by Martha Rhodes

Created on: May 30, 2008   Last Updated: February 28, 2012

Designing a bedroom around the popular Disney production, High School Musical can be a wonderful exercise in communication and growth for both you and your child. It's important to know a little bit about the musical before you start, so sit down and enjoy the show with your fan. Here's a brief preview:

Troy Bolton (Zac Efron), captain of the East High Wildcat's basketball team, and Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens), a beautiful and shy transfer student who excels in math and science meet at a New Year's party at a ski lodge over Christmas break where they sing together in a karaoke contest. Later the couple try out for lead parts in a musical produced by their high school, East High in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This action puts them in the middle of a rivalry between high school cliques. The story is described by some audience members and various reviews as a modern adaptation of the timeless story of "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespear. In this twist of the story, the characters of Gabriella and Troy inspire others to resist peer pressure by holding true to yourself. For additional information about the show, check out the Disney Channel website for High School Musical is at:

http://tv.disney.go.com/disneychannel/originalmovies /highschoolmusical/.

Discuss with your child their favorite part about High School Musical so that you can focus on the highlights for your decorating ideas. If you are painting, find out what color your child would like their room and then go to the paint store yourself to pick out several colors that you can live with, offering them their choice of those colors. Colors associated with East High School or the East High School Wildcats are: Red, White, Black and Gold. If you can't paint, you can still achieve great results by draping fabrics using a staple gun and carefully choosing or making fabulous wall decorations. Fabrics with musical themes such as musical notes or instruments can be found at any hobby store and can also be used for pillows and bed linens.

There are several balcony and several "on stage" scenes. You may wish to consider building a small raised stage in the bedroom which can be used by your child to perform karaoke. As in Romeo and Juliet, there are several balcony scenes in Disney's High School Musical, so consider placing a banister on one side of the stage for duplicating Troy and Gabriella's secret hideout at the greenhouse. You may want to check out prefabricated mobile home steps that have a small landing.

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