S C H O O L O F R O C K – T H E M U S I C A L
CAST LED BY DAVID FYNN AS DEWEY FINN WITH
FLORENCE ANDREWS, OLIVER JACKSON, PREEYA KALIDAS AND GARY TRAINOR
NATIONWIDE SEARCH FINDS THIRTY-NINE YOUNG ACTOR MUSICIANS
TO PERFORM IN DEWEY’S ROCK BAND
STUDENT RUSH EVERY WEDNESDAY WITH BEST SEATS FOR £10
WWW.SCHOOLOFROCKTHEMUSICAL.COM
Andrew Lloyd Webber announces David Fynn is to lead the London cast of School of Rock – The Musical as wannabe rock star Dewey Finn. Lloyd Webber’s West End production will begin previews at the New London Theatre on 24 October 2016 with opening night on 14 November 2016, School of Rock – The Musical is initially booking to 12 February 2017.
Based on the iconic hit movie and with a rocking new score by Andrew Lloyd Webber, School of Rock – The Musical follows slacker and wannabe rock star Dewey Finn turn a class of straight-A students into an ear popping, riff scorching, all conquering rock band! Dewey poses as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school to make ends meet, and when he discovers his fifth graders’ musical talents, he enlists his class to form a rock group and conquer the Battle of the Bands. As Dewey falls for the beautiful headmistress, can he and his students keep this special assignment secret as they learn to fully embrace the power of rock?
Comedy star David Fynn will star as Dewey Finn, the role made famous by Jack Black in the film. His television credits include The Inbetweeners, Sherlock, Game of Thrones, a series regular in Pete vs Life for Channel 4 and Undateable for NBC/Comedy Central. On stage he has appeared at the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre and at the Donmar Warehouse in The25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. He is joined by Florence Andrews as Rosalie Mullins,Oliver Jackson as Ned Schneebly and Preeya Kalidas as Patty Di Marco.
The ‘grown up’ cast is completed by Gary Trainor as the alternate Dewey with ensemble members Jonathan Bourne, Nadeem Crowe, Michelle Francis, Rosanna Hyland, Cassandra McCowan, Joel Montague, Andy Rees, Cameron Sharp, Tasha Sheridan,Andrew Spillett and Lucy Vandi and swings, Charlotte Bradford, Jason Denton, Cellen Chugg Jones and Alfie Parker.
Andrew Lloyd Webber said: “I’m delighted to be bringing School of Rock – The Musical to the West End this October, following what has been a hugely exhilarating experience creating and opening the show on Broadway, where we’ll soon celebrate our first birthday. As many people know I’m passionate about children engaging with music from an early age, and to that end I cannot wait for UK audiences to see the remarkably talented group of young actor musicians we have found for our production. They’re currently blowing the roof off our rehearsal rooms working with our wonderful cast of grown ups led by the hilarious David Fynn.”
Based on the smash hit 2003 film of the same title, School of Rock features music from the movie, as well as new music written by Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics by Glenn Slater and a book by Julian Fellowes. School of Rock – The Musical is directed by Laurence Connorwith choreography by JoAnn M. Hunter, set and costume designs by Anna Louizos, lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design by Mick Potter, music supervision by John Rigby withMatt Smith as musical director.
Best seats for £10.00 will be available every Wednesday evening an hour before curtain to purchase as part of the School of Rock – The Musical Student Rush scheme. These tickets will only be available in person from the New London Theatre Box Office.
The nationwide search to find the three teams of thirteen young performers took place earlier this year. The role of Zack will be alternated by Tom Abisgold, twelve years old from Chester, Toby Lee, eleven years old from Warwickshire and Jake Slack, twelve years old from Buckinghamshire. The role of Freddy will be alternated by Bailey Cassell, eleven years old from London, Jude Harper-Wrobel, ten years old from Hertfordshire and Noah Key, twelve years old from Shropshire. Giles Carden, twelve years old from Surrey, Oscar Francisco, twelve years old from Coventry and James Lawson, twelve years old from London will alternate the role of Lawrence. Selma Hansen, eleven years old, Lois Jenkins eleven years and Sophia Pettitthirteen years old, all from London, will alternate the role of Katie. Isabelle Methven, twelve years old from Hertfordshire, Lucy Simmonds, eleven years old from Hampshire and Eva Trodd, eleven years old from Kent, will alternate the role of Summer. Madeleine Haynes,twelve years old, Leah Levman, ten years old and Natasha Raphael, ten years old, all from London, will alternate the role of Marcy. Alternating the role of Shonelle are Jaydah Bell-Ricketts, eleven years old from London, Shoshana Ezequiel, twelve years old from London andAmelia Poggenpoel, eleven years old from Liverpool. Alternating the role of Sophie are Lola Moxom, eleven years old from Kent, Mia Roberts, eleven years old from London and Grace Schneider, eleven years old from London. Alternating the role of Tomika are Nicole Dube,twelve years old from Essex, Amma Ris, eleven years old from London and Adithi Sujith, nine years old from London. Jobe Hart, ten years old from London, Joshua Vaughan, ten years old from Birmingham and Logan Walmsley, eleven years old from London will alternate the role of Billy. Presley Charman, nine years old from London, Lucas Chow, twelve years old fromLondon and Ben Dawson, twelve years old from Hampshire will alternate the role of Mason. The role of James will be alternated by Bradley Bissett, twelve years old from Kent, Denzel Eboji, twelve years old from London and Sonny Kirby, twelve years old from London. The role of Matthew will be alternated by Zac Dowlatshahi, ten years old from London, Harry Egerton, eleven years old from the Birmingham and Jacob Swann, eleven years old from London.
School of Rock –The Musical received its world premiere at the Winter Garden Theatre in November last year where it continues its smash hit run. Having broken house records, the production subsequently garnered 20 Broadway theatre awards nominations including four at the 2016 Tony Awards – Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score and Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. The Broadway production has now been seen by over ½ million people and is currently booking to 28 May 2017. A national Company will launch a US Tour in the Autumn of 2017, playing coast-to-coast engagements across America.
Alongside the Broadway production Andrew Lloyd Webber launched a nationwide release of the rights for schools and youth groups to create their own productions of School of Rock – The Musical using the exact same score as the Broadway show. Here in the UK, plans are well advanced to replicate that success ensuring that schools, colleges and youth groups can look forward to being able to license School of Rock – The Musical.
Produced by Paramount Pictures, the 2003 hit film School of Rock was directed by Richard Linklater and starred Jack Black in a career-defining performance.
School of Rock — The Musical is produced in the West End by Andrew Lloyd Webber forThe Really Useful Group and Warner Music Group & Access Industries with Madeleine Lloyd Webber as Executive Producer.
LISTINGS INFORMATION
Theatre: New London Theatre, 166 Drury Lane, London WC2B 5PW
Dates: 24 October 2016 – 12 February 2017
Press Night: 14 November 2016 at 7pm
Performances: Until 5 November 2016 – Monday – Saturday 7.30pm, Saturdays at 2.30pm
From 7 November 2016 – Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7.30pm, Thursday and Saturday 2.30pm, Sundays at 3pm
Christmas schedule: Monday 19 December 2016 at 7.30pm, Tuesday 20 December 2016 at 7.30pm,
Wednesday 21 December 2016 at 7.30pm,
Thursday 22 December 2016 at 2.30pm and 7.30pm,
Friday 23 December 2016 at 7.30pm, Saturday 24 December 2016 at 2.30pm
Sunday 25 December 2016 – No performance,
Monday 26 December 2016 at 7.30pm, Tuesday 27 December 2016 at 7.30pm,
Wednesday 28 December 2016 at 2.30pm and 7.30pm,
Thursday 29 December 2016 at 2.30pm and 7.30pm,
Friday 30 December 2016 at 7.30pm, Saturday 31 December 2016 at 1.30pm and 6.30pm, Sunday 1 January 2017 – no performance, Monday 2 January 2017 at 2.30pm
Running time: approximately 2 hours 30 minutes including interval
Prices: £25.00 – £75.00 with £10 off all ticket prices for previews
Student rush tickets for £10 on Wednesday evenings.
All ticket prices include a £1.50 restoration levy. No booking fee via official box office channels
Box Office: 0844 811 0052
Website: www.SchoolOfRockTheMusical.co.uk
Twitter & Instagram: @SchoolofRockuk
Facebook: facebook.com/schoolofrockmusical