Broadway Review: School of Rock

[yasr_overall_rating]

If you’ve liked the movie with Jack Black, you’ll probably enjoy this musical version too! It’s like going to a rock concert on Broadway! The children on stage actually play the instruments, which makes it way more fun!

School of Rock tells the story of Dewey Finn (Alex Brightman), a musician who is kicked out of his rock band and is struggling to pay rent on his friend’s apartment. One day, he picks up the phone and pretends to be his friend Ned Schneebly (Spencer Moses) and accepts a job of a temporary teacher at an uptight private school. With no skills to teach anything, he decides to teach the kids about rock so they can all play at a festival.

With music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, School of Rock is fun and entertaining the whole way through. Alex Brightman, who plays the main character, is as funny as Jack Black in the movie. He really seems to be enjoying himself rather than working. I actually met him after the show (photo below) and made that same comment, to which he replied making fun of me: “No, not fun at all. Only work”.

The rest of the cast is also great! The children are all very talented, specially Isabella Russo, who plays the bossy Summer. Also, as I mentioned before, the children on stage are actually playing the instruments, which left me thinking how hard it must have been to cast children who can sing, act and play those specific instruments!

The songs from the movie are incorporated to this stage version, along with brand new ones that got stuck in my head even after the musical was over. It’s definitely worth watching!

UPDATE ON MAY 24: I was informed by the New London Theatre that it was recently confirmed the production will be transferring to the West End this October! The below link provides official information on the transfer. You can also buy official tickets starting on May 25, 2016:
https://seatplan.com/london/gillian-lynne-theatre/