‘HSM’s’ Lucas Grabeel grows fangs for new vampire musical

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Capitalizing on the success of ‘Twilight,’ ‘True Blood’ and other blood-sucking entertainment, two prominent alumni of the ‘High Scool Musical’ franchise are embarking on a new song-and-dance project titled ‘I Kissed a Vampire.’

The rock musical is set to debut on iTunes on Oct. 13. Starring Lucas Grabeel and Drew Seeley, both of whom were in the ‘HSM’ movies, the show is pitched somewhere between a parody and a full-on sincere take of the vampire angst genre, based purely on the footage we saw in the trailer, which is available for viewing above.

From a theatrical perspective, ‘I Kissed a Vampire’ is certainly venturing into shaky territory as far as musicals are concerned. Broadway is littered with the undead carcasses of such flops as ‘Lestat,’ ‘Dracula, the Musical’ and ‘Dance of the Vampires.’ (The latter was based on the 1967 Roman Polanski film ‘The Fearless Vampire Killers,’ which the controversial director himself adapted for the stage in the musical’s European incarnation.)

One wonders whether Grabeel and crew are taking a page from the career playbook of Neil Patrick Harris, whose Internet musical ‘Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog’ helped to exponentially increase the size of the TV star’s fan base.

In any case, ‘I Kissed a Vampire’ seems poised to capture the hearts -- and necks -- of adolescent girls and gay men all over the Web.

-- David Ng