Based on the 2003 film of the same name, written by Mike White, the musical follows Dewey Finn, an out-of-work rock singer and guitarist who pretends to be a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school.
The musical made its Broadway debut and world premiere on December 6, 2015, at the Winter Garden Theatre, following previews from November 9, 2015, directed by Laurence Connor and starring Alex Brightman as Dewey Finn and Sierra Boggess as Rosalie Mullins.
[3] The plot followed struggling rock singer and guitarist Dewey Finn, who is kicked out of the band No Vacancy[4] and subsequently disguises himself as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school.
[8] In an April 2013 interview, Andrew Lloyd Webber first revealed that he had purchased the stage rights to Richard Linklater's film,[9] and planned to make its adaptation into a musical his next project after completing the West End show Stephen Ward, centering on the 1963 Profumo affair.
[18] Speaking of his vision for the musical, Lloyd Webber suggested that it would focus more on the stories of Dewey's young students than the film did, stating "It has to be a bit more rounded.
"[14] The script of School of Rock was written by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes[19] and Laurence Connor was engaged as the initial director.
[20] JoAnn M. Hunter provided choreography,[21] set and costume design was by Anna Louizos[22] The musical begins with a performance by the band No Vacancy.
After they leave, Dewey goes about his day, getting kicked out of his band and fired from his job at a record store, all while dreaming about getting his break and becoming a superstar ("When I Climb to the Top of Mount Rock").
Dewey arrives late both hungover and unprepared for the day, and the principal warns that "Ned" will be expected to meet the school's high standards ("Here at Horace Green").
His thirteen students are immediately wary of him, and one of them, uptight Summer Hathaway, attempts to explain to him how the classes manage, and Dewey is disgusted by the rigid system.
In another part of town, Billy is reading a Vogue magazine disguised as Sports Illustrated on account of pressure from his father to take up football.
On account of being stuck in school, Dewey and the kids end up sneaking out of the building in order to make it to the Battle of the Bands auditions on time.
At the faculty meeting which Rosalie uses to stress the importance of parents' night, Dewey discovers that she is secretly a rocker, and loves Stevie Nicks.
As the students go to perform, Zack's father begins shouting at his son not to go onstage, telling him that School of Rock is ridiculous and stupid.
Some recruiting was done through the School of Rock after-school educational program (which predated the film by several years)[26][27] and open calls were held in New York at the Winter Garden, in Chicago and in Los Angeles.
[28] The musical made its Broadway debut and world premiere on December 6, 2015, at the Winter Garden Theatre, following previews from November 9, 2015, directed by Laurence Connor and starring Alex Brightman as Dewey Finn and Sierra Boggess as Rosalie Mullins.
The London production closed on 1 March 2020 after just over a 3-year run with David Fynn returning to the role of Dewey, with the announcement of a UK and Ireland tour to begin in February 2021.
[36] After closing in Melbourne, the show embarked on a national tour of China beginning in Shanghai before continuing to Beijing, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Shenzhen and Suzhou.
[41] The production was later restarted and eventually premiered at the Teatro Gran Rex in June 2024, with Agustín "Soy Rada" Aristarán and Ángela Leiva starring as Dewey and Mullins respectively.
The musical also features Santiago Otero Ramos as Ned, Sofía Pachano as Patty, and Germán Tripel as Theo, Dewey's former bandmate in No Vacancy.
[42] The first German-language production of the show opened to standing ovations from the audience at the Landestheater Linz on September 9, 2023, starring Enrico Treuse as Dewey Finn and Alexandra-Yoana Alexandrova as Miss Mullins.
The show finally opened on 17 August 2023 at the Brillia HALL, Tokyo, starring Takanori Nishikawa and Hayato Kakizawa as Dewey, and concluded on 1 October 2023 at the Shinkabukiza, Osaka.
[45] The show casts Maciej Maciejewski and Jakub Wróblewski as Dewey, Wioletta Białk and Paulina Magaj-Szpak as Rosalie Mullins, Hubert Waljewski and Tomasz Wojtan as Ned.
[52] "I'm Too Hot for You" reuses the melody of "I've Been in Love Too Long", a track originally written by Lloyd Webber, with lyricist Don Black, for Marti Webb's album Won't Change Places (1981).
David Rooney, for The Hollywood Reporter, praised the young rockers, "the show knows full well that its prime asset is the cast of ridiculously talented kids, ranging in age from nine to 13.
"[59] David Cote wrote for Time Out: New York, "We expect cute kids in uniform, a spastic Dewey and face-melting riffs—along with heart-tugging family stuff.
"[60] Robert Kahn of WNBC television station in New York concurred, "The story doesn’t particularly resonate for me, but I won’t soon forget the feel-good vibe radiating off the talented young performers.
[61] Matt Windman of AM: New York wrote, "Brightman comes off as a gentler version of Jack Black, though still loud and rambunctious and a genuine class clown".
"[63] Cote noted, "You’d have to have zero sense of humor about pop to not enjoy Webber’s jaunty pastiche score, which sneaks elegant melodies in among the boilerplate stadium stompers.
[62] Marilyn Stasio of Variety noted, "Having written songs for alley cats and toy trains, Webber has the ideal sensibility to relate to children whose freakish talents might make them seem a little bit … peculiar, in a world of average Joes.