Fans meet 'High School Musical' idol at Bruins game, call it 'a dream come true’
Shannon Dunnigan might have manifested meeting one of her childhood idols at a recent Boston sports match.
The 23-year-old from Lynn met "High School Musical" star Monique Coleman, who played Taylor McKessie in the hit 2006 film and its sequels "High School Musical 2″ and "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," at the Bruins game Tuesday night at TD Garden.
"Ironically we had just watched 'High School Musical' the day before to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first movie," Dunnigan told MassLive, adding that her family decided to get last-minute tickets to the game.
"As a kid from the early 2000s, seeing people who represented and played a huge part in my childhood always brings back that nostalgic feeling and no matter what and no matter what I'll always be starstruck," she said.
"Being able to meet her was pretty incredible and had the child in me freaking out," Dunnigan continued. "Being able to go from having 'High School Musical' watch parties as a kid with my Taylor McKessie and Gabriella Montez Barbie(s) to meeting Monique was a dream come true."
At one point between periods, Dunnigan and her sister Allysha got up to grab food. The duo happened to walk by Coleman as she filmed the iconic "We're All in This Together" dance from "High School Musical" with Bruins mascot, Blades.
"High School Musical, who says we have to let it go?," TD Garden wrote in an Instagram post alongside the video, which showed Coleman sporting a Bruins jersey.
"I had my hands full with food and didn't want to bother her, but realized it's a once in a lifetime interaction so we decided to wait around and see if we could meet her," Dunnigan recalled.
"As she was going back to her seat, she had walked right by us, and my sister asked to take a photo with her. She was extremely kind and said (it was) no problem at all," she said. "We mentioned to her how much we loved her and that we had just watched the movie yesterday and she was very receptive to our kind words."
The trio then snapped a selfie together. Dunnigan said Coleman "was just a kind and humble person," adding that "it was great to see that she still, after 20 years, interacts with 'High School Musical' fans even though we've all grown up."
From her encounter with Coleman, Dunnigan said that she "definitely learned the lesson that sometimes you just have to put yourself out there and just ask for the picture."
She added, "I'm the type of person who wants to leave celebrities alone and give them space, but as long as you are kind and treat them with respect just go for it."
While at the Garden, Coleman also toured the arena and met Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman before he and the rest of Team USA's hockey team heads to Milan for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
"Thx for making this happen @tdgarden @nhlbruins‚" Coleman commented on another Instagram post from TD Garden. "@jswayman1 you're going to crush it in Milan!!!! #teamusa."
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