'High School Musical': Ashley Tisdale defends Sharpay as the real protagonist instead of the villain

Why is it that we remember Ashley Tisdale as the villain of High School Musical? It's true that in the three instalments of the saga her character tried to manipulate performances and auditions to fulfil her life's goal: take the world of the arts by storm with a place at a competitive university. Curiously, this is the same aim of Lea Michele's character in 'Glee'. Her Rachel Berry was equally theatrical but, rather than be the antagonist, she was the protagonist. Now, more than 10 years after Sharpay achieved her place in the University of Alberquerque in 'High School Musical 3', it is time to redefine her as the most hard-working and visionary character, unjustly painted as a villain.

To defend this claim, one Twitter user has created a PowerPoint presentation for their English class in which she states "How Sharpay Evans was Bopped from the Top", with the title referencing her legendary song in 'High School Musical'. According to this Twitter user, this first instalment in the trilogy showcases the professionalism of the Evans siblings as they "rehearsed on their own time, created a dance routine, mastered their harmonies, and recorded their own version of the song with their accompanist". The whole saga would have been very different if, instead of giving the leading roles to the (late to show up) Troy and Gabriella, someone had taken into account that "Ryan and Sharpay clearly deserved a callback for the leading roles because they were professional and well prepared".

As well as the possibility that Ashley Tisdale is the deserving protagonist of the saga, we should also question whether Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) are the true villains according to this presentation, as Mrs Darbus is merely "a clout chaser" that "casts popularity over talent". All of this research was clearly appreciated by Ashley Tisdale, who took to her own personal twitter account to share the presentation. Do you agree with her assessment of musical villainy?

Were all of Sharpay's ruses justified?

We might all still just see Sharpay as the eccentric villain with whom we grew up. However, looking at her character arc with hindsight and this PowerPoint, another theatre student has defended Sharpay as the best reflection of "love and passion for musicals". Once more, Tisdale supported this interpretation of Sharpay, citing her constant dedication and professionalism in pursuing her dream whilst Troy and Gabrielle pursued an idealised romance that, yes, hooked an entire generation, but also undermined the most hard-working character of the series. Who knows if, seeing her devotion to the character of Sharpay even years later, we'll see Ashley Tisdale take to the stage again in 'High School: The Musical: The Series'.

Hot Take since "Sharpay" is trending:
Sharpay was not my favorite character growing up. But since I became a drama student in high school and now work part-time as a theater tech...yea, Sharpay had nothing but love and passion for the musical, and I respect her for it. pic.twitter.com/Eqx95OoOSR

? S.R. Hunt (@JudgeChaos) September 16, 2019