I know this is still only a rumour but the West End is really getting on my nerves at the moment it seems every single show has to have its lead with a 'celebrity' of some kind- I know that they sell more seats etc etc but for god sake it is just getting a step to far now. I can understand if their tallented but the only reason why they are MAYBE casting him is to sell seats so that screaming fan girls will flock to the performances.

I doesn't sound likely.

Not a chance that'll happen. Surely he's to young for starters?!

Who?

[searches Internet, finds comment: Rolling Stone declared him the "poster boy for tweenyboppers"]

Oh dear.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought "Who?".

Clearly I'm not the target market for this show!

Yeah, but they'd be aiming for the younger people...but the thought of him in a loincloth...*shudders*
& I'm probably on the higher end of their target audience!

Have you not seen the photos of him on the beach in his shorts............ he would look LOVELY in the loincloth!

Whatever he looks like in shorts I doubt he will be in Joseph, I read somewhere that he was demanding insane money (I think it was $10 million) to do HSM4 so I doubt he would be interested in the money the West End can offer.

Not necessarily. If I were him, I'd be dying to break away from the HSM franchise by now, so he's just putting a price on his soul. If they say "$10million? No way!" then he's free. If they say "$10million? ... okay!" then he's stuck with it, but at least he is HANDSOMELY rewarded. After all, rumours have been flying since HSM2 was new that he doesn't want to go back to it.

Also, I suspect that if there were an HSM4, it would focus on a new generation of characters. Seeing as HSM3 is all about graduation and also made a point of casting some brightest-and-best young uns, that's not an unreasonable guess. So it could just be a lie that he's even been asked about HSM4. Or a lie that HSM4 will ever exist.

I suspect that, for now, he has enough money in his bank balance to keep him going for a bit. So if there's something he truly wants to do (like, say, theatre), even though it would mean a massive paycut, it's hardly going to destroy him to take a few months out to do so. And I guarantee a bazillion preteen/teenage girls would flock to see him in the West End.

But then, *rumour* had Scarlett Johanssen wanting to play Maria, and *rumour* had her utimately declining because of the wages, so who knows?

I had no idea HSM was up to its fourth installment. I'm ever-so-slightly horrified by that. It's like "Beverly Hills 90210: The Musical" come to life...

Clearly he isn't in it for the right reasons, if he didnt want to do something, you would just say "no" where as he probably doesn't want to do it but if they are willing to pay him enough money then he will go back.

I dont really think he is that talented tbh, he didn't do any of his own singing in the first movie and I am 100% sure he wont have anything to do with Joseph so I'm not too worried.

I thought all of the current principle cast of HSM (and mostly Zac Efron) are not considering HSM4. Zac had to be persuaded to be in the 3rd one...

If he was in Joseph, it would definitely sell. But I don't think he'd want to do it...

I really don't see Zac Efron doing Joseph. Unless of course, they had sunk to an incredibly low level and were preparing to over a sqillion dollars.

Zac didn't do the American Arena Tour of HSM as he was filming Hairspray and any theatre work would more likely be on Broadway I'd guess. ALW got Jason to play Joseph in 1991 and paid him about £33,000 a week back then but Jason's record sales were tailing off then and he hadn't cracked the American market. Also Mr Kenwright would not pay a huge amount I'd guess.

£33,000 a week in 1991! That would have been insane! And you are talking as if that wasn't a lot!

And Bill Kenwright might be a producer, but his known parsimoniousness re tours doesn't apply to the Adelphi production.

Efron's never going to happen, you know who we do need back as Joseph though.....
[img]http://www.artake.com/phillip_schofield_231_340.jpg[/img]

You may all think Zac Efron will never do Joseph but he's apparently already signed a contract. I can't vouch for how accuarate this actually is but it does come from someone who is generally right - 'in the know' as it were.

Honestly? The angrier people get about this rumour, the more fervently I hope it comes true. I don't know what'll cause more damage; the stampede of pre-teen girls to the box office, or the self-righteous anger explosion. But I do know that it'll be pretty funny to watch!

I am not getting angry about it. But I do wonder at it. And I would just think very little of him indeed if he only wants to play at it, and do limited shows with exceptional benefits during what would only be a short contract anyway. But if it's true, it still really does beg the question "WHY?"

It can't be for the money, surely. And if it is true that he contacted ALW, then what other advantage is he looking towards?

I think there must be a certain amount of imagined kudos around performing in the West End amongst young LA. It's unfortunate that 'This is Our Youth' or 'Six Degrees of Separation' aren't running as they'd be far more prestigious vehicles for Efron's limited talents. 'Joseph' does reach out to the tween audience that his management obviously want to reach for financial reasons.

Obviously the people who aren't getting angry about it won't be the funny ones to watch should it all come true, but the people who are getting angry about it? They're why I'm still watching.

How's this for a "why": despite HSM2, the forthcoming HSM3, and the really rather excellent 'Hairspray', people are STILL banging on and on and on and on and ON about the fact Efron didn't do his own singing in the original HSM, having his vocals replaced by the incredibly bland Drew Seeley. He likes musicals, he wants to keep doing musicals, but people will keep banging on. So what better way to get some proper musical credibility than live performances, eight times a week, in a global theatre capital? Sure, it's a paycut, but if it's hardly uncommon for an actor who is big in film to take that paycut for the privilege of getting to do some theatre.

I can understand people querying "would he be able to sustain eight shows a week?" (and that's speculation from sceptics, cynics, and realists; none of the rumours I've read have suggested he'll only be doing limited amounts of shows a week) or "is there any truth to this rumour?", but querying motivation, when a simple brain-stir can produce a dozen good reasons? Good lord. Next people'll be asking why David Tennant could possibly want to play some 400-year old whiny prince when he could be making more 'Doctor Who'.

I agree. Maybe the guy likes Joseph? Maybe (like a lot of us) it was the first musical he saw/ the first musical he was in at school, and he's always wanted to star in it? I don't recall anyone criticising Lee Mead when he gave those reasons, and he was already a professional working in the West End when he went up for the role.

The only issue I have with Zac doing Joseph is that my nieces will then want to go and see it - I'm taking my Mum in January to see Lee (actually, after the ALW birthday concert, quite looking forward to that) and then will probably have to go again shortly after with them too!

I'm not remotely conversant with how much stick ZE has had re having been dubbed before etc. I can't imagine there has been any at all amongst that target tween audience though. So overt defensiveness re that is pretty pointless.

But I would have thought that a simple brain stir might have come up with the concept of looking at potential additional motivations. Joseph for him will still be pandering to the tween audience to a considerable extent, but for relatively little cost in terms of time and effort, he is also putting himself in the incredibly short list of those with both musical theatre stage credentials (however minimal) and box office credibility. And with at least two ALW material films effectively in the offing as well, he might be seeing that effort as a worthwhile investment in ALW as well as re more musical theatre films generally. The awful reality of such films is that it is the box office that determines casting, rather than actual performance ability, so by being seen to nod to the stage as well, he is actually putting himself in a very strong position.

I think this thread is great and I guess my way of thinking is that if it encourages more people to go to the theatre then it must be a good thing. My kids love live theatre, especially musicals.

As a mum of 2 tweens! both of whom are massive HSM & Hairspray fans, they have heard the rumours and are already pestering me to try and book tickets to see ZE in Joseph I've had to explain that not all rumours turn out to be true

Good luck to him I say as I will be booking tickets again if he joins the cast.

Busy mum

After reading through some of these posts I'm going to have to admit my kneejerk "it's never going to happen" post was wrong. There are some very convincing reasons in here regarding why Efron would want to do it. Question now is, where did these rumours come from and do they have any actual credibility.

As for Efron's stamina for doing eight shows a week, we'll have to wait and see. He's certainly young enough to adapt to it pretty quickly in my opinion.

I found this :

http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/latest/2008...15875-20726341/

Ahh yes, The Mirror. The journalistic powerhouse that brought us such incisive pieces as "Celebrity hairdresser Andrew Barton's guide to Kylie Minogue's new extensions" (actual headline)

I remain unconvinced for now, although the more I hear the less I doubt. I can see ALW loving Efron's whole tweenybopper thing. Let's see if the BBC picks this up, then I might take it a bit more seriously.