ten tens a lot, that's a that's a good budget. But eight days and then you got musical numbers.
My gosh, eight hours. I think eight hours for a musical number.
But well, you just described Also, I think resonates because like the quote unquote adults on our show or like the crew members, that's how they would talk about the musical numbers. You know, you have like your scenes, like oh, they're going to do a musical number. For us, it ended up being the same thing as doing dialogue scenes because we shot them pretty methodically where we had our master the wide and then we would move in, you know, and then end up on steady cam and close ups,
just how you would normally do a scene. So for us it wasn't necessarily that, but I think for the other people on the show it was. It was exactly what you described.
I got a question for you, guys. So obviously you work really hard on your musical numbers, right like days before whatever you get the music you learn that, you guys are on a schedule. But so you're learning it obviously before the day you shoot and you get it down and you lock it in. So wait, a minute's on.
The day on the day, yeah.
Oh my gosh, I can't imagine.
Wow, hours hours before yeah.
Yeah, oh mystume on the stage learning.
Okay, So so when you when you did you guys always have a rap party at the end of your season, like.
A proper rap party sometimes.
Okay, these questions are really not going in the direction I lot of.
Knock your questions.
No, I love it, I love it. But during the rap party, did you guys out did they ever put the songs on and you recreated the dances? Never? No, interesting? Interesting? Never?
No, we were so music out at that point, like our guys are the grind Yoh no, truly. Our crew like the next day would be singing the song that we shot the day before, and it wasn't like, oh like our crew is amazing and they're so wonderful and happy and really like uplifted us. But the day after they'd be singing this song and you'd see like the frustration on their face that they couldn't get it out of their head. We're like just so deep in it that you're like, I cannot stop hearing this song in
my head. No please.
I mean I think we were doing We're averaging like a little over one hundred songs per season, so we were a little my g.
Yeah yeah yeah.
By the rap party, were like, let's have a silent party.
Oh well okay, I'm let me tell you a story that you maybe a little jealous of because just being musical theater people that you are. So we had like we'd have a few weeks of rehearsal before we shot the movie, and during those weeks, well, first of you your music, like long before we started rehearsals, So you get the music, you record the music or the temp tracks or whatever. You know what it is, and so you learn the songs. You learn, then you come to rehearsal,
you learn the dance. Everybody's together like a group, like a fun group, going, oh, we're going to summer camp. We're going to you know, out of the state, and we're gonna go stay in this hotel. We're gonna learn this song. We're workally hard and we're with Kenny Is doing his magic. You do all that, and then you get on the on the day you shoot that song. You know, like I'm just thinking of some of the
stuff from high school music one. Like you learn that song, you shoot it, you shoot all day, like a whole day blocked out of just magical dance number. And then like the last shot of the day, the last time they play that playback, it's almost like everybody's like emotional, like you're crying, like this, we're never gonna do this
song again. We're never And I understand that's a different dynamic for you guys with so many with such a workload, but on set, like everybody is like near tears when that song was over because you've been with it for a couple of months now, like ah, and then at the end of the day, it's like emotional and everybody's you know, hugget it out.
So that makes sense.
Then you walk away and you're like that moment, like that is on forever. That's like it's so sad. And then you go to the rap party and then someone has the idea of like out of the blue, they put the song on, like the DJ puts a song on. Everybody's let's go, let's go. Go, All right, let's go, and they start doing the day and then everybody comes out.
They do the dance and you're standing in the circle like with the cast and like recreating that song like one last time, and now you know for sure this is really the last time.
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. That's beautiful.
You loved it so much that to want to create it again. That's a beautiful thing, right, Like I get that towards that, you know, series finale. For us, it's it's different when you're on TV show and you know there's another season coming, another episode coming, or working out have that right, versus a movie that's so compact in time. We ask everybody on the podcast when we were doing Glee Recap, what is the feeling that Lee leaves you with.
But we want to turn that on its head a little bit and ask you what is the feeling that high school musical leaves you with?
Oh? Like now, like like what does it feel like? Now?
Yeah, I mean anything and just the experience for you?
Yeah, it was uh man, I was. I felt that all the way through because you know, when you know, you guys had this big, long workload, but ours was like you have a month, like you have one one month and you're of work, of shooting or or the last one was six weeks. You know, like six weeks and you're going home and it just feels like so nostalgic and you know, like, well you do. It was only supposed to be one movie. It was never supposed to be two or three. So we thought the first
one was like, oh this is really special. Oh well yeah, oh this is so cool. Would be friends forever, and then to be able to do it a second one was like this is amazing. But when we did segment, they're alread talking about number three, so it's like it became like this, like oh, this is so fun. It's like it's more like doing a series in the sense we get to see each other again and continue these storylines in not just a one off like a movie. So but boy, since then, I just feel I still
feel a sense of like nossalgy. I feel blessed, I feel like so lucky, just a sense of gratitude of like I got to be a part of something that means so much to people and now I have a gift. I've been given this gift where I can make a video for someone that takes me a minute. You know, it's like someone going through a hard time or something. And the response I get is ridiculous. Oh my guys,
that's guy. I get we all coach. I was like, it was took no effort, Like, it's just it's it's pretty amazing to be I mean, all of us have been a part of something that means a lot to people, and it's it's really gives me a lot of a lot of gratitude.
Yeah, it's beautiful. You sum that up. I think you speak for so many of us who have been in similar experiences, like amount of like joy that radiates through you and you're talking about this is how we feel. It's we feel it from you. It's so nice to be able to talk to you about all of this.
That's cool man. Yeah, we're all kindred spirits.
Yeah, well, thank you so much for taking the time to come on the podcast, and we hope that everybody goes and listens to your podcast.
Tell everyone where to find it.
Yeah, uh, it's it magical, rewind iHeart radio. Wherever you get your podcast? I think it's on everything, right, am I saying it? Right? You guys?
Okay, you did, you did it right?
And then follow my social media's Bart Underscore Johnson and I promote the heck out of it everywhere there so they'll be all the links and stuff.
Well, I hope you have such a good time with the podcast and enjoy it as much as we've enjoyed doing ours as well, and doing it for your fans.
We're gonna have to like check back in in a year and how you're doing, and.
We'll talk at the Christmas party. I hope in five years like at your your level here, guys.
Oh please, you're already better than us. Nice to meet you and thanks for having me.
Guys are awesome and I literally can't wait to us see you a person.
Yes, likewise, Christmas part of it.
Okay, bye, well, Bart, We thanks so much for joining us and taking the time to chat with us. And I hope that he has like such a wonderful experience connecting with the fans like we've had obviously on our podcast, because it sounds like, you know, it's some such a similar experience. Having the ability to now connect in this way has been like it's just it's really different and amazing and exciting.
So and I think it's naturally really good at this and like curious and is going to give great interviews. So I'm excited for him. I'm excited for us to get to listen to it. Thank you Bart so much for coming on and talking about these high school musical crew people are.
The great the greatest. His podcast is called get your Head in the Game, and it's within the magical rewind feed, so you can search either one, I'm sure, and you can find him and find the podcast. And that's what you're really missed.
Thanks for listening and follow us on Instagram at and that's what you really miss pod. Make sure to write us a review and leave us five stars. See you next time.