Meet the Cast and Characters of 'High School Musical: The Musical: The Series'
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Your favorite wildcats are back for season 2 of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. The series has made its way to Disney+ and is picking up where it left off — Nini is headed to the Youth Actors Conservatory in Denver, which means she won't be in East High's production of Beauty and the Beast.
A couple of new faces have also joined this season of HSMTMTS — including professional dancer Derek Hough (Dancing With the Stars, World of Dance), who plays North High's drama teacher who's in steep competition with Miss Jenn (played by Kate Reinders).
So, if you want to know the tea brewing between East and North High or just need a refresher on the wildcats, read on to meet the cast and characters of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
Olivia Rodrigo as Nini Salazar-Roberts
If you still don't know who Olivia Rodrigo is, she's an 18-year-old singer-songwriter who skyrocketed to music superstardom with her single "Drivers License" earlier this year and is set to release her debut album, SOUR on May 21. On HSMTMTS, she portrays Nini, a theater-crazed teen who landed the lead role of Gabriella Montez in season 1's production of High School Musical. Her time as an East High Wildcat has been cut short as she's moving to Denver to study at the Youth Actor's Conservatory.
Joshua Bassett as Ricky Bowen
You may recognize Joshua Bassett from Disney's Stuck in the Middle or as Olivia's alleged ex who fans think inspired "Drivers License" (more on that here). The 20-year-old also released some music of his own, including a self-titled EP. Joshua plays Nini's love interest Ricky, who joined the drama club's production of High School Musical in season 1 to win her back. He ended up landing the lead role of Troy and tried to make the best of the situation as Nini was already dating someone else.
Matt Cornett as E.J. Caswell
22-year-old Matt Cornett is no stranger to television — he played Zach on Nickelodeon's Bella and the Bulldogs back in 2015. Now, he plays another jock on HSMTMTS — E.J. Caswell. Remember Nini's new flame I just mentioned? That would be E.J., who started dating her at theater camp over the summer. Eventually, they break up after he steals her phone and deletes a heartfelt voicemail from Ricky. He played Chad in East High's production of High School Musical.
Dara Reneé as Kourtney Greene
HSMTMTS isn't Dara Reneé's first time at the Disney rodeo — she played Savannah in the 2018 reboot of Freaky Friday and had a recurring role as Stunts in ABC's Black-ish in 2019. 20-year-old Dara plays Kourtney, Nini's fabulous BFF who works in the makeup and costume departments in East High's theater program. She also keeps it real and talks Nini down when she needs it most.
Sofia Wylie as Gina Porter
17-year-old Sofia Wylie is not only an amazing dancer who's constantly on my TikTok FYP, she's also an actress who played Buffy on Disney Channel's Andi Mack. At East High, she's known as Gina, a transfer student who will do anything to stay in the spotlight. She and Nini butted heads at the beginning of the series as they competed for the lead role of Gabriella.
Julia Lester as Ashlyn Caswell
We have another Bella and the Bulldogs alum in the mix — 21-year-old Julia Lester played Gracie on the Nickelodeon series alongside Matt Cornett. It's a happy coincidence because Julia plays E.J.'s cousin Ashlyn on HSMTMTS, who is an amazing songwriter. She played Mrs. Darbus in East High's production of High School Musical and even penned a power ballad for the role. At the end of season 1, she started a fling with Ricky's best friend, Big Red.
Larry Saperstein as Big Red
While you may have heard the nickname Big Red from Bring It On, 23-year-old Larry Saperstein plays a different Big Red on HSMTMTS. Big Red is Ricky's best friend and the occasional stage manager when Miss Jenn needs an extra hand.
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Frankie A. Rodriguez as Carlos Rodriguez
21-year-old Frankie Rodriguez plays Carlos, Miss Jenn's right hand and the East High drama club's premiere choreographer. He's dating Seb, who portrayed Sharpay in their production of High School Musical.
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Joe Serafini as Seb Matthew-Smith
Joe Serafini went from being a 23-year-old from Pennsylvania to playing Seb, a student at East High who broke gender norms by playing Sharpay Evans in their production. Seb is also dating choreographer Carlos, and it seems like Joe and Frankie might have a spark off-screen as well.
Andrew Barth Feldman as Antoine
19-year-old Andrew Barth Feldman is not only heading to Harvard this fall, but he plays Antoine, one of the new characters on HSMTMTS. Antoine is a French foreign exchange student at North High who has a major crush on East High's Ashlyn.
Olivia Rose Keegan as Lily
Another Olivia has joined the East High wildcats for season 2 of HSMTMTS — the 21-year-old plays Lily, a new student who's extremely competitive when it comes to the spotlight. She's just really good at hiding it under her sweetheart approach.
Asher Angel as Jack
You might recognize 18-year-old Asher from Andi Mack or DC's Shazam!, but he's another new face for season 2. He plays Jack, a charming student with big dreams.
Roman Wellington Banks as Howie
22-year-old Broadway star Roman Wellington Banks is joining the wildcats as Howie, a nerdy character who works at the local pizza joint, Salt Lake Slices. In December 2019, Roman made history as one of the first Black people to play the titular character in Dear Evan Hansen.
Kate Reinders as Miss Jenn
Kate Reinders is returning as the legendary Miss Jenn, who became the drama teacher at East High to put on a production of High School Musical at the school where the movies were filmed. In season 2, she finds out that her ex-boyfriend, Zack is the new drama teacher at North High and taking part in the Alan Menken Awards for High School Musical Theater by putting on a production of The Little Mermaid. In order to compete and try to take down North High, she decides to change East High's production to Beauty and the Beast. At the end, one student will get to win a scholarship at NYU, which will no doubt set up some brand new competition among the students.
Derek Hough as Zack Roy
You may know professional dancer Derek Hough from competing on Dancing With The Stars. He's taking his skills to HSMTMTS as Zack Roy, Miss Jenn's ex-boyfriend turned rival drama teacher at North High.
"His intentions are not always the purest, so it was kind of fun to step into that role where competition is #1 for him," Derek told HollywoodLife. "Even though there’s a lot of love and a lot of attraction for Miss Jenn still, he’s got an agenda. It was fun to play that."
Mark St. Cyr as Mr. Mazzara
Of course, Mark St. Cyr has returned as Mr. Mazzara, East High's STEM teacher who isn't a fan of musical theater (or the arts in general).
Season 2 of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is streaming now on Disney+.
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