BEVERLY — Disney has trumped Dickens at the North Shore Music Theatre this year.

The not-for-profit theater on Dunham Road has canceled its annual production of "A Christmas Carol" for 2008 and replaced it with "High School Musical 2," a show based on the Disney Channel franchise that has achieved astonishing success among teens and preteens.

"A Christmas Carol" is the most popular production in the history of the North Shore Music Theatre and was due to stage its 20th anniversary show this year. But after the success of last summer's "High School Musical" show at the theater, officials said they couldn't pass up the opportunity to stage the sequel, "High School Musical 2," in December and January.

Spokeswoman Carol LaRosa said North Shore Music Theatre is one of only two regional theaters in the country to obtain the rights to "High School Musical 2" from the Walt Disney Co. She said "A Christmas Carol" will return next year.

"We feel fortunate to be able to present the show," LaRosa said. "We realize some people are disappointed with putting 'A Christmas Carol' on hiatus for a year. It is a tradition we intend to continue in 2009."

Wenham resident Jerry Donnellan, who has been a North Shore Music Theatre subscriber for nearly 40 years, said he was surprised by the decision to cancel "A Christmas Carol," especially considering it was the show's 20th anniversary. He said he has taken his children and grandchildren to "A Christmas Carol" several times over the years.

"We have a whole bunch of extra tickets this year, and we were hoping to see 'A Christmas Carol,'" he said. "We saw 'High School Musical' last year, and it wasn't that great. I think we left at halftime."

"A Christmas Carol" began at North Shore Music Theatre in 1989 and helped establish the former summer theater as a year-round operation. It was also the first show produced in-house by the theater company, said Jon Kimbell, the theater's former executive producer, who co-authored the production and directed many of the shows himself.

Kimbell, who stepped down last year after 25 years, said he understands why his successor, Barry Ivan, is putting "A Christmas Carol" on hold for a year.

"The opportunity to do 'High School Musical 2' is a very hard thing to pass up," Kimbell said. "These are difficult financial times, so you have to make the best decision you can."

Filling the theater

North Shore Music Theatre's production of "High School Musical" drew 52,208 people for 38 performances last summer, an average of 1,374 per show in the 1,500-seat theater. The show was held over for extra shows due to popular demand, LaRosa said.

"A lot of that audience was families with kids under 18, so we hope we're exposing more young people to live musical theater," LaRosa said.

"A Christmas Carol" drew 32,078 people for 31 shows last year, an average of 1,034.

Schools have sent busloads of students to see "A Christmas Carol" over the years to complement their reading of the classic Charles Dickens story. LaRosa said the theater will work with area high schools to use "High School Musical 2" as a fundraiser for their schools by selling tickets to the show.

LaRosa said the actors who played the lead roles in last year's production of "High School Musical" at North Shore Music Theatre will return for "High School Musical 2," and local teens from the North Shore will also perform in the show.

The "High School Musical 2" movie set a record for the highest audience for a basic cable television show last August when it attracted 17.2 million viewers, more than doubling the audience of the original "High School Musical" in 2006.

The hit movies, based on a story about teens staging a high school show, spawned what has been described as a cultural phenomenon, with hit records, concerts and merchandise. "High School Musical 3" is due out later this year.

"High School Musical 2" will run at North Shore Music Theatre from Dec. 18 through Jan. 11. Ticket prices range from $60 to $79.