5 Reasons Why Glee Is The Best Musical About High School (& 5 Reasons Why High School Musical Is Better)

5 Reasons Why Glee Is The Best Musical About High School (& 5 Reasons Why High School Musical Is Better)

Musicals about high school confronted the issues teens faced during this time and they did it with song! But was Glee or High School Musical better?

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Glee’s impact on pop culture is undeniable. Centering on the McKinley High Glee Club in Lima, Ohio, the series ran from 2009 to 2015 and followed high schoolers as they found their voices and the strength to follow their dreams. Glee had something for everyone, and its depiction of social issues and relatable characters have guaranteed its place as one of the best high school TV shows ever. When you include the extra musical element that made Glee famous, you get the best musical about high school.

Or was it High School Musical? Three years before Glee premiered, High School Musical introduced a generation to musicals and the three-movie series became the event to which Glee would always be compared. Here are the things that make Glee the best musical about high school, and the reasons it might be High School Musical instead.

10 Glee: The Issues

Glee quickly became known for its depiction of every and any social issue that teens might face. Beginning with Kurt coming out as gay to his father and Quinn’s teen pregnancy storyline in season 1, the show tackled more and more issues as the seasons went on, from male body image and cosmetic surgery to texting while driving and domestic abuse.

Though critics and audiences alike began to poke fun at the show for attempting to tackle seemingly every social debate of the day, Glee’s willingness to bring attention to these issues ensured that there was something for everybody. Whether seeing one’s own experiences reflected on the show, or seeing a situation they had not considered before, the series covered a lot of different issues and exposed audiences to new questions.

9 High School Musical: The Summer Jobs

Summer jobs are a reality for many, if not most, high school students. Whether trying to save money for further schooling or just wishing to gain some experience, working during summer vacation is something that many high school students can relate to. This is one of the best parts of High School Musical 2: the frank depiction of summer work.

Troy gets a job at Sharpay’s country club to begin saving money for college, and his friends soon join him, while Sharpay and Ryan can afford not to work and simply enjoy the summer. Those that worked came to realize that working is not always bad, and they learned important lessons about teamwork and camaraderie. High School Musical 2 was honest about the different financial situations of teens, something Glee touched on but not as much as the High School Musical series did.

8 Glee: The Diversity

While High School Musical did have a diverse set of characters, Glee made diversity central to its premise, featuring characters of differing race, religion, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and more. Everyone who watched Glee had at least one character with a struggle they could identify with, helping Glee develop such a strong fandom.

It was also refreshing upon its premiere to see a show acknowledge the actual demographic makeup of a typical American high school, with all its intricacies and intersections, and most high school shows have followed Glee’s blueprint.

7 High School Musical: The Cast

Musicals expect a lot from their casts: actors must be able to sing, dance, and act, often at the same time. Both Glee and High School Musical had immensely talented casts, but the cast of High School Musical has truly proven themselves as some of the brightest stars of their generation.

Castmates Lucas Grabeel and Ashley Tisdale were Disney Channel staples before High School Musical, while Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron became true A-list stars after their roles in the series. Efron has become one of the most successful Hollywood stars of the 2010s, while Hudgens, like castmate Corbin Bleu, has taken her talents to the stage, earning particular praise for her role as Rizzo in Grease: Live.

6 Glee: The Production Numbers

From its very first episode, Glee introduced audiences to the glitzy world of high school show choir with elaborately choreographed and costumed performances. As the series progressed, these performances became more and more creative and enjoyable, even if they sometimes stretched the imagination of what was possible in a high school.

For example, season two’s mash-up of “Singing In The Rain” and Rihanna’s “Umbrella” featured actual rain in the high school auditorium. Musicals are allowed to play with audience expectations about realism, however, and Glee fully took that opportunity to showcase the best that choreographer Zach Woodlee invented.

5 High School Musical: The Music

Though Glee did dabble with writing original songs for its glee clubbers to perform, none of those songs came close to the instantly recognizable soundtrack of High School Musical. Songs like “Stick To The Status Quo,” “Breaking Free,” and “We’re All In This Together” have become modern Disney classics.

The fact that they remain well remembered, even by the most casual of fans, is a testament to their quality and the impact High School Musical had on a generation of kids and teens.

4 Glee: The Humor

While Glee did deal with several heavy and provocative issues facing teens, it also had plenty of moments and episodes that were downright hilarious. At its best, Glee expertly walked the tightrope between melodrama and zany hijinks, and that quality makes it all the more realistic.

High schoolers can be riding high one moment, only to come to face a problem for which they are completely unprepared the next, and those tonal shifts were present in Glee from the very first episode. In that way, Glee easily ranks as the best musical about high school.

3 High School Musical: Sharpay Evans

Sharpay Evans, played formidably by Ashley Tisdale, was a fan-favorite character since High School Musical’s premiere in 2006. Though presented in the story as a villain, fans have noted that Sharpay is actually a much more sympathetic character than she is presented in High School Musical. She worked for her whole life to star in the musical, only for a new girl to transfer to her school and get the part at the last minute.

This is a high school experience most people can relate to: really wanting something, and maybe even deserving it, only for someone else to get it. Sharpay gives the audience everything they want: they can laugh at her or with her, root for her, or despise her.

2 Glee: Sue Sylvester

Glee’s breakout character from the very beginning was champion cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester, played perfectly by Jane Lynch (who won an Emmy for the role). Sue has a personal vendetta against the glee club and will stop at nothing to destroy them. Sue’s character perfectly satirized the competitive relationship between the arts and athletics in high school and was perfectly over the top while being human.

Many high schoolers may have experienced what seemed like an adult prioritizing their own interests instead of those they are supposed to help, and Sue perfectly encapsulates that idea.

1 High School Musical: The Graduation

Had Glee ended after its third season, there likely would not be any debate about its legacy as the best musical about high school. Most of the cast was graduating and heading their separate ways in order to pursue their dreams. The main arc of the show was complete, and it seemed like a perfect ending.

The show kept going, however, attempting to introduce new high schoolers while still following McKinley’s alumni all over the United States. High School Musical stopped following Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, and the rest of their generation of Wild Cats after High School Musical 3: Senior Year. High School Musical understood something that Glee didn’t: high school does not last forever.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/reasons-why-glee-high-school-musical-is-the-best-musical-about-high-school/

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