Lucas Grabeel ‘cried’ when ‘High School Musical’ character came out
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Samantha Ibrahim
Actor Lucas Grabeel sobbed rainbow tears of joy when he discovered that his "High School Musical" character, Ryan Evans, would come out as gay in the Disney+ series based on the iconic franchise.
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New York Post
Actor Lucas Grabeel sobbed rainbow tears of joy when he discovered that his “High School Musical” character, Ryan Evans, would come out as gay in the Disney+ series based on the iconic franchise.

“High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” dropped its fourth and final season on Wednesday and there is a scene where some of the original Disney Channel stars are filming “High School Musical 4.”

The TV series’ showrunner, Tim Federle, told TV Line recently that he called Grabeel, 38, to tell him the news of Ryan’s sexual orientation.

“Lucas, like, cried on the phone and said, ‘This would mean so much to people who grew up with this movie,'” Federle recalled.

He went on and noted that the “Switched at Birth” star had told him: “It’s what they were always kind of missing from this character.”

The TV show’s scene featured Ryan kissing his partner, portrayed by Pentatonix member Scott Hoying.

“High School Musical” premiered on Disney Channel in 2006 and subsequently had two sequels released in the following years. The musical series was released on Disney+ in 2019 and concluded this summer.

The popular flick about a group of teenage pals who decide to take part in their school’s theater production shot many of its young stars into fame, including Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman and Grabeel.

The show’s fourth season premiere episode also showed where the original characters ended up after graduation.

The scene revealed that Efron and Hudgens’ Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez are in couple’s therapy while Ryan is happily dating his partner, with whom he is also expecting twins.

As for Bleu and Coleman, their characters, Chad Danforth and Taylor McKessie, have gotten married.

“High School Musical” director Kenny Ortega said in 2020 that though the trilogy stopped after high school, Evans would have come out as gay in college.

“It was less about coming out and just more about letting his true colors come forward,” he told Variety, adding he “didn’t think at the time” that Disney would allow gay characters on-screen.

That same year, Grabeel recalled first asking Ortega about Ryan’s sexuality.

“I came up to Kenny one day and was like, ‘Hey, so can we talk about the character for a second? Ryan’s gay, right?’” he told TMZ, also saying that the filmmaker “agreed” with the question.

The “Halloweentown High” star also said that if “HSM” was filmed today, he doesn’t think he would be suited to embodying Ryan.

“There are so many amazingly talented gay actors that could do it as well, so if ‘High School Musical’ was made today — I don’t know if I would play Ryan,” he said.

He continued: “I would love to, but the last thing I want to do is take an opportunity away from other people. As a straight white man, I know that even without trying, I have taken opportunities away from other people.”