We're all in this together!
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is sticking to the status quo.
Disney+'s meta take on the popular High School Musical movie franchise is looking to the past and bringing back original star KayCee Stroh, best known for playing "pop, lock, jam and break" expert Martha Cox, for a special cameo in Friday's episode, titled "What Team?," and only ET has the exclusive first look.
Stroh will appear as a fictionalized version of herself in a pivotal scene in the upcoming installment of HSM: TM: TS. Stroh's special cameo comes at the tail end of a performance of the new original song, "Truth, Justice and Songs in Our Key," performed by members of the cast -- including Joshua Bassett (Ricky), Sofia Wylie (Gina), Frankie Rodriguez (Carlos), Joe Serafini (Seb) and Dara Reneé (Kourtney) -- in the iconic cafeteria of East High. Get your first taste of the upbeat tune in ET's exclusive clip above.
In the episode, Miss Jenn (Kate Reinders) is placed on temporary leave and rehearsals are put on hold, prompting the students to rally together to defend their drama teacher. When the opportunity arose for Stroh, who appeared in all three High School Musical films, to drop back into the universe, it was an immediate "yes."
"I was approached in early April to make a special cameo appearance on the new series. It’s a delicate thing revisiting something that fans consider 'a classic' and 'untouchable,' but after reading through the script, I knew that this was finally the right concept that the die-hard Wildcat fans might be more open to," Stroh exclusively wrote in an email to ET. "I had chills and wrote my manager immediately."
For the singer-actress, now 35, it was déjà vu all over again stepping back onto the Salt Lake City, Utah, set of East High -- especially the cafeteria.
"When I walked back into East High, I was overcome with emotions. So many of my formative years were spent working there in those halls, my big break came over there on that cafeteria table, lots of blood sweat and tears (literally) on that stage!" Stroh recalled. "I actually had to pause and take a moment to collect myself."
Stroh had nothing but praise for the new generation of HSM: TM: TS stars, assuring fans of the franchise that the High School Musical legacy is in very good hands.
"[Creator] Tim Federle, [the] writer [and] producer, and the new cast bring a whole new love and light to the series but the overall message remains the same. Although we are all so different, we can still love and appreciate each other. 'We’re all in this together,' right?!" Stroh said. "I believe that message is timeless. I am happy to pass the baton on to these new characters, and I have complete trust that they will continue to teach a new generation how wonderful and important that message truly is!"
To see original High School Musical star Corbin Bleu interview the new cast for ET, watch the video below.
New episodes of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series drop every Friday on Disney+.
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