WARNING: The following contains spoilers for High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 2, Episode 2, “Typecasting,” streaming now on Disney+.
A few weeks after Nini’s announcement that she is not going to be at East High this semester, everyone is still reeling, but the show must go on. But as the cast members are getting ready for their Beauty and the Beast auditions, Nini is left wishing she was back at school with her friends.
Nini is in Denver at the Youth Actors’ Conservatory, and while it’s everything she ever dreamed of, it’s not what she expected. She and her roommate have to rehearse the same archaic and meaningless scene and perform it every day in class. And when they try and modernize the scene as a fun exercise, their professor isn’t pleased. As a result, Nini is put on vocal rest for the rest of the day, meaning she isn’t allowed to speak.
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Back at East High, as everyone is sitting around the lunch table, multiple revelations happen all at once. First, Carlos, Kourtney and Big Red announce they will be auditioning to be on stage this semester, instead of working behind the scenes, while E.J. says that he won’t be auditioning because, as a senior, he is too busy for that big of a time commitment. After that, Ricky says that he’s not even sure if he’s going to audition at all since Nini isn’t going to be there, just as Lily makes her first appearance in the show.
As Nini is on vocal rest, the teacher that recruited her to YAC school comes up and lets her speak long enough to see how she is doing. Nini tells her that she feels “a little bit like a square peg in a star-shaped hole,” and while the teacher seems to understand, she doesn’t approve of any individuality. When Nini suggests that she wants to start a songwriting club, the teacher tells her that the only song that she needs to focus on is their school anthem.
During the day, Nini calls Ricky and tries to convince him that he needs to do the show. With everything going on, she knows that Ricky needs a distraction and his new friends in the drama department are the best means of support for him. She also calls Kourtney, who is nervous about her first audition. Nini talks her best friend through her nerves and shows her the “Team Kortney” t-shirt she is wearing. Even though she is in a different state, it’s clear that Nini is doing her best to hold everything together for her friends.
It’s then time for the auditions, and as always, there is some drama and some impressive performances. Ricky comes in first, running late after having just decided to audition Next, Lily, the new girl, looks like she might steal the show, but Kourtney, Ashlyn and Gina perform a “1-2-3” as a trio and bring the house down. Finally, Big Red falls during a tap dance, but Ricky comes to his rescue.
After the dust settles, Miss Jenn posts the cast list, and to everyone’s surprise, Lily doesn’t get the lead. She’s so upset that, as the episode ends, she wants to transfer to the rival school, North High. Despite Lily’s anger though, the rest of the cast is excited, with Ashlyn being thrilled to be Belle. The rest of the case includes Kortney as Mrs. Potts, Gina as Fifi, the Feather Duster, Carlos as Lumiere, Seb as Chip, E.J. as Gaston and Big Red as LeFou. Pumped for the show and their new roles, the cast goes out for pizza and facetime Nini as a group. She is obviously happy for everyone but still wishes she could be there in person.
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series starts Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett, Kate Reinders, Matt Cornett, Sofia Wylie, Larry Saperstein, Julia Lester, Dara Reneé, Frankie A. Rodriguez, Mark St. Cyr, Joe Serafini, Derek Hough, Roman Banks, Olivia Rose Keegan, Andrew Barth Feldman and Asher Angel. New episodes premiere Fridays on Disney+.
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