Back 2 School

Image credit: Adam Larkey

Well, not entirely. Efron isn't the only one to experience a post-High School career high. Hudgens and Tisdale have cut albums, Grabeel made an indie movie titled Alice Upside Down opposite Luke Perry, Coleman kicked up her heels on season 3 of Dancing With the Stars, and Bleu starred in another enormously popular Disney Channel movie, Jump In!. Their success is probably why negotiations for the big-screen version are still ongoing (as of press time, none of the actors have inked deals). But cast members insist that newfound stardom hasn't gone to their heads — yet. ''The only difference is that we've grown up,'' says Bleu. Echoes the 22-year-old Tisdale, ''I never got to that point where I was, like, so cocky. I'm totally grounded!''

Then what about that time on the set of HSM 2 when the kids channeled their inner Sharpay to get a pepperoni pizza? ''We were in the middle of nowhere, so nobody really delivered,'' Tisdale recalls of the St. George set. ''When we called a place that we love, they were like, 'Wait, are you the guys from the High School Musical cast? We can deliver to you!' That was the only time we ever used our power.''

What fans really want to know, however, is whether HSM 2 will deliver that long-awaited onscreen kiss between Efron and reported girlfriend Hudgens. (The two shot a smooch for the original, but it was left on the cutting-room floor.) Not surprisingly, Efron is certainly up to the task. ''I would love to see it!'' he says convincingly. ''I think we're ready.''

Ortega is not so sure. Speaking as only a seasoned musical-theater man could, the director insists that intimacy should come from lip-synching as opposed to lip-locking. ''In really good music, you reach places that are, I think, deeper and more meaningful than a kiss. There's a depth to their relationship and the chemistry and the feelings they have for each other. We're breaking free. We're all in this together.'' With 170 million of their closest friends, of course.