


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 such as Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman and Grabeel.
The show’s fourth season premiere episode also revealed where the original characters ended up after graduation.
The scene unveiled that Efron and Hudgens’ Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez are in couple’s therapy while Ryan is happily dating his partner and they are also expecting twins.
As for Bleu and Coleman, their characters Chad Danforth and Taylor McKessie are married.
“High School Musical” director Kenny Ortega divulged in 2020 that because the trilogy stopped after high school graduation, Evans would have come out as part of the LGBTQ community in college.
“It was less about coming out and just more about letting his true colors come forward,” he told Variety, adding that he “didn’t think at the time” that Disney would allow gay characters on screen as the network was tailored for kids and families.
That same year, Grabeel looked back on the time he first inquired Ortega about Ryan’s sexual orientation.
“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 discussed that if “HSM” was filmed today, he doesn’t think he would be suited to embody 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.”