SCHOOL OF ROCK is a brand new musical based on the famous Paramount film written by Mike White which starred Jack Black.
The musical follows Dewey Finn, a failed wannabe rock star who decides to earn a few extra bucks by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. Completely disinterested in academic work, Dewey decides to create his own curriculum, turning his class into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping, mind-blowing rock band.
The stage musical is produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber who has composed 12 new songs to create a score which also features all the favorite songs from the movie. SCHOOL OF ROCK, with its sensational live kids' rock band, is a loving testimony to the transforming power of music.
May the spirit of rock be with you!
School of Rock won't be leaving any time soon, of that I'm pretty certain. Exuberantly loud, high-spirited and upbeat, it's a feel-good show for Boomers and, god-help-us, our grandchildren. While none of the songs (with lyrics by Glenn Slater) is equal to Lord Lloyd Webber's best ('Memory,' from Cats, say, or 'As If We Never Said Goodbye,' from Sunset Boulevard), they're more than good enough and several add depth to the admittedly shallow pool that was Richard Linklater's 2003 Paramount film starring Jack Black. For that, credit also must go to the genius of Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes, who wrote the book for the show.
A disreputable charmer brings the joy of music to a staid community while stirring up romance with an uptight lady: If the plot of School of Rocksounds like a great musical, that's because it is. It's The Music Man. ButSchool of Rock, however much it borrows the shape of Meredith Willson's 1957 classic, has a different agenda, one that's arguably more timely and certainly less poetic. Its Harold Hill figure, called Dewey Finn, has real instead of imaginary instruments to offer, and the music he's evangelizing isn't Sousa but the Stones. Nonconformity replaces community as the theme; the key title in the score by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Glenn Slater (with a few songs lifted from the hit 2003 movie) is called 'Stick It to the Man.' Trouble, we are told, isn't something music will prevent but something it will enhance: 'Wreck your room and rip your jeans / and show 'em what rebellion means.'
2015 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2016 | West End |
Original West End Production West End |
2017 | US Tour |
First National Tour US Tour |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lyrics | Glenn Slater |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Music | Andrew Lloyd Webber |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Musical | School of Rock |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations | Andrew Lloyd Webber |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical | Mick Potter |
2016 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Alex Brightman |
2016 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical | School of Rock |
2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Alex Brightman |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Book of a Musical | Julian Fellowes |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | School of Rock-The Musical |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre | Andrew Lloyd Webber |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre | Glenn Slater |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical | Alex Brightman |
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