High School Musical came out of nowhere in 2006 to become a smash hit. Now it's everywhere: on TV and stage, in music stores and, come October, hitting the big screen when High School Musical 3 debuts in movie theaters. At its core, though, are the devoted fans. Today we meet some young performers who not only identify with the characters, they're playing them onstage.

CUTEST COUPLE!

Joelle Montoya

17, senior, Mullen High School

Character: Gabriella Montez, the smart girl who dares to go for theater - and Troy. (Montoya will be in the Wolf Theatre Academy production, but hasn't been cast yet)

How are you like/not like your character? "I am quite a bit like Gabriella. I'm usually reserved. She wants to see what's inside, past the cliques. I like to see past the cover. But I'm not afraid to go out and do what I want."

How many times have you seen HSM? "Oh, jeez. Well, it's everywhere. It's so huge. I would say whenever it's on. It's the catchy songs. You always get them stuck in your head, no matter what."

James Miller

18, freshman, Metropolitan State College of Denver

Character: Troy Bolton, the athlete-turned-actor and Gabriella's love interest. (Miller played Troy last summer at Rising Curtain with Melissa Deni as Gabriella; this summer he'll be doing a role at the Wolf Theatre Academy)

Like/unlike: "Troy is just the confident jock who pretty much has it all and discovers musical theater. I used to be into sports a lot but then I took an acting class in ninth grade at the Arvada Center and I haven't been back (to sports) since. I don't think I'm really 'the man on campus' or anything like that."

Times seen HSM: Three

MOST MUSICAL

Gavrielle Santorena

The stats: 12, seventh grade, Denver School of the Arts

Character: Kelsi Nielsen, the meek piano player, at the Arvada Center now

Like/unlike character: "Kelsi's really shy and she's really intimidated by a lot of things. She writes plays and she loves music but she's afraid to step out in front of other people. I love music, and I love the piano, even though I can't play it. I'm not really shy much. I'm really loud and outspoken."

Times seen HSM: "A lot. More than 20, probably. I like that it's about music and related to music and I think you can relate to them because they're dealing with stuff real people do."

BEST SPORT

Brian Guiducci

Stats: 16, junior, Ralston Valley High School

Character: Chad, Troy's best friend, the jock, at the Arvada Center now

Like/unlike character: "I like basketball, and I play a lot. Chad is a person I can relate to. I'm pretty smart, while in the musical, he's not that smart."

Times seen HSM: "Too many to count, really. I loved it from the first time I saw it. It's really fun music and dancing."

BIGGEST BRAIN

Cassandra Cahill

Stats: 16, junior, St. Mary's Academy

Character: Taylor McKessie, the scheming brain who wants Gabriella on her science decathlon team, at the Arvada Center now

Like/unlike: "I've always been the smart kid, and I'm pretty good at computers, which is a big part of Taylor's role because she uses her computer to hack the school's electrical grid. I'd like to think that I'm not quite as self-centered and think more about my friends and their feelings. And I am not quite that dedicated to school."

Times seen HSM: "I own it. I've probably watched it maybe six times and I listen to the music all the time. I think it really portrays a lot of how cliques work and the pressure. Younger kids, it gives them something to look forward to."

MOST DRAMATIC

Melissa Deni

18, freshman at UCLA

Character: Sharpay Evans (Deni played Gabriella at Rising Curtain; this summer she'll be in the show at Wolf, which hasn't been cast yet).

Like/unlike: "Sharpay is so confident that it sort of comes off as cocky, but she's so into acting and performing so much, and she just is so over the top. I think I'm like Sharpay in that I love acting so much and just performing, although I'm not as crazy as she is about it. I'm definitely a lot nicer than she is; I'm not as conniving as Sharpay."

Times seen HSM: "I've seen it like five times all the way through, but then I've watched my favorite parts a billion times. My friends, they don't even do musical theater, and we'd go over to each other's houses and we'd just watch it and sing along to it."

Michael Deni

13, eighth grade, West Middle School

Character: Ryan Evans (Deni doesn't know yet what role he'll have at Wolf)

Like/unlike: "Ryan is really outgoing and energized all the time, and I think I'm really energized and out there. I always want to try to be like the star of everything, but usually I'm just like the second kind of person. Ryan, he is really spiffy and tidy and stuff like that, and I'm not that tidy. A lot of people think that my sister is always in front and I'm always the second person behind her like, 'Yay!' But I don't think that. I think I'm probably in the front."

Times seen HSM: "I have seen it twice all the way through."