Having already spawned a successful TV movie and one of the year's top-selling albums, the live production of Disney's "High School Musical [ tickets ]"--a showcase for music from the film and its stars' solo albums--faced a high bar.

But "High School Musical: The Tour," which hit the Phoenix area's Jobing.com Arena Sunday (12/3), works well. The wholesome, 90-minute show features the movie's cast--Corbin Bleu (who plays Chad Danforth), Monique Coleman (Taylor McKessie), Vanessa Anne Hudgens (Gabriella Montez), Ashley Tisdale (Sharpay Evans), and Lukas Grabeel (Ryan Evans). Zac Efron ("Summerland"), who played Troy Bolton, is in Toronto filming "Hairspray" with John Travolta and was convincingly replaced by Drew Seeley.

In this contemporary musical comedy, Troy, a high school hoops star, and Gabriella (Hudgens), a shy, academically gifted newcomer discover that they share a secret passion for singing. Mayhem ensues when Troy signs up for the musical, threatening his basketball team's success.

On the Jobing.com stage, the cast performed the song-and-dance numbers from the movie, ranging from "Start of Something New" to "I Can't Take My Eyes Off of You." Interspersed within those numbers were showcases by Hudgens--who released her own album, "V," in September--as well as Bleu and Tisdale, both of whom have albums expected in 2007.

The show kicked off with an ensemble version of "Start of Something New." After a back-lit Hudgens and Seeley took the stage, the rest of the cast followed slowly through smoke. That segued into "Stick to the Status Quo," featuring clips from the movie in which the teens admitted to having a penchant for unlikely hobbies. Zeke, for example, admits he is into baking. On stage, the cast was joined by eight dancers who were dressed as cheerleaders, all of whom danced on a cafeteria table with the school's logo.

Grabeel, who played the brother of Tisdale's character, Sharpay, served as emcee for the night, kicking the energy up a notch in preparation for the subsequent performances.

"Not only will you guys get to see all the performances from ‘High School Musical,' but do I have some surprises for you," Grabeel shouted. "There are going to be three showcases by Ashley, Corbin and Vanessa singing songs off their new albums!"

During her showcase, Tisdale performed songs from her forthcoming album, "Headstrong," due in stores Feb. 6. With surprisingly hook-laden songs, Tisdale proved a natural show-woman who took the time to wave to the crowd of young children and tweeners who nearly filled the venue. Tisdale is no stranger to showbiz; besides "High School Musical," she appears on Disney Channel's "The Suite Life with Zac and Cody."

The strongest performance of the afternoon was the basketball number that accompanied "Get'cha Head in the Game," penned by Seeley. Dancing while practicing deft basketball moves, Seeley shouted, "Should I go for it?" After a deafening "Yes" from the crowd, Seeley and his crew let loose on a freestyle dance number that ended with Bleu yelling "What team?" and the in-the-know crowd responding "Wildcats," in reference to the school mascot in the movie. The skit ended with the cast throwing inflatable basketballs into the crowd, causing the young audience to rush the stage.

Coleman parlayed her dancing skills from "Dancing with the Stars" into a tango with a champion ballroom dancer during Seeley's performance of her solo hit "Dance With Me."

Grabeel, who interviewed cast members after each skit, asked Coleman about her experience on "Dancing with the Stars."

"It was amazing, such an incredible experience--but the best part was you guys voting for me," she said to the crowd.

The mop-topped Bleu offered the next showcase of the night, singing his song "Push It," from the forthcoming Disney movie "Jump In."

As he delivered his rap-inflected song, he and his dancers jumped rope Double Dutch-style. Afterward, the jumpropes were reconfigured as a boxing ring as Bleu, in the middle, shadowboxed to the music. On "Marching," Bleu was joined by eight marching band drummers, eventually himself playing a convincing drum solo on all eight of the drums.

Fans of the show had an extra treat as director Kenny Ortega signed autographs in between the opening set by Jordan Pruitt and the "High School Musical" performance. Ryne Sanborn, who played Jason Cross, was in the audience as well.

Hudgens and Seeley showed extraordinary chemistry during "What I've Been Looking For," making up for the loss of Efron. Hudgens performed the night's last showcase, playing the bouncy "Let's Dance," "Say OK" and her hit "Come Back to Me."

The show ended with "We're All in This Together," and the crowd once again stormed the stage as pyro rained, confetti burst and the cast bowed.