Before High School Musical, there was a real musical high school. 1980's Fame showed the struggles of a class at the New York Academy of Performing Arts. This year, a remake will launch a whole new class and Megan Mullally will teach them how to sing.

"I play the singing teacher," Mullally said. "We sing at a karaoke bar so I have to get up and sing a song, 'You Took Advantage of Me' by Rodgers and Hart."

That scene in the movie will be a rare look at the TV and Broadway star performing for a bar full of drunk crooners. In real life, she can't rock the karaoke mic.

"You're not going to believe me because I've trained myself to be pretty outgoing but it's only when I'm supposed to be, like when I'm getting paid for it. When it's karaoke, I get so nervous I can't do it. I've done three Broadway musicals but I can't sing in a karaoke bar. I get too freaked out. I think it's because I feel like I'm showing off if I'm not getting paid to do it. I feel like I'm just being a show-off."

Mullally is one of the few veterans in the cast. Choreographer Debbie Allen is another, playing Principal Simms. "She gives the big speech like, 'You're here to work hard…' It's perfect that she's doing it. I love the original. I think it came out when I was at a tender age and I was very obsessed with it."

As for the main cast and crew of upstarts, Mullally gives them high marks. "I just did my first day. It was really fun. They've been shooting for a while. I just started shooting late but it seems really great. Everybody says it's going great and the cast seemed really good and this director is amazing. He's 25. He's this guy who's been a prodigy. His name's Kevin Tancharoen. He directed Britney Spears' world tour when he was 18. He was a dancer and choreographer and something happened with the dress and they were like, 'You do it.' And he did it, it was amazing and made like 20 billion dollars or something."

Fame opens September 25.

Interview/Story by Fred Topel

Starpulse contributing writer

(Starpulse in Hollywood): Every week, Hollywood's biggest stars are meeting in the hot spots and Starpulse is there.