Best TV High School Musical Performances - Collider

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In the wake of a recent episode of Euphoria entitled “The Theater and Its Double,” Lexie (Maude Apatow) writes a musical about all of her friends called "Our Life." The performance included a rousing rendition of the Bonnie Tyler classic, “Holding Out for a Hero.” In light of this production, we decided to take a look back at other TV shows set in junior high and high school where their musical theater performances fit into the series. Clearly, some series do it more regularly than others. Certain shows base their entire premise around the concept which sometimes works and sometimes does not. Regardless, it’s always fun to see the episodes that feature these yearly productions just like real high schools. Here are 9 of the best.

Assassins (The Politician)

Payton Hobart (Ben Platt) has always dreamed of being President. He is still only a high school student but has big dreams. He chooses Infinity Jackson (Zoey Deutch) to be his future VP. The two decide to audition for the school musical Assassins by Stephen Sondheim for the roles of John Hinckley, Jr. and Squeaky Fromme, respectively. As Payton digs into the lore of John Hinckley, Jr. and his shooting of Ronald Reagan, he begins to stress about his career path and even wonder if the same thing will happen to him. Payton and Infinity perform their duet “Unworthy of Your Love” from the musical in a beautiful, if not disturbing performance.

Disclosure The Musical (Big Mouth)

Missy (Jenny Slate) and Nick (Nick Kroll) are cast as the leads as Matthew (Andrew Rannells) and Jessi (Jessi Klein) are infuriated at the smaller roles they’ve received in Big Mouth’s Season 3 musical. Andrew (John Mulaney) is thrilled to be on stage crew and Lola (Kroll) is over the moon to be hired as stage manager even though she quickly finds out it isn’t all it's cracked up to be. Missy thrives with newfound self-confidence to the point of acquiring a brand-new hormone monster in Mona (Thandie Newton). Okay, so Big Mouth isn’t exactly high school, and "Disclosure" is the only fictional musical on the list, but it’s worth mentioning if you’re in need of some awkward laughs. Why would a 1994 erotic thriller need a musical version performed by 12-year-olds? When it comes to Big Mouth, it’s best to not question motives. Just sit back and enjoy the hilarious and absolutely insane ride.

Spring Awakening (90210/Rise)

In the first season of 90210, they liked to include members from the original show, Beverly Hills, 90210 from the 90s. When Spring Awakening is announced as the early musical, the opportunity inspires Kelly (Jennie Garth) to invite another West Bev alum, Brenda (Shannen Doherty), back to direct. The musical production stars Adrianna (Jessica Lowndes) as Wendla. However, when Adrianna shows up too stoned to perform, it’s her understudy, Annie (Shenae Grimes), who steps in and brings down the house. Annie has her moment to shine, but as with everything, it’s temporary, as Adrianna plots her revenge.

Spring Awakening was also the musical that the entire 2018 series Rise was built around. This TV show starred Josh Radnor as Mr. Mazzu who is the new head of the drama club much to the chagrin of Tracey Wolfe (Rosie Perez) who was convinced the job was hers. With the controversial subject matter, the cast and crew go through a lot of difficulties to put the show on the stage. They do put the uncensored version on stage, but it results in the drama club being cut. Unfortunately, we’ll never know what happens next because the show was canceled after just ten episodes.

Next to Normal (Riverdale)

The first of many Riverdale entries on this list starts with their most recent and poignant musical episode. After the death of her sister, Polly (Tiera Skovbye), Betty (Lili Reinhart) admits to her friends that her mom (Mädchen Amick) has been listening to the Original Broadway Cast Recording of the musical Next to Normal which the three of them had gone to New York to see together. It’s a musical about a not-so-perfect family dealing with trauma. The cast performs numbers from the show throughout the episode as they all move through their own emotions. While there is no actual performance of the musical, the songs narratively express what everybody is going through and how they will begin to try and heal.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Riverdale)

In this outing, Riverdale is doing a variety show, and Kevin (Casey Cott) wants to perform a song from the classic musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Principal Honey (Kerr Smith) deems the theme of the song inappropriate and refuses to let Kevin perform it. Kevin not only disregards Honey’s warning, but he also gives a live performance of “Tear Me Down” during school in full Hedwig drag. Cheryl (Madeline Petsch) and the LGBTQIA sit down with Honey to explain to him the significance of the musical and why everyone will be performing songs from Hedwig to show their support. Honey threatens anyone who performs a song from Hedwig will be barred from Senior Prom. After a protest, Honey cancels the variety show. Veronica (Camila Mendes) decides to host it at La Bonne Nuit instead. The newly formed band, The Archies with Betty, Veronica, Archie (KJ Apa), and Jughead (Cole Sprouse), gives a moving performance of the Hedwig finale “Midnight Radio” even though there is definitely trouble brewing amongst the band members.

Beauty and the Beast (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series)

Season 2 of this show seemed primed for a performance of High School Musical 2, and we were all excited to hear Ricky (Joshua Bassett) classic song, “Bet On It.” Instead, Miss Jenn (Kate Reinders) chose Beauty and the Beast. Nini (Olivia Rodrigo) has transferred to another school, so it is Ashlyn (Julia Lester) who takes the role of Belle up against Ricky’s Beast. When their rival high school also decides to perform the same show as a top competitor for The Alan Menken Award, the school’s competitive nature starts to impede the show’s progress. Thankfully, by the time of opening night, they realize that the comradery they have found together in pulling off a great production is way more important than any award.

Heathers (Riverdale)

Riverdale is back with another worthy entry on this list with their production of Heathers the Musical. There is no better casting than Veronica, Betty, Cheryl as the titular Heathers. One of the best things Riverdale does is that it always chooses musicals that fit in with the current plot of the show. In this instance, the tension between many of the relationships is echoed in the production of Heathers. The overarching theme of this season is the rise of “The Farm” cult, and it makes an appearance here as well. In yet another underrated musical, Heathers is based on the 1989 film and is a perfect choice for Riverdale as it is teen angst at its peak. The show has the advantage of having a cast of inexplicably good singers, but it’s glorious that they keep up this yearly musical tradition.

High School Musical (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series)

In the meta-universe, the series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series performed, the musical, High School Musical. In the show, their high school was the filming location for the film. So why has the school never done a production of it? This is what Miss Jenn wonders, and she decides to make it happen. Ricky is cast as Troy Bolton and his ex-girlfriend Nini is cast as Gabriella. There are some ups and downs as we watch this mockumentary-style TV show, but the show is a huge success for everyone and everything wraps up in a nice little bow, as it usually does with Disney.

Carrie (Riverdale)

The Carrie musical based on the 1974 horror novel by Stephen King is a perfect choice for Riverdale High School which is why it grabs the #1 spot on this list. It helps that the plot of the movie is eerily similar to the goings-on at Riverdale High as it seems someone is out to kill people in the cast. This is the continuing saga of the Black Hood in Season 2. Tensions off-stage match the narrative of Carrie as it seems everyone is at odds during rehearsals. Cheryl is cast as Carrie, but the role is recast with Midge (Emilija Baranac) taking over the lead which leads to a "killer ending." This is Riverdale’s first of their yearly musical episodes.