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Review: School of Rock, Her Majesty’s Theatre

The cast of kids is a rotating one and on opening night the ones on show were, without exception, amazing forces of talent and energy.
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The cast of School of Rock. Photo by Matthew Murphy.

After its electrifying debut performance in Melbourne there is no doubt that the School of Rock is indeed open for business. Based, of course, on the 2003 hit of the same name starring the irrepressive Jack Black, the musical does not stray far from the original as it follows the story of Dewey Finn, a dishevelled loser and an ex-rock guitarist who, for overdue rent money, commits fraud by taking on the name of his housemate and inveigles himself into an exclusive school as a substitute teacher. Through sheer force of personality and just a smidgen of exploitation, he turns the class of knee-sized academic overachievers into a rock band to support his dream of entering the Battle of the Bands competition.

Musicals, by their very nature, often consist of broadly drawn caricatures and and there is more than a case of the hammy overacting in this production (including the parodic performances of Finn’s former band and the power dynamic of his housemates) but such overzealousness is forgiveable because at its core, it’s a show about the transformative nature of music to lift spirits and forge bonds, so really, a perfect dramatic vehicle to be translated into a musical. It did take some time for the production to hit the right notes due to necessary backstory explication of Finn’s circumstances but once he meets and engages with his class, School of Rock starts to well, rock and roll. These kids have been brought up to colour within the lines, to abstain from running in corridors, and to submit to their elders’ advice and admonitions and so to encounter a rogue unit like their faux teacher is a revelation.

The cast of School of Rock. Photo by Matthew Murphy.

Forget about the three R’s, make room for rock appreciation and theory (Ozzy Osborne doesn’t do maths!) Brent Hill channels Black’s slovenly enthusiasm perfectly and his voice is just right for rough-hewn rock music. Several new songs have been written especially (Andrew Lloyd Webber is responsible for the music while the book and lyrics are by Julian Fellowes and Glenn Slater respectively). A number are forgettable but one of the catchiest is “Stick it to the Man” a gleeful, middle-finger salute to anti-authoritarianism. The process feels too quick and easy to get these kids to forsake their classical instruments for the bass, drums, keyboards and guitar but under persistent tutelage and wheedling they do take them on board. Do they ever. They prove that yes, they can indeed play and sing and shimmy. All the music is live; these kids know how to rock. If you closed your eyes you’d never believe there were primary schoolers bopping up on stage but professional musos. The cast of kids is a rotating one (there are two other full sets) and on opening night the ones on show were, without exception, amazing forces of talent and energy.

The cast of School of Rock. Photo by Matthew Murphy.

Also worth mentioning is Amy Lehpamer who plays the principal; it was a nice touch to show her love of Stevie Nicks underneath the button-up managerial, bitch-face persona and her song, “Where did the Rock go?” was a plaintive reminder to all of us who’ve ever had to repress a passion to accommodate the rigours of adulthood. But School of Rock is an ensemble piece and together the many moving parts bring together a satisfying whole. It has no pretensions to being other than it is: feet-tapping, head-banging, family friendly entertainment. Rock on indeed.

4 stars ★★★★
School of Rock

Andrew Lloyd Webber COMPOSER
Julian Fellowes BOOK
Glenn Slater LYRICIST
Laurence Connor DIRECTOR
JoAnn M Hunter CHOREOGRAPHER
Anna Louizos SCENIC AND COSTUME DESIGNER
Natasha Katz LIGHTING DESIGNER
Mick Potter SOUND DESIGNER
Josh Marquette HAIR DESIGN
John Rigby MUSIC SUPERVISOR
Christopher Key ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Patrick O’Neil ASSOCIATE CHOREOGRAPHER
Jeremy M Foil ASSOCIATE SCENIC DESIGNER
Will Fricker ASSOCIATE SET DESIGNER
Adam Fisher ASSOCIATE SOUND DESIGNER

11 November 2018 – 1 February 2019
Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne 

Thuy On
About the Author
Thuy On is Reviews Editor of Artshub and a freelance arts journalist and critic. She's the outgoing books editor of The Big issue. Her first book, a collection of poetry called Turbulence, came out in March 2020 and was published by University of Western Australia Press.