Many a successful movie has been turned into a musical, and the hilarious hit movie School of Rock, by its very nature and storyline makes itself adaptable to the live musical theatre format. Without completely spilling the beans on the plot line for those who have not seen the hugely successful film franchise, the story follows Dewey Finn, a struggling wannabe Rockstar, pose as a substitute teacher at an elite prep school 'Horace Green'. During his time there, he exposes his class to the music he loves and transforms them into a sensational rock band.

 

Based on the movie of the same name, the live performance strives to maintain the same upbeat tempo and energy of the original. The characters are well defined and stand out performances by (in this particular production) Tia Isaac in the role of Tomika during her enthralling rendition of 'Amazing Grace'. Alex Tomkins in their role of Dewey Finn really channels Jack Black's persona.

 

The production values are outstanding. The combination of incredible sets and lighting, scene and story appropriate costumes really elevated the musical. The musical numbers adhered to the original songs that were in the movie and featured new music written by Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics by Glenn Slater.

 

The messaging stuck to the script, though some of the dialogue seemed to have veered a little towards the shock factor with the occasional swearing etc. Given the large number of families with very young children, one wonders if this was the best route. 

 

"It was a great musical - the kids' acting was absolutely amazing!" said Kara Jefferies-Shaw who saw the show.  All in all it was a wonderful show in an amazing theatre. New Wimbledon theatre as usual added to the occasion and was a great place to stage this.