We are not ready to say goodbye to our High School Musical, luckily, we still have one more season! Editor Caitlynn McDaniel sat down with the talented Frankie Rodriguez, Julia Lester, and Dara Renee to discuss all things Wildcats and their characters' growth and self-discoveries. Frankie shares his excitement about bringing LGBTQ representation to the franchise, while Julia reveals the deep development of her character Ashlyn. And don't miss the fashionable vibes between Dara and Frankie's characters! Want to know what their senior quotes would be? Check out the full interview to find out! And make sure to watch the first episode and find out why Caitlynn says she was already screaming in the first 10 minutes! Catch the full interview here and see season four of HSMTMTS on Disney+ on Aug. 9
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PeopleTranscript
00:00 You all look fabulous.
00:01 Oh my gosh, I'm obsessed.
00:02 And my first question is a little hard.
00:06 There's only one right answer.
00:08 Gotta get down to business.
00:09 So the question is, what team?
00:13 I knew you guys had it.
00:18 I knew, I trust you.
00:20 Getting down to real business,
00:24 Frankie, I wanted to know if I could go over to you.
00:26 I mean, this season is so exciting.
00:28 We have so many cast members
00:30 from the OG High School Musical franchise coming.
00:33 And that means we're bringing this real LGBTQ representation
00:36 and making it canon in the franchise.
00:39 So what does that mean to you?
00:41 I mean, it means so much.
00:42 I grew up obsessed with High School Musical.
00:45 And so to be able now a part of the franchise,
00:49 but in my own personal way
00:51 and to get to share that story with,
00:53 especially the fans that have followed
00:54 the franchise since forever.
00:56 So it's really special.
00:58 It's meant a lot.
00:59 I mean, and I have to say, I watched the first episode.
01:01 I don't want to give spoilers,
01:02 but the first 10 minutes I was already screaming.
01:04 Like, I love it so much.
01:07 I'm so excited for everyone to see.
01:10 Going over to you, Julia, I love your character, Ashlyn.
01:14 And she obviously has so much growth going on.
01:16 She's been going through so many new discoveries
01:18 about herself.
01:19 So what can you tell us about what she is going through
01:22 in season four, what we're going to see from her?
01:24 Yeah, I mean, the growth and the discoveries
01:27 that she had in season three were,
01:29 happened in such a short amount of time in her life.
01:32 I mean, it's really silly when we look back
01:34 at the camp season and we remember that
01:36 camp was technically only two weeks long
01:38 because so much happened in those two weeks.
01:41 Right.
01:41 So, yeah, so she gets to take all of these self discoveries
01:45 and bring them into a full new semester of school
01:48 and bring them back to East High with her.
01:50 And it's really cool to see how those dynamics play
01:53 in our school universe and in the theater universe.
01:56 And, you know, high schoolers discover new things
02:00 about themselves every single day.
02:01 And so there's still lots more for her to find out
02:04 about herself as the season goes on.
02:06 Absolutely.
02:07 I agree though with the timeline.
02:09 Like I feel like they all live so many lives
02:11 through this whole series.
02:12 So much happened.
02:13 Yeah.
02:14 It's crazy.
02:15 And Dara, going over to you,
02:17 I noticed that there's a little bit with your character
02:19 and Frankie's character,
02:20 there's this like Sharpay Ryan vibe going on.
02:24 You see that in the teaser a little bit.
02:26 Can you tell us anything about that
02:28 and the inspiration for that?
02:30 Well, first of all,
02:31 Courtney and Carlos are the fashionistas of East High.
02:35 So it's only a matter of time before we serve, period.
02:38 (laughing)
02:40 It's our senior year, so we had to bring it.
02:43 So I'm gonna just say,
02:45 Carlos is the best partner in crime to have.
02:47 And I couldn't have asked for a better person.
02:51 And you're just gonna have to see who we play in the show.
02:54 Absolutely.
02:55 I wonder.
02:56 I wonder.
02:57 (laughing)
02:58 I mean, I'll just say in the teaser,
03:00 you look very good in pink.
03:01 I'll admit that.
03:02 Hey!
03:03 (laughing)
03:05 And it is senior year for some of our Wildcats.
03:10 So could you each go through and tell me
03:12 what you think your character's senior quote would be?
03:15 Whoa.
03:16 I know, tough.
03:19 Not to be cheesy,
03:20 but I do think Carlos would pick a quote
03:22 from High School Musical 3.
03:23 And it's the, "I want the rest of my life
03:25 "to feel just like a high school musical."
03:27 Oh, that's you.
03:29 That's sweet.
03:30 That'll take it.
03:31 I like that.
03:32 I'm thinking.
03:34 Are you thinking, Jennifer?
03:35 I don't know.
03:36 Ashlyn would either,
03:37 there are a few people Ashlyn would quote.
03:39 She would either quote Miss Jen,
03:41 'cause she's obsessed with Miss Jen.
03:44 She would maybe put some sort of
03:46 Belle, Beauty and the Beast quote in there.
03:49 Or she would quote Gloria Steinem,
03:51 something like that.
03:53 I love that.
03:54 I feel like Courtney would probably say something
03:58 in the words of like fashion,
03:59 like, you know, something like,
04:00 you know, you only live once,
04:02 so you might as well go out in style.
04:03 Cute.
04:04 You know, something cute.
04:05 Or live each night as if it were your opening night,
04:08 'cause you only get one.
04:09 Oh, I like that.
04:10 That's nice.
04:11 That was actually my real college,
04:12 well, my real high school quote.
04:13 Oh, that's a good one.
04:15 That's so cute.
04:16 It's not really funny, but you know.
04:17 No, we love it.
04:18 Thank you.
04:19 All senior quotes are corny, let's be real.
04:21 It has to be.
04:23 That's the point.
04:23 Congratulations on all your excess.
04:25 Julie, I have to say congratulations
04:27 on your Tony nomination.
04:28 I'm so proud of everything you're all doing.
04:31 And thank you for chatting with me today.
04:33 Thank you.
04:34 So much, I love to see you.