‘High School... helped me reach Broadway’

Actress Vanessa Hudgens says her hit series High School Musical helped her prepare for her Broadway debut, which was the revival of Gigi.

Hudgens, 26, revealed that working for <g data-gr-id="32">Brodway</g> was amazing and she learnt a lot, <g data-gr-id="33">reoported</g> People magazine.

“(It) definitely helped (her) prepare to be on Broadway. It’s been amazing. It’s been the hardest I’ve ever worked. I’ve learned so much about myself.” Hudgens said of her experience with Gigi. With the role having been played by actresses Audrey Hepburn and Leslie Caron in the past, Hudgens had some big shoes to fill.

“You can’t replicate someone’s individuality so you bring your own individuality to the part and that’s what I did,” the actress explained.

The show will draw to a close on Sunday, Hudgens admits it’s “bittersweet” to see her Broadway run come to an end.

Hudgens will be moving on from Broadway to yet another musical. She will be playing Rizzo in a live broadcast production of Grease on Fox next year.

Gigi is a new start. At just 26, Hudgens has a chance to reinvent herself as a Broadway triple threat. To do so, she’ll have to convincingly play a giggly teenager in Paris, circa 1900, being groomed as a mistress for a wealthy suitor, Gaston. The actress will also have to hope other factors fall into place.