Corbin Bleu on How High School Musical Prepared Him for Broadway

What time is it? Party time, old sport! That’s right, High School Musical fans: Corbin Bleu has gone from the halls of East High to the debaucherous parties at Jay Gatsby’s mansion in The Great Gatsby on Broadway.

Ever since making a name for himself in Disney’s trio of iconic HSM films throughout the 2000s, the New York native has established an impressive career on the stage — with a resume boasting credits like Usnavi in In The Heights, Jesus Christ in Godspell, Ted Hanover in Holiday Inn and Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors.

Now, Bleu has returned to New York as Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby opposite fellow Broadway luminaries like Reeve Carney as Jay Gatsby, Eva Noblezada as Daisy Buchanan and John Behlmann as Tom Buchanan.

The famed narrator drawn into the mysterious Gatsby’s high-flying, hard-partying orbit is a character Bleu already happens to be intimately familiar with. After all, he originated the role in last year’s West End production of the musical, performing eight shows a week at the historic London Coliseum and eventually earning his first nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical at the 2026 Laurence Olivier Awards.

“It was my West End debut, and I loved being in London,” Bleu tells Ticketmaster. “And I loved the production so much that I decided to come and do it again!”

Making his way back across the Atlantic, the Disney Channel alum rose to the occasion of working with a completely new cast at the Broadway Theatre in a show that had its own separate energy and rhythm from his 2025 run on the West End. But on either side of the ocean, his character remains a vital entry point into the Roaring ‘20s of The Great Gatsby — complete with show-stopping numbers like “Roaring On,” “New Money” and “My Green Light.”

“He is the audience’s eyes. He’s the one who informs how they should be feeling about everything,” Bleu says of Carraway’s function in the raucous, Tony-winning musical. “Because, overall, it is a story about a bunch of messed up people!”

Below, Bleu opened up to Ticketmaster about taking his Gatsby role from London to New York City, the secrets his voyeuristic character might be keeping to himself, how his time at East High helped prepare him for the bright lights of Broadway and more.

Congratulations on joining The Great Gatsby! This is, what, your fourth or fifth Broadway show at this point?

Thank you! Yeah, so it’s technically my fifth. I have been saying six just because I also did Little Shop of Horrors, which is Off-Broadway. But, I mean, it’s a technicality, it basically feels like a Broadway show. [Laughs]

What drew you to the opportunity to star in Gatsby?

Well, I have been a lover of the novel since I first read it back in middle school. I worked with Marc Bruni, the director, at The Muny in St. Louis — we did a production of Singin’ in the Rain where I played Don Lockwood. And he was the one who had thought of me for this role. So they reached out, and initially, had actually asked about me coming to Broadway. But I knew they were also going to be bringing the production to London, so I struck up the conversation about possibly originating it there.

And that ended up working out, which I’m so grateful for and proud of. It was my West End debut, and I loved being in London and getting a chance to work with that cast. It resulted in an Olivier nom, and then once I finished that run, they wanted me to come here. And I loved the production so much that I decided to come and do it again!

How did you find the transition from the West End to Broadway?

The biggest transition is just the fact that it’s a replacement over originating. So when I did it in London, we’re actually in the rehearsal room together from the beginning and you’re [experimenting with] different interpretations. Here, the energy has been set. And it’s a completely different cast, so rhythms and cadences and just how people portray each role is very different. And it really is pivotal for Nick how everyone plays their roles.

I’ve gotta say, out of every role that I’ve played, Nick is probably the most reliant I’ve ever been on my castmates. And that’s because he’s a voyeur. He doesn’t hold that much agency in his actions. Everything he does is indicative of what people sort of tell him to do or where they seem to be pushing him towards. So my interpretation [of the character] really does adapt and change depending on who’s playing opposite me.

Obviously, Nick Carraway remains one of the most iconic narrators in literary history. Even though your character is such a voyeur, do you feel like the character still functions as the narrator for the audience in the stage production?

Well I always say, he is the audience’s eyes. He’s the one who informs how they should be feeling about everything. If you’re not present, fully locked in and engaged in every moment, the audience can feel a little bit lost, and honestly, a little bit down. Because, overall, it is a story about a bunch of messed up people! [Laughs] So he is a little bit of our moral grounding. So even in the moments where he is not speaking, if we at least feel that we’ve got someone to hold on to, that’s looking at this going, “Are you seeing this? This is messed up, right?” then I think the audience can end up walking away not feeling so depressed.

You’re also responsible for inviting audiences into the world of Gatsby and really kicking off the whole story with “Roaring On.” What’s it like opening the show with that song every night?

It’s my favorite number to perform. I love that number. I come out with a bang every single show, so it’s definitely vocally the most strenuous number that I have to do. So I always have to be completely warmed up and ready as soon as they start the show. It’s not like an 11 o’clock number where, as the show goes on, you’re just getting into it and you eventually get to that part where you’re like, “Yeah, I’m ready to go.” No, you’ve gotta be warm and ready right from the jump.

“Roaring On” also has one of my favorite moments in the show, which harks to what we were talking about with Nick being a voyeur. I love that right at the beginning, I turn upstage and introduce our ensemble. And I get to stand there for several bars and almost become an audience member onstage and watch them, before I walk up towards them and end up joining them. It’s just such a cool moment that you don’t often get onstage — to get to almost just become an audience member.

Naturally, Gatsby and Daisy’s star-crossed love tends to get a lot of the attention, but Nick also gets his own kind of love story with Jordan Baker, who’s played by Samantha Pauly. How does that relationship compare in the show to Gatsby and Daisy’s?

The Nick and Jordan relationship is an interesting one because in the novel, it’s just a fling. Which, you could sort of say the same thing within our story: it ultimately ends up being just a fling, but it does go a step further in that they get engaged. But they’re not right for each other. And neither are Gatsby and Daisy. But at least in the Gatsby/Daisy relationship, you have one who is completely dedicated. Gatsby would do anything for Daisy.

When it comes to Nick and Jordan, I consider them each other’s beards. I feel like it’s a little bit of a lavender relationship. I don’t think it’s that they’re not attracted to each other — I do think they’re enjoying each other. But I wonder if it’s something that, given the time period…both of them are very independent and both of them have tendencies that you can see that maybe there are interests in the same sex. And I wonder if it’s just utilizing the time that they have together.

That’s such an interesting take! Do you see that dynamic play out at all in Nick and Jordan’s duet, “Better Hold Tight”?

It’s a really fun number. It’s very playful, and there are so many layers to what they’re saying and what I think they’re actually meaning. It’s a whole game that they’re playing back and forth with each other.

What’s it been like working with Reeve Carney and Eva Noblezada as Gatsby and Daisy?

I’ve loved getting a chance to play opposite them. Again, it’s been such a fascinating experience being able to have a completely different cast after having done it for six months in London. When I did it in London, it’s a full run of a show, so it becomes ingrained in your body. And you think you know a story very well.

Then now, to come and play opposite Reeve and Eva, the story is completely different. And I’ve loved that experience of taking the time to just sort of rip away the layers of what have been built up, and rebuild something completely brand new with them. Reeve’s Gatsby has this unfaltering determination that, when I look in his eyes on stage every night, I feel helpless. I want to just shake him and say, “This is going to end badly for you!”

Looking back on your time in London, what did your first Olivier nomination mean to you after doing all the work to develop the character and originating the role on the West End?

You know, with having dedicated my entire life to this craft, and with that being my first time out on the West End, they are such craftsmen out there. They really are our cousins when it comes to the pinnacle of theater. So it was such an honor. I just feel very grateful to have been recognized among peers.

I have to ask for all the OG Wildcats out there: is there any way that you feel like High School Musical helped prepare you for your career on Broadway?

Ah, of course! Absolutely. One thing I always go back and think about when it comes to those days was when we did the tours. We did concert tours with the music that we performed in arenas, in stadiums, all across North America and South America. And learning from [director and choreographer] Kenny Ortega how to command a stage — there were just so many tips and tricks and beautiful realizations that we came to just being able to be under his wing.

We just marked the 100th anniversary of the book’s publication last year. What do you think has made the story of The Great Gatsby so enduring for the past century?

I think the initial attraction for most people, of course, is its opulence. People love the parties, they love Gatsby, they love the booze, the sin — there’s such excitement that comes with all of that. But when you really take a look at it, it’s such a hard look at society, at love, at the pursuit of wealth. And truly asking what it all means. It’s very ambiguous in its answer, and I think that’s really life. Nothing is definite. Nothing is forever. But is it worth it to go for it? You have to decide.

The Great Gatsby Broadway tickets are available via Ticketmaster.