School of Rock
Theatre Royal
Following five years on Broadway and a successful run in the West End, Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'School of Rock- The Musical' is now just over half way through its tour of UK theatres. This week it rock and rolled its way into Norwich Theatre Royal, twenty years after Jack Black starred as struggling rock guitarist Dewey Finn in the original movie.
It is a Tuesday night, and it is a school night, and yet the theatre is packed with both kids and adults. Such is the appeal of this show. Fans of musical theatre are here, fans of the film are here, and so are a huge contingent that would not even have been born when the film was first released. Firmly in the genre of the Kids From Fame or Glee, 'School of Rock' follows the well-worn path of misfits and outsiders triumphing as stars, with the additional spice of strained relationships and repressed spirits thrown into the pot.
Leading the cast is Jake Sharp as Dewey, a failed rock guitarist who inadvertently finds himself teaching a class of fifth-grade preparatory school students. In authentically replicating the hardcore spirit of Dewey, Sharp also sails really close to Jack Black's film performance. He gets the laughs, and has nailed the role, but it could have been so much more rewarding if his interpretation had been allowed to become more tailored.
On the other hand, Rebecca Lock is absolutely fabulous as Rosalie Mullins, the repressed principal of Horace Green School. Her transformation from starchy and stressed rule-enforcer to sassy free spirit is nothing short of astonishing, and her vocal talents lead her from Mozart to Stevie Nicks with consumate ease.
Matthew Rowland plays Dewey's long-term friend, the real Mr Schneebly, with just the right levels of pathos, but with a glorious final-scene transformation, and Nadia Violet Johnson hits all the right notes as the his righteous and overpowering partner.
But it is the kids that really make this show work. With a rotating troupe of eighteen youngsters, twelve get to perform each night. They are all excellent – confident without precocious – and extremely well rehearsed. The recorded voice of Andrew Lloyd Webber assures us before curtain-up that they do all play their instruments on stage, but such an announcement is really unecessary. The playing, as well as their singing, is beyond reproach, and their dance moves to JoAnn M Hunter's lively choreography are split-second perfect. Special mentions for tonight's performance, though, go to Harry Churchill as guitarist Zack, Wilf Cooper as stylist Billy, Tia Isaac as singer Tomika, Evie Marner as no-nonsense band manager Summer, and Daisy Hanna is scene-stealing as highly animated bass player Katie.
While 'School of Rock – The Musical' closely adheres to the plot of 'School of Rock – The Movie' (perhaps more so than is often the case in stage adaptations), Lloyd Webber's derivative musical treatment may not please all of the purists. But any show will ultimately stand or fall on the quality of the cast, and tonight's performers, without exception, made this a night to remember. In the words of AC/DC, “they rolled tonight to the guitar bite”.
“For those about to rock, I salute you”.
