‘School Of Rock’ Musical Hopes To Bring High Voltage Rock To Broadway In 2015


School of Rock will be adapted into a Broadway musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The 2003 film starring Jack Black is the latest inspiration for Webber.School of Rock will have previews in November 2015 and then open to the public in December at the Winter Garden Theater.

According to the New York Times, School of Rock will have both songs from the film and new ones. Webber will write the original music, with lyrics by Glenn Slater of Sister Act fame. Laurence Connor, who is co-directing the current Broadway revival of Les Miserables, will stage the production. Producer Rob Cavallo will help create the rock-and-roll sound for School of Rock.

The children and rock star prodigies will still be the center of the show, says Webber.

School Of Rock is hugely about how music can empower kids. Tim Rice and my first performed piece, ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,’ was written for a school. It will be a joy to discover and work with talented musical kids in the U.S.A. and, who knows, maybe discover a rock star or three of the next generation.”

The cast of the School of Rock musical has yet to be decided. Casting will take place in major cities across the U.S. in January.

The composer is excited to return to some of his rock and roll roots.

“It is a joy for me to return to my Jesus Christ Superstar roots — when Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan was recording ‘Jesus’ for Tim Rice and me at London’s Olympic Studios, Led Zeppelin was recording next door and a glimpse of a Stone or two was routine.”

The Los Angeles Times says that this is the latest Broadway attempt by the composer to produce a hit after a series of disappointing shows. His recent works, such as a sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, have been failures critically and commercially. The musical Stephen Ward closed only four months after opening on the West End in 2013.

Webber is famous for composing the music for shows such as Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. No reports have indicated if Jack Black will make a bid for his former role as the rocker posing as a substitute teacher at a prep school. Other Hollywood actors have recently made their way to the stage, including Emma Stone and Bradley Cooper, as covered by the Inquisitr.

[Photo Source: Cassava Films]

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