Feel old yet? High School Musical turns 20 this year.

Two decades after Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay and the rest of East High first told us we were all in this together, Disney’s ridiculously catchy musical is heading back to the London stage.

The new production lands at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre from October 12, 2026 to January 3, 2027, after opening at Lowry in Salford this summer.

Here are five reasons it has caught our attention.

1. It’s a brand-new UK production

This isn’t simply an old production being dusted off for an anniversary tour.

It is being billed as the first UK non-replica production of Disney’s High School Musical, giving directors Joseph Houston and William Whelton the chance to put their own stamp on East High.

The show opens at Lowry in Salford on August 22 before transferring to Wembley in October.

For a musical that plenty of people know almost word for word, seeing what they do differently could be half the fun.

2. Harry Judd is playing Troy’s dad

In casting that feels extremely 2006, McFly drummer Harry Judd will play Coach Bolton during the London run.

Jason Donovan takes the role when the show opens in Salford before Judd takes over at Wembley.

Coach Bolton is, of course, Troy’s father and the man who would really rather his star basketball player concentrated on basketball instead of bursting into song.

A member of McFly turning up in High School Musical 20 years later feels strangely perfect.

3. There’s an actual High School Musical original in the cast

This is perhaps the nicest bit of casting.

KayCee Stroh, who played Martha Cox in the original Disney films, is heading back to East High – only this time she’ll be playing drama teacher Ms Darbus.

The new Wildcats include Tobias Turley as Troy Bolton, Leonor Correia as Gabriella Montez, Caitlin Tipping as Sharpay Evans and Luke Bayer as Ryan Evans.

There is some serious West End experience elsewhere in the company too, with credits including Hamilton, Six, Frozen, The Book of Mormon, Back to the Future and MJ The Musical.

4. The big songs are all there

Let’s be realistic: nobody is booking High School Musical hoping for a radical evening of experimental theatre.

You want the songs.

And the important ones are here.

Breaking Free. Get’cha Head in the Game. Stick to the Status Quo. We’re All In This Together.

For anyone who was a child or teenager in 2006, that is basically the soundtrack to an entire era.

Parents taking their children may also discover the slightly uncomfortable experience of realising that they now identify rather more closely with Coach Bolton than Troy.

5. The London run takes you right through Christmas

The show arrives at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre on October 12 and stays until January 3, 2027.

That gives it a sizeable London run covering October half-term, the Christmas build-up and the school holidays.

Before London, it plays Lowry in Salford from August 22 to September 19, 2026.

For dates, tickets and booking information, visit the official High School Musical on Stage website.

Twenty years after the film became a Disney Channel phenomenon, High School Musical clearly still has plenty of life left in it.

A new production, Harry Judd as Coach Bolton, an original cast member returning and a theatre full of people desperately trying not to sing along to Breaking Free?

We suspect resistance may be futile.