PITTSBURGH — Fans of "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" on Disney+ can thank the Pittsburgh CLO Mini Stars for introducing the show's creator to one of its stars.
Tim Federle, 41, is an Upper St. Clair High School graduate who came up with the Mini Stars before becoming a successful author, Broadway talent and, most recently, the creator of Disney's meta television take on the 2006 Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens star vehicle. The show takes place at a fictional version of the actual high school in Salt Lake City, where the original "High School Musical" was filmed and follows the personal and theatrical exploits of its drama club.
Joe Serafini, 23, grew up in Bethel Park and, as a Mini Star, remembered seeing a photo of Federle from his Mini Star days in the Pittsburgh CLO's lobby. The two met when Federle came home to accept his distinguished alumni award at the Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater and stayed in touch over the years.
When Federle was looking to cast his "High School Musical" series, Serafini auditioned for the role of E.J. Caswell, which eventually went to Matt Cornett. Federle wound up creating the role of Seb Matthew-Smith specifically for Serafini, who had a small role in the show's first season and an expanded part in season two, which wraps up Friday.
"I was just struck by how talented he was and he has such an openness and innocence to him, even as a young adult," Federle told the Post-Gazette.
Serafini said that Federle "changed my life completely" and "it's very nice to have that hometown pride we share."
'Many mentors'
Federle may have been born in Foster, California, and relocated to New York City to work on Broadway shows like "The Little Mermaid" and "Gypsy," but he is a Pittsburgher first and foremost. He still holds a fondness for Steel City mentors like theater instructor Judy Gelman, dance teacher Ron Tassone and Pittsburgh Musical Theater founder Ken Gargaro. One of his first directors when he was 12 was Oscar-nominated "Chicago" director and Pittsburgh native Rob Marshall.
Pittsburgh played such a big part in his development as an artist that he even named the "High School Musical" character of Gina Porter, played by Sofia Wylie, after "local hero" Billy Porter. As someone who never went to college and describes himself as being "perpetually stuck and happily so" reflecting on his high school years, Pittsburgh prepared Federle perfectly for this project.
"I was surrounded by three rivers and many mentors," he said. "That was kind of my life growing up in Pittsburgh, formative years surrounded by right-minded theater kids. We had relationships and breakups and jealousies, but mostly we had a safe place to go after school and rehearse."
Serafini grew up watching his three older siblings go to CLO summer camps and decided to pursue performing as well. He quickly became Pittsburgh's go-to child actor in its big productions, portraying characters like Tiny Tim in "A Christmas Carol when he was just 7 years old. Serafini was in town last week doing a rousing rendition of "We're All in This Together" from the original "High School Musical" for the CLO's 75th anniversary Broadway Musical Celebration at Heinz Field.
He's keenly aware of his newfound fame playing Seb in "High School Musical," particularly the investment fans have in his relationship with fellow drama club member, Carlos (Frankie A. Rodriguez). It's still something he's getting used to, especially from a Pittsburgh crowd gathered at the Steelers' stadium.
"It's absolutely surreal," he said. "So weird and so funny. Especially I feel like being home and witnessing all that, when I'm home I feel the most-least famous. So then to see how the impact carries even when I come back home and do a little concert here, that's really cool and very encouraging. I'm very touched by it, for sure."
'Can't autotune talent'
While Season 1 of "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" was defined by helping to launch Disney+ as a new streaming service, the second season was all about showcasing the characters and, most importantly, keeping everyone safe on set. The COVID-19 pandemic can be felt throughout Season 2 everywhere from the relatively fewer number of people in most scenes to an episode that largely takes place via video chats.
Federle said he "felt a huge responsibility to literally keep people alive" on his set, but the constraints of the pandemic did force him to "focus on individual characters" rather than huge musical numbers.
"You know what's actually enough? It's Joe at the piano singing 'The Climb,'" he said, referring to the Season 2 spectacle of Seb serenading Carlos with an emotional cover of the Miley Cyrus song. "It was a powerful reminder that you can have all the bells and whistles in the world, but you can't autotune talent."
For Serafini, that big spotlight on Seb was "a dream come true" and an extension of how the show — specifically, he and Rodriguez — are normalizing the representation of same-sex relationships on television. The fact they're gay is almost never brought up; they're just a young couple in love going through high school like everyone else.
"Everyone around them fully supports it and they don't really face any type of pushback," Serafini said. "It's something we all hope for whenever we're feeling those feelings of, 'I think I have feelings for boys and not everyone might be cool with that.' To see how in this club it's not even a thing, how cool is that and hopeful for someone who's watching at home who realized their feelings are valid?"
High school forever
The other big change this season was star Olivia Rodrigo, who plays Nina Salazar-Roberts, ascending to the ranks of mega pop-stardom after her debut album, "Sour," dropped midway through Season 2. Federle feels a sense of "paternal pride" in Rodrigo's success, and Serafini is "thrilled and honestly inspired" by her hard work paying off.
"When she does well, that makes all of us do well, too," he said.
Though "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" hasn't been formally renewed for a third season yet, chances are good the show will be back given its popularity and ravenous fan base. The first season focused on the students putting on a production of "High School Musical" and the second had them going full Alan Menken with "Beauty in the Beast." Serafini would love a potential Season 3 to go with "Into the Woods," "Mary Poppins" or "The Little Mermaid."
More importantly, he wants a full duet for "Seblos" — fans' name for the couple Seb and Carlos — and a little more time spent with Seb independently of his significant other.
"There's so many ways it could go," Serafini said. "I guess I just hope we get to see more of what's going on with Seb himself, maybe not in relation to Carlos. I love Seblos, but I like to see a little more of the inner life of everyone on their own."
In addition to his "High School Musical" responsibilities, Federle was also writer and director for "Better Nate Than Ever," a cinematic adaptation for Disney+ of his own 2013 novel about a theater kid from western Pennsylvania who runs away to audition for a Broadway show. He said production on the film just wrapped and that it was "just an incredible experience to pay tribute to the two cities that made me who I am, Pittsburgh and New York."
He said it's been "a tremendous honor" to have been handed the keys to both the "High School Musical" franchise and other classic Disney musicals. It brings him back to his childhood watching "Aladdin" with his dad at a mall movie theater in Pittsburgh.
"I think that grown-ups are just high schoolers in either slightly more boring or slightly better clothes," he said. "I'm really proud to come from Pittsburgh and my values as a person come from [there]. I'm really proud of those formative years that I clearly haven't escaped because I'm still writing about that time in life."
