Even if you're not a fan of "High School Musical," there's a good chance you'll fall head over heels for the cutest kids at Eastside High School. And we're not talking baby animals cute. We're talking, "OMG he's soooo cute!" cute.

But here's the real question: Are they cuter than those other kids from Eastside High? The original Troy and Gabriella?

The answer is yes.

OK. Maybe that's for audiences to decide — and heaven forbid the great Zac Efron be dethroned as King of Teen Hotness — but let it be known that he has some serious competition. And Vanessa Hudgens? She's got nothing on Kapolei girl Jana Souza.

Local actors Kyle McCraw, 16, and Souza, 15, are seriously cute. And wildly talented.

As the leads in Army Community Theatre's production of "High School Musical," opening Thursday at Richardson Theatre, Souza and McCraw are so immersed in their roles, both say they don't know what to do with themselves when they're not rehearsing.

"I sit at home bored when I'm not here," said McCraw at Monday night's rehearsal.

Souza giggles. And then she agrees with him: "I know! Me, too!"

Part of their giddiness is a direct result of being big — HUGE, actually — fans of the Disney franchise about two kids from opposite sides of the campus who fall for each other despite their apparent differences.

It's the typical jock-meets-brainiac tale of self-discovery. A lesson in acceptance and self-awareness that plays out in the kids' discovery of their mutual love for musical theater.

Both Souza and McCraw are sold-out fans of the films because they say they can relate to the fictional subject matter, though each in different ways.

"For me, the message of the movie is to make good decisions in high school because what you learn now prepares you for life," said Souza, a student at 'Iolani School whose theater experience includes playing Dorothy in her school's production of "The Wiz."

"The movie teaches you to work hard and be yourself and I can really relate to that."

McCraw, who moved to the Islands from Alabama last year and now attends Moanalua High School, can testify to the being yourself part. Even if being yourself means loving something that's not as popular as, say, sports.

"I think the movie really made people pay attention to musicals again. It made people realize that musicals don't have to be all opera, with people falling asleep in the audience," he said. "And it made me love musicals."

McCraw loves them so much that he says he already knows what he wants to do with his life: be a musical theater star on Broadway.

He credits finding his passion to his character, Troy Bolton, who discovers his love of musical theater and pursues it despite being clowned by guys on the school basketball team.

The similarities between the two guys don't stop there.

There's no mistaking McCraw's Troy-inspired 'do — longish locks of flax-colored hair perfectly coifed to evoke Efron — which he had long before he auditioned for the part.

Yeah, it's on purpose, he admits sheepishly before the floodgates of his HSM devotion burst open with the confession that he's envied Efron's Troy since the movie came out two years ago.

"When I first saw the movie, I was so jealous of Troy Bolton because everyone wants to be him!" McCraw said with childlike awe and enthusiasm that's proof he really is just 16, though his maturity and poise tend to belie his young age.

Though she at first comes off as less enamored of her character Gabriella, Souza finally fesses up with her own outburst of pure teenage joy about taking on the role of the teen idol.

"I can picture myself as Gabriella, but when (play director) CoCo said I actually looked like Gabriella in my lab coat, I was like, 'Really?! I really look like her?!' I couldn't believe it!"

Under the direction of CoCo Wiel, Souza and McCraw, along with a cast of teenagers from around the island, are working overtime to get everything just right for their stage version of "High School Musical."

Army Community Theatre is the first community theater to stage the show. It's the first community theater show for Souza and McCraw, too.

"Excited! We're excited!" said Souza.

"Yeah. I'm so excited! We're just so excited," said McCraw, agreeing with his leading lady. "The nerves will come on opening day."

"And then you just have to use the nerves to make your performance great," chimed in Souza, talking to McCraw now and changing roles from interviewee to friend, fellow actor and the only other person in the conversation who can rightfully speak on the subject. "Right? Nerves are good. Nerves make me sing better."

"Yeah," agreed McCraw, holding his stomach to emphasize exactly where he's going to be feeling it come Thursday night. "Yeah. Nerves are good."