Disney's Star Machine

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Situated about an hour's drive north of Birmingham along I-65, Hartselle, Ala., is a postcard of small-town America. With a population just under 13,000, the community of mostly young families dotes on kids, outlaws liquor sales and honors its railroad roots with the Depot Days Festival on the last Saturday of each September. And when the town, which would make a perfect set for a Disney production, wanted to balance sports with a taste of theater, it turned to the Disney Channel movie "High School Musical." "It was the perfect vehicle for us to draw our athletically centered community into the arts," says Amy Golden, mother of Madeline, 14, and Olivia, 12, and codirector of the newly minted Camp Hartselle. During the four-day summer camp, held last month, 76 Hartselle kids rehearsed songs from the show and developed original skits inspired by the tale of the jock guy and the smart girl who defy stereotypes to audition for lead roles in the annual musical. A standing-room-only throng of 300 turned out for the big performance, held on the final day of camp. "The kids realized 'High School Musical' was about being open to new things. It was a very powerful message wrapped in bubblegum paper," says Lisa King, Camp Hartselle's other codirector and mother of two "HSM"-hooked tykes.

Six months after its premiere, "High School Musical" rolls on, a singing and dancing juggernaut. Almost 37 million viewers have watched the $4.2 million production at least once since its first airing, and the musical--a pop confection that makes "Grease" look like "Rebel Without a Cause"--surged back into the spotlight this month, grabbing six Emmy nominations. The soundtrack, a top-10 hit since its January release, is the year's biggest-selling CD, at 2.7 million copies. After five weeks, the DVD has sold an eye-popping 2.1 million copies.

And even as American parents and media execs scratch their heads over the rabid response to the raunch-free teenfest, "HSM" is spreading across the globe. Disney is exporting it to 100 nations. It premiered in the Asia-Pacific region last month, snaring record ratings in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. The Edinburgh International Television Festival will show it in the city's Conference Square in August. It returns to American television this week, and the sequel is heading into production this fall. "HSM" 's hegemonic grip on high-school theater productions is assured for the next school year: when Disney posted word of the coming theatrical licenses, the Web site was flooded with 15,000 inquiries on the first day. A Broadway play is probable. Meanwhile, there are now two DVDs to watch over and over, two CDs to listen to repeatedly, ringtones to download, novels to read and stationery that's ideal for breathless fan mail to "HSM" cast members. Can you spell F-R-A-N-C-H-I-S-E? Analyst William Drewry of Credit Suisse estimates the fledging business already totals $100 million in CD and DVD sales. "It's unclear how big it can get," he says. "It deserves franchise status."

As only Disney can render it, "HSM" 's uncomplicated story has an uplifting moral--it's OK to be different, as the hit single "Breaking Free" assures. At East High, basketball captain Troy and brainy Gabriella discover a secret passion for music and audition for the school show. Their willingness to break the mold frustrates the reigning drama queen and king, Sharpay and her brother, Ryan, and turns the cliquish culture of high school topsy-turvy.

Behind the scenes, there's also the story of a mold-shattering corporate strategy. "HSM" is the latest and so far greatest product of Disney's star machine, which is actually a nifty reinvention of the Hollywood studio system of the 1940s, when powerful bosses locked up talent for years with onerous contracts and supervised every detail of their actors' lives. Disney mints child stars, carefully identifying and developing talented but largely unknown actors. Fresh-faced, with kid-next-door appeal, they are the anti Paris Hiltons. And because of Disney's meticulous attention to casting, its current stars are unlikely to morph into Britney "Oops I did it again" Spears, a onetime Mouseketeer. "They don't have to watch over me," says Ashley Tisdale, who plays Sharpay. "Disney knows who I am." She adds: "I'm not into the club scene. You won't see me go over the edgy edge. I will always be wholesome."